How to travel beneath the Three Moons

A Beginner’s Guide to the House of Imagination

Before we begin, there is something important you should know about the House of Imagination: Maps are mostly useless there.

Not completely useless. Boo says maps still make excellent hats if folded properly, but that is not very helpful when you are lost inside a forest that keeps moving around every afternoon. The problem is that the House of Imagination changes depending on which moon is watching and who you are.

Sometimes roads become rivers. Sometimes staircases decide they would rather lead somewhere else. Sometimes entire hills disappear because they got distracted by something interesting beyond the horizon.

This is perfectly normal.

Boo says the world behaves this way because imagination is alive and alive things are not meant to sit still forever. Even so, if you ever find yourself there, the first thing you should do is look up. The House of Imagination has three moons drifting across its sky. One is round. One is triangular. One is rectangular. Nobody seemed to know what they were called, so as you will see in a moment, I named them myself.

Every place beneath them changes depending on their light, which means travelers should pay attention very carefully unless they enjoy getting wonderfully lost.

Boo says there are worse things to be than wonderfully lost.

I suppose he is right about that.

— Constantine Bell, explorer & very reliable expert

The Balloon Moon

The Balloon Moon is the round moon and also the friendliest of the three. Under its light, the House of Imagination becomes wonderfully impossible. Rivers sing while they flow. Forests rearrange themselves as you walk through them because they grow curious about where you are going. The ground feels soft like jello there, so bouncing is usually the fastest way to travel. Which also makes it the funniest.

Once, Boo and I discovered a village where all the streetlamps had learned lullabies from listening to sleepy children through open windows. Boo cried during that one, though he still insists it was pollen.

The Balloon Moon loves curiosity more than anything else. Roads sometimes become longer if they think you are enjoying yourself too much to leave. Doors refuse to appear for impatient people. The House of Imagination is not very fond of rushing in general.

When traveling beneath the Balloon Moon, remember:

1. Stop to examine the little things.
2. Keep at least one pocket empty for unexpected things.
3. Be careful when naming things.
4. Sometimes getting lost means the world wants to show you something.
5. Taste the brown slime if it is offered to you. It looks yucky, but it is honestly delicious.

Most importantly, allow yourself to believe impossible things are real.

This is also where most impossible creatures are found. Cloud whales drift lazily across the sky, singing to one another in voices so deep they make windows tremble. Flocks of paper birds nest inside libraries. Tea kettles gossip when nobody is listening carefully enough. There are entire meadows filled with flowers that bloom only after somebody compliments them. Boo says flowers are very sensitive artists.

Happy Boo by arktouro

The Needle Moon

The Needle Moon is the triangular moon. Its light is pale and quiet and makes the House of Imagination feel slower somehow, as though the whole world has stopped to remember something important. Boo says the Needle Moon takes care of forgotten things so they do not become lonely.

Some places beneath the Needle Moon feel strangely familiar even when you have never visited them before. There are gardens filled with flowers blooming from forgotten songs. Tiny paper boats drift silently through silver streams carrying letters nobody ever sent. Somewhere beyond the hills lies the Café of Imaginary Friends, where forgotten imaginary friends wait patiently for the children who once invented them.

Even the sky feels different beneath the Needle Moon. The stars shine softer there, and the wind sometimes carries pieces of old lullabies from places you cannot quite remember. Boo becomes quieter beneath this moon, which - trust me - is something quite rare. His leaves turn silver-blue, and sometimes he stares at things for a very long time before speaking. Once I asked him why.

He looked at me very seriously and said: “Please, Constantine, do not forget me.” I did not know what to say after that, so I just hugged him.

The Needle Moon is not dangerous exactly, but staying beneath it for too long can make your chest feel heavy in strange ways. Boo recommends carrying something small and happy with you whenever you travel there.

And that is why I never go there without him.

Under the light of the Needle Moon, you may suddenly remember:

• the smell of your childhood bedroom,
• the sound of somebody laughing years ago,
• the exact shape of a favorite toy,
• a dream you once promised yourself you would never forget.

The Window Moon

The Window Moon is the rectangular moon. Under its light, the House of Imagination feels smaller - quieter somehow. Roads stop wandering. Rivers no longer sing. Trees stand straighter, and the clouds drift neatly across the sky, losing their shapes on the wind.

Most travelers prefer the Window Moon because its light makes the House easier to understand. Boo does not trust it very much. He says the Window Moon is the reason grown-ups stop noticing magical things. Personally, I think he exaggerates. At least a little.

