Standing on each of the steps on either side were women naked in the moonlight. I don't know what possessed me to do what I did next. The full moon. Chasing away the boogey man. The reflex of fight instead of flee. Whatever the reason, I looked up at the goddess silhouetted by the full moon and yelled aloud charging up the steps. With a flash of her eyes I was frozen in place. I could not move a muscle all I could do was breath. The women standing on the steps grabbed me by my arms. Holding me so that I could not take my eyes from the goddess above me. My eyes unblinking were starting to tear as I watched her continue the ceremony. I noticed that this time the gems in her headdress started to brighten and gleam. Seeming to emit a faint light. A purple aura was forming around moon goddess as she danced. Pink sparks streamed from her fingertips to the ground and surrounding air. The music reached a climax and like before she turned towards me. The eye contact I feared and expected was. A lion roared off in the distance. Safe in the familiarity of life on the grasslands, Taryn was soon off to a deep sleep. Taryn woke with a start to the sounds of children being hustled off to their huts. It was already late evening and the village bustled with preparations for tonight’s fertility ceremony. Taryn had no idea what would take place, as this was one event her mother did not teach her about. She sat on her bed for several minutes shaking off the dreams from her nearly 24 hour sleep. As she moved to stand, the 3 older women who had been with her last evening entered the hut. Two of the women carried baskets and one carried a large clay pot filled with water. The women introduced themselves and explained they were there to prepare her for First Moon. There was something safe and reassuring about the women and Taryn felt completely at ease as the women removed all of Taryn’s beads and garments except the small leather pouch. The women cooed reassuringly about Taryn’s.