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twenty-two

4 Months later

The doors to Sunsets and Moonlights were propped open, letting in a lazy breeze and the faint sounds of nearby construction.

Ahvi stood just inside the entrance, eyes wide like a kid walking into her own dream. It felt surreal. It had been months of sketches, samples, late-night decisions and random mood board texts to Lunar at 2 a.m.

Now it all felt real.

The space was split right down the middle—two stories of intentional contrast. The Sunset side was rich in orange, gold, amber tones with chandeliers shaped like open hands, holding Edison bulbs like fire. Velvet booth seats curved along walls painted like watercolor skies. It felt like golden hour was trapped in the room forever.

The Moonlight side had sleek navy walls with silver lines running through them like constellations. Large, spherical lanterns floated overhead like gentle moons, and the furniture was cool slate and black velvet. Floor tiles shimmered like stars scattered across the sky.

The design wasn’t just aesthetic—it was a whole feeling...a whole story just like her food. A little girl raised by her amazing daddy learned how to cook because her daddy couldn’t.

“This ain’t no restaurant,” Lunar said, spinning Kamari slowly in his arms. “This a love letter.”

Ahvi turned, brushing a curl off her forehead, eyes wet but steady. “That’s exactly what I wanted it to be.” She beamed with pride.

Lunar spared no expense when it came to making her dreams come true. For every no, he paid more money and searched harder for a yes. Every little detail had been crafted by his baby. Ahvi really did her big one.

Kamari pointed to the wall behind her, still giggling from his ride. “Yight! Mama Yook, moon!” He was one now and the world seemed so much fuller now that he could talk and walk.

Lunar stopped spinning him and held him steady so he could see. “That’s right, Kamari. That’s the moon side just like your name.”

Dro was still around, popping in every now and then to see Kamari but Lunar was his constant. Lunar had given him his last name—hyphenated of course because Dro wasn’t that much of a deadbeat. But even without the Moony last name, Kamari’s name meant moonlight. Ahvi had no idea of their future when he was born—but it was like some unknown force had planted a seed before she even knew what it would mean.

“Moon,” Kamari repeated proudly, puffing out his chest.

Ahvi walked over and kissed the top of his curls, then rested her forehead against Lunar’s shoulder. “It’s wild being here, actually standing in my restaurant not just talking about it.

“You earned this shit,” Lunar said.

She smirked. “Did I though?”

Lunar gripped her ass, nodding. “Hell yea, you earned it.” Those dimples she loved to stick her tongue in now, flirted with her. “That aside, you did all the work…don’t ever let nobody make you think you didn’t.”

“And you kept me sane through it all.” Her eyes locked onto his.

Lunar grinned, leaned in close, and whispered, “You the sane one.”

She shoved his shoulder playfully, but her smile gave her away.

They walked the space together, Kamari bouncing between their arms, little feet touching ground then flying back up. Staff bustled around them-- painters doing last minute touch-ups. The lighting tech was doing a final check, and the kitchen staff took inventory. And still, somehow everything moved around them like they were the calm in the middle of it.

“I can see it now,” Ahvi said, stepping back. “Opening night. Full house. That energy in the room right before the first plate hits the table. And I’ll be right there, in the kitchen, hands shaking, heart racing, but knowing I did it.”

Lunar stared at her like she was a work of art. “You glowing,” he said. “Like… you been standing in the sun this whole time.”

Ahvi tilted her head, teasing. “Or is it under the moonlight?”

“Nah,” he said, pulling her in by the waist. “You always been the sun. I’m just orbiting.”

Kamari squealed and smacked both their faces with little hands, mad he wasn’t the center of attention anymore.

“Okay,” Ahvi laughed. “You ready to get on this plane, Nar?” she looked up at Lunar calling him by his stage name. Then she gave her baby the attention he was eager to get. “We gotta head to L.A. if your daddy gon’ be famous.”

“Pwaaaane!” Kamari took off running in his crooked little stride toward the exit.

“Private jet baby,” Lunar clarified with a cocky smirk. “Nothing but the best for the loves of my life.”

She kissed his lips. “I love everything about your cocky ass… But get your kid before he get us put out.”

They both laughed, chasing after Kamari, who was now being greeted by one of the servers holding a tiny to-go box of fries just for him.

