That night, the Moon couldn't sleep.
She tried one side of the sky. She tried the other. She tried staying perfectly still, and she tried hiding behind a cloud. Nothing. Down below, all of Dogavios was asleep, with the little houses dark, and only she was still there, lit up, round and awake. She thought maybe she was the only one awake in the whole world, and that made her feel a little lonely.
Pigúiça, who was almost asleep, heard a sigh of light at the window. She opened one blue eye. “Who's there?”
“It's me, the Moon,” said a silvery voice, very soft. “I'm tired, but sleep won't come.”
Pigúiça yawned, and remembered what Fofuxo taught her when she couldn't sleep either. “I know three things that help,” she said. “Want to try?” “Yes,” said the Moon.
“The first is breathing very slowly.” The Moon breathed in. The clouds, way up high, began to move slower, and slower. The Moon breathed out, and all the stars blinked, very slowly.
“The second is thinking of soft things. A blanket. A pillow. Fofuxo's fur.” The Moon thought of soft. Then she called a smiling cloud, which came and lay on top of her, fluffy as a blanket. The cloud smiled and said, “Good night.”
“The third,” whispered Pigúiça, her voice already going soft, “is to close your eyes, even if sleep hasn't come yet. It comes more easily when it finds your eyes closed.”
The Moon closed her eyes. Just a little. Then a little more.
The stones of Dogavios began to sing, very softly, almost without a voice, a lullaby. The flowers folded their petals, one by one. The wind stopped blowing, just so it wouldn't make a sound. Even the river, far away, began to run more slowly.
The Moon's light grew faint, fainter, like a lantern being turned down slowly.
Pigúiça smiled. She had helped the Moon fall asleep. Her blue eyes grew heavy, heavy. She tried to stay awake just a tiny bit longer, just to see the Moon drift off, but she couldn't.
Shhh.
The Moon is sleeping. Pigúiça is sleeping. Fofuxo is sleeping. All of Dogavios is sleeping.
Good night, Moon. Good night, Pigúiça. Good night... you.
