The Moon Museum

“Luna, the portal room is going to be full again if you don’t clear it! How many times have I told you that you need to do inventory on a regular basis, so that the room doesn’t pile up like this?! Your attitude is intolerable! Luna? Luna! LUNA!”

Ugh, give me a break.

I didn’t ask for this job.

It’s going to last for an eternity, anyways. I’ve got way more than enough time to clear it up, but still Bach will nag endlessly at me.

Uuuuuuuuugh.

“LUNA LEE! YOU GET TO THE PORTAL ROOM AND CLEAR THAT PILE OF LOST GOODS RIGHT THIS MOMENT!”

Gah. Fine.

I look at my watch. 12:02PM. The concept of time doesn’t actually apply to us here in this dimension, but I was given a single request when I was given my job here, so this was what I asked for. I wanted to hold onto something that was familiar to me. Having time on my side, whether it’s a real thing or not here, keeps me sane. It keeps me grounded.

Looking back, I should have just asked for Bach’s eternal silence, or earplugs—lots of it.

I get dressed, in the only set of clothes I have. Well, a lot of other things also don’t apply to us here at the Museum de Lunar. I’m too lazy to explain right now, but maybe I’ll do it later when Bach isn’t screaming at me at the top of his lungs from the other end of the building. Which he’s doing right now.

I brisk-walk to the portal room, officially known as the Quaerere, but I’ve resorted to calling it the ‘portal room’ because nobody except Bach can pronounce the names of the rooms here perfectly, and I’m not even going to try.

“THERE YOU ARE!” Flapping his large wings, Bach is hopping from one pile of junk to the next, his feathers flustered and seemingly more frustrated than usual. Oh, didn’t I tell you? Bach’s an eagle owl. Not the species, but actually part-eagle and part-owl. More nerd than anything else in the Universe, though. Bach keeps the records around here. I just help him update it. It’s a really ancient system, but to put it simply, it’s devastatingly boring and infinitely repetitive work that’s fit for eternal punishment. This is what you get for stealing from a Greek god. Well... If you were stupid enough to get caught like me.

“Luna, how many times have I—“

“I know, Bach. I know. I’ll get started.”

“All these lost goods aren’t going to sort themselves out, you know. The Museum de Lunar is a prestigious facility made by the gods where—“

“—‘Where all things lost are found and returned to their rightful owners.’ As if anyone ever gets back their bobby pins or ballpoint pens, Bach.”

“THAT’S because we’re severely understaffed.”

“Because I’m practically the only staff here, you mean. Under legislative bindings. Forever.”

“You are correct.”

Oh, it’s going to be a very long day.