As they left the restaurant, Ahvi turned back one last time, her eyes lingering on the door with the sign above it glowing gold and silver Sunsets and Moonlights.

She squeezed Lunar’s hand. “Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t know how to ask for it.”

Lunar kissed her fingers. “You don’t ever have to ask. I’m yours. Wherever the sun sets, and wherever the moon rises—I’m there.”

“Oh God,” Ahvi rolled her eyes, smiling. “You always been dramatic.”

“And consistent,” he winked.

They laughed again, heading toward the black car idling outside, their baby between them and their dreams stacked high.

* * *

Backstage smelled like shea butter, smoke, nerves, and greatness. At least that’s what Ahvi smelled. She’d been moving around the country with Lunar, so she was kind of used to the hustle and bustle of the music industry but she’d never really not turn into a fan when she ran into some of her favorite artists.

She stood near the edge of the curtain, her hand clutched around her phone even though she hadn’t looked at it in twenty minutes. Kamari was asleep on Luna’s lap, strapped to her chest so he wouldn’t run. He was knocked out cold with noise-canceling headphones and his curls in neat braids thanks to Solar. He’d played hard all day. He ate funnel cake and danced with Noodle during soundcheck. But now, he was saving his energy for his daddy.

This was the night.

The biggest show of Lunar’s career so far.

He and Noodle were headlining a three-night festival that honored Black art and independence, with a sold-out crowd of nearly 50,000 people screaming for them . There were other acts - big ones, but everyone knew who they came to see.

The 8 th Wonders—black kids with big dreams, owning the universe because Javen told them they could.

“8 th wonder!” someone in the crowd chanted.

It caught like a match.

“8 th wonder! 8 th wonder! 8 th wonder!”

And still, Lunar hadn’t stepped out yet.

Noodle was on now but she would stick around since she and Lunar had a few songs together.

Ahvi peeked through the curtain. Noodle was on stage solo, her voice floating, velvety smooth and gritty at the edges. She was singing an interlude. The calm before the storm. The stage was drenched in reds and golds, the smoke hung low around her feet, and the big LED screens looping videos of the Sapphire City and LA. It was Lunar’s signature and tied in with his album, EastWest Sun—an enriching story of life with Mav while searching for Big Lunar.

Ahvi’s heart twisted because it all felt so full circle, and she knew how much love and tears Lunar poured into making it. She’d been there for most of it so she saw how hard he worked.

His album, EastWest Sun, had taken the music world by storm. Critics predicted it would sweep the Grammys, dissecting his lyrics like hidden scriptures. Each song was an intimate bridge into who Lunar truly was. The East represented his roots with Big Lunar, and West embodied the steady presence of Maverick Long.

The album blended raw lyricism with heartfelt tributes. “Forever 17” and “An LA Love Song” had become anthems for a diverse fanbase, but it was his sped-up, soulful twist on Alexander O’Neal’s classic “Sunshine,” renamed “Standing in the Sun in Jade City,” that had fans, especially the ladies, losing their minds.

But tonight was all about Forever 17—he wanted to sing it for his daddy who was standing on the moon.

Behind Ahvi, Solar, Aku, Luna, French, Javen, Mav, and even Tiny were shoulder to shoulder, dressed in shades of silver and black like the night itself showed up to support. It wasn’t just family. It was legacy, living and breathing.

“You good?” Luna whispered, gently adjusting Kamari’s headphones.

Ahvi nodded. “Just a little jet lagged but ready to see my man,” she wagged her tongue playfully.

As if on cue, Noodle’s voice lowered.

“Y’all know this next part means everything to us,” she said, wiping her face. “If you know loss, if you know love, if you know what it means to find your peace after the storm… scream for my brother. Scream for Nar!”

The crowd went crazy when the bass dropped and the lights flashed.

Lunar walked out slow, with his hoodie down, chains gleaming, and eyes already glossy. The crowd lost their minds, screaming, waving, phones held high, but Lunar wasn’t looking at them.

He was looking up.

He didn’t speak right away.

He just stood there - the mic to his lips, breathing in the moment.

Then his voice shook and his head dropped.

The entire energy shifted.

Noodle licked her lips. “Let us let us die young or let us live forever,” she sung it so beautifully, tears already sprouting from her eyes. “Forever young, I wanna be forever young.”

