Mandy stood alone on the beach’s shore, the delicate sand grains unnoticeably giving way little by little under her feet, the roaring waves undulating as they crashed on the shore and receded back into themselves. But Mandy hardly noticed the waves and the sands. Her blue eyes were fixed on the starry night sky above. She was waiting for the moon to emerge from among the few gray clouds.

Yesterday in science class, Mr. Kimberly had taught about moonbows and had showed the class a picture of one. Mandy had been amazed and desired to see a moonbow, so she had determined to go down to the beach and see a moonbow. Of course, she knew moonbows were rarer than rainbows and that a number of factors were necessary to see one. The moon had to be no more than forty-two degrees from the horizon, be in the nearly or completely full phase, the sky had to be very dark, and water droplets had to be present in the air in the opposite direction of the moon. So Mandy’s chances of seeing a moonbow were pretty slim. Still, she was determined to see one.

Mandy stood on the shore and waited patiently until the full moon appeared from among the clouds. Her eyes brightened as she stared at the dusty-white ball of rock pitted with craters from asteroids and meteoroids. She carefully deduced the angle of the moon from the shore; it appeared to be around forty degrees or so. She waited, shifting her weight from foot to foot, feeling the slightest wave of impatience wash over her.

Finally, a glorious, shimmering circle of rainbow colors ringed round the moon. The hazy coil of mixed colors danced in her gaze as she shielded her eyes to see it in all of its beauty. She smiled, feeling exhilarated. She had finally seen a moonbow! Her dream had come true; she had gotten her wish.

In a moment, though, the moonbow was gone, and the sky was blacker than it had ever been. But it seemed to Mandy she could still see it in her mind, the teasing array of colors as they wavered and wriggled in the light of the full moon.