Still, there is something strange about the Window Moon. Beneath it, impossible things begin acting ordinary. Cloud whales drift lower in the sky where fewer people notice them. Tea kettles stop gossiping. Forests lose some of their wandering curiosity. Even Boo changes beneath its light. His leaves lose their colors and become plain green. I think he dislikes that very much, because he barely talks while we are there.

For some reason, the Window Moon makes the world easier to explain.

And that is sometimes a very sad thing.

Too much time beneath the Window Moon can make travelers practical in dangerous ways. They begin asking whether something is useful before asking whether it is wonderful. They stop carrying little treasures home in their pockets. They stop looking up. Eventually, they stop noticing impossible things altogether, even when they are standing right in front of them.

Worst of all, they begin saying things like: “Perhaps it was only a dream.”

Grown-ups believe they have explained everything with that sentence. I think that is a silly thing to say, though perhaps it is not entirely their fault. You see, while the Window Moon does not truly destroy magical things, it does train people to stop seeing them.

When traveling beneath the Window Moon, remember:

1. Keep at least one impossible thought to yourself.
2. Never trust people who laugh at wonder too quickly.
3. Look up whenever the clouds begin changing shapes.
4. Bring home little treasures even if they seem useless.
5. Some things disappear only after people decide they are not real.
6. If something beautiful cannot be explained, perhaps it is not supposed to be.

Most importantly, do not let the Window Moon convince you that growing older and growing unimaginative are the same thing.

A Few Places I Hope You Find Someday

There are many places beneath the Three Moons that travelers spend their entire lives searching for. Boo says that is part of the fun, though I admit that sounds slightly exhausting. Still, there are a few places everybody needs to find at least once and I wish you will too.

Cloud Whales by Imagica

The Pocket Market

The Pocket Market appears at the crossroads where the light of all three moons meet, though never in exactly the same place twice. Travelers gather there to trade tiny beautiful things they have discovered during their journeys. Boo once traded three pinecones and half a sandwich for a compass that points toward whatever you miss the most. He still says it was a very fair deal.

The Café of Imaginary Friends

Somewhere beneath the Needle Moon stands the Café of Imaginary Friends. Nobody knows exactly where it appears next, because the café prefers lonely streets and quiet corners where forgotten things feel safest. Inside, imaginary friends created long ago gather beneath warm lantern light to reminisce about the children who once invented them. Tiny dragons drink tea beside invisible knights. Pirate captains argue about hidden treasures. Stuffed animals sit near the windows waiting patiently for a moment to become heroes again.

You know, your imaginary friends really don't like being called imaginary - at all.

— Boo

“It is good that some things still try to fly long after people stop believing they can.”

— Boo

The Whale Roads

The Whale Roads are invisible paths in the sky used by migrating cloud whales as they drift between moonlit currents. Travelers usually gather on rooftops late at night to watch their enormous shadows moving slowly overhead. Sometimes the whales sing to one another. Boo insists cloud whales enjoy compliments very much, which is why travelers are encouraged to wave politely whenever they pass above. Personally, I think they seem a little shy for creatures the size of houses.

The Museum of Lost Questions

The Museum of Lost Questions is one of the quietest places in the entire House of Imagination. Its halls stretch endlessly beneath the Needle Moon, filled with glowing lanterns containing questions children once asked but never received answers for.

Why do stars only shine at night?

Where do missing socks go?

Can trees get lonely?

The Hill of Forgotten Kites

There is a grassy hill somewhere beneath the Window Moon where every lost kite eventually arrives. Some are bright and new. Others are faded almost completely white by time and weather. On windy evenings, they tug gently against the sky as though still trying to fly somewhere impossible.

“The whales think rooftops are tiny islands for people. You would be happy too if whole islands waved at you, right?”

— Boo

The lanterns float gently through the dark like sleepy fireflies, and the museum grows larger with every passing year. I am sure this should be alarming if grown-ups knew about it.

A Final Note

I do not know if the House of Imagination is the same place for everybody. Still, I think impossible things are there far more often than grown-ups believe they are.

So, if you ever hear rivers singing somewhere they probably should not, or notice clouds shaped a little too carefully to be accidental, stay there a moment longer before deciding it means nothing.

The House of Imagination is sometimes quieter than it used to be, but I still think it is there. You simply have to notice it before the Window Moon convinces you otherwise.