Lunar kissed his finger and tapped his chest before tossing it in the air.

“Yeah, yeah, uh

Seventeen forever, but you left too soon,

Now your name’s written deep in the light of the moon.

They say I got your eyes, say I got your soul,

But I never got the time, never got to grow.

You was just a kid, but you played a king,

Held the fam down, gave ‘em everything.

Luna, Solar, Qamar—yeah, you raised ‘em right,

Now I’m here in your shadow, tryna match your light.”

The way he’d remixed a classic was top notch and showed his amazing music ability. EastWest Sun wasn’t just about his life, it was also paying homage to the amazing rappers before him. He’d sampled a few songs—some slow ones but also some rap songs.

As the chorus came in again, he got choked up. Noodle walked over fast, placing her hand on his back. Ahvi stepped forward instinctively. Lunar looked like he was about to collapse under the weight of his own heart.

That’s when the family started to move.

French pushed open the curtain. Luna followed, tucking Kamari’s blanket under her arm. Tiny was already halfway to the steps. Ahvi didn’t even wait—she ran to the stage.

Lunar lifted the mic, his voice cracking. “Bring me my sun…Kamari, where you at?” He looked around while the instrumental still played with the backtrack.

The crowd stilled for half a beat, unsure of what was happening.

But Ahvi knew.

She pushed through the people, up the steps, her arms already unbuckling Kamari from Luna’s arms. She hurried on stage, tears already threatening.

The family made room. Noodle reached for Kamari’s headphones and took them off gently.

Lunar held out his arms.

Ahvi placed Kamari against his chest, and Lunar melted, right there in front of the world. He cradled their baby like he was the most precious thing that had ever existed, kissed his forehead again and again, whispering something only Kamari could hear.

Then he looked at the crowd. “When I say bring me my son,” he said, voice thick, “I mean my sun. ” He pulled Ahvi in too, kissing the top of her head, holding her against his side. “I used to hate that big ass ball in the sky,” he said, and the crowd chuckled through their tears. “But one day…on one of the prettiest days of the summer…my daddy literally gave me the sun.”

His voice cracked again.

“Now all I want to do is stand in that muthafucka. I even want to dance in it.”

The crowd roared.

“Y’all ever held the sun in your hands?” He lifted Kamari up gently, smiling through his tears. “Well I did…and I still am. ”

Ahvi broke beside him, face in his hoodie, crying into his side like he was safety.

Behind them, Luna wiped her face too. She missed her twin more than words could stretch—but when she looked at her nephew, she knew.

Big Lunar left them his dream.

The screens shifted then— home videos of the studio, flashes of Big Lunar laughing in black-and-white, Lunar and Noodle as kids in the booth, images of Kamari and candid shots of his family.

The beat dropped again.

Lunar wiped his face, holding Kamari tight, voice rising like thunder through the night sky. “Run that shit back! And I want y’all to rap this shit loud enough for my daddy to hear it!”

The opening chords of Forever 17 hit the speakers, and the crowd lost it . Again.

Smoke exploded. Lights rippled. And the whole family got loud.

“I been chasing your ghost since the day I could breathe,

Tryna live in your name, tryna follow your lead.

You ain’t get to grow, but you made sure they did,

Seventeen, but you carried three kids.

We chased galaxies, now I’m standing in the sun,

Its rays kissing me, whispering, “I love you, son.”

Never met you, but I feel you in my chest,

Every win that I get, man, I hope you feel blessed.”

Every voice in that field was raised. Screaming, sobbing, dancing, and laughing.

Lunar let Kamari stay in his arms the whole time, the mic in his other hand. Noodle came back for the hook, vocals so clean they cut through the emotion like lightning through clouds.

Ahvi stayed on stage too, arms around her son, wrapped in the man who changed everything.

When the last note hit and the lights dimmed low, the crowd chanted his name over and over. “Nar!”

He looked down at his family…his woman…his child…his dream.

Then he looked up, whispering two simple words that carried louder than the loudest chorus. “Thank you.”

And somehow, under a sky full of stars and sweat and stories, it felt like Big Lunar answered back.

The End.

Up Next: Falling Into Gravity (June/July 2025)