My Sister wrote this.
The Sun and the Moon
The Universe was quite lonely. He was very, very old and he had no children. All he would do, for all moments long, was float in the blackness. Merely exist, that was his purpose. He was no longer satisfied with his purpose and became afraid that one moment he would fade and leave no legacy.
Finally, the loneliness became so heavy that the Universe decided to do something about it. He commanded his great shoulders to heave, his massive arms to lift, and finally willed his hands to come together in a gigantic CLAP! There was a flash of white, and as soon as it faded the Universe was overjoyed to find his children.
Some were bigger and brighter than the others, while some were small and quiet. Some shone as bright as the light that they were born from, and some were irritable and unfriendly. But they all called him Father and that pleased him, and he loved every single one of them. However, there were two that he favored from the others, and he doted on them constantly. They were twins, although they could not be more opposite from each other. They were called Sun and Moon.
Sun had a fiery personality and always outshined her other brothers and sisters. Her hair looked like flames and her gown was made of lava. Her eyes smoldered like coals and she had a boisterous laugh. When she asked for anything she desired, she always received it. Unfortunately, she was a jealous and hot-tempered, but always sweet when her Father was nearby.
Moon had different strengths, but she was as strong as her twin sister. Moon was quiet and always listening – when she spoke she gave wisdom. If anyone was to anger her, they would regret it instantly. She was a pale beauty, her skin was porcelain and her long hair was pure black. She had her faults as well: she was extremely vain and was selfish. Father Universe loved her very much though, for he looked past her faults and was glad he had passed on his great wisdom to her.
Many times later, Father Universe called Sun and Moon together and announced that he had a surprise for them. The twins’ faces lit up with excitement.
“Oh!” exclaimed Sun, “Is it a new trinket? I love trinkets; they are so fun to play with!”
Father Universe smiled at her with a twinkle in his old eyes, “No, it is not a trinket my dear, it is something much better.”
Moon piped up, “Then it must be knowledge! Knowledge is far more valuable than any trinket is worth.”
She smiled as Father Universe patted her head, “Excellent observation, Moon, but no, it is not knowledge.”
Not used to being wrong, Moon frowned. “Then I’m stumped,” she said.
“Me too,” sighed Sun, who was becoming impatient, “Will you tell us what it is?”
From behind his back, Father Universe revealed a brown leather bag that was tied at the top with twine. The twins thought it looked really plain and not all that special.
“The surprise is inside,” he explained.
The twins were excited once more and stepped closer to the bag.
“Can we open it?” they said, unable to contain their excitement.
“Yes, you may,” Father Universe said and he held the bag tightly, “But first, you must make a promise.”
“Anything! Anything!” they shouted.
“You both must promise to share this gift with the rest of your brothers and sisters.”
“We promise!” said Sun, “Now give us the bag!”
She grabbed it from her Father’s wrinkled hands. Moon raced up to her and together they pulled the string apart. They gasped.
Millions of stars of all sizes glittered inside the bag. The twins screamed with joy, which drew their siblings to the commotion. Sun and Moon threw stars out to them and everyone shared the gift that Father Universe gave to them.
Sun threw her portion of stars up and let them fall in her hair. She giggled as she tossed them up again and again. Moon strung her stars together and wore them in chains around her neck, parading around like royalty. Father Universe was glad that his gift made everyone happy.
However, while the other brothers and sisters were content with their gift, Sun and Moon began to grow bored. Sun wanted more stars so that she could swim in them – Moon wanted more star-jewelry. They forgot all about their promise and stole stars from their siblings until none was left for the others. Father Universe became angry when he noticed the sadness of the other children, and he confronted the twins.
“You have broken your promise!” He boomed, his face was red with rage, “I looked past your faults, but now I see you are only selfish thieves. You must be punished!”
The twins begged and made new promises but it did not sway their Father.
“You must learn humility, and it can only be learned by servitude. You will care for your sister, Earth for all eternity. She is a hard worker but needs help. Sun, you will give up your light to Earth to make her come to life. Moon, you will give up your beauty to Earth. You will not work together, but alone. This is my will.”
With nothing left to do or say, Sun and Moon accepted their punishment. Sun would work during what humans call ‘day’, and moon would work during ‘night’. They worked as hard as they could, but Father Universe never asked them to come back. They thought of their lost stars at every moment. And every so often, Sun and Moon would meet in what we humans call an eclipse, and they mourned over the stars they could no longer reach.
This is an excerpt from my sister Chelsea's novel-in-progress. Enjoy.
Emmanuel & Eloise
Emmanuel had been staring at the ceiling for at least an hour now, pondering life in a way that many boys his age did not. Most eleven year olds would lie in their beds thinking about their baseball or football games the next day, or girls that smile at them, or that one level on that video game that they just couldn’t beat. Not Emmanuel. When he didn’t want to think of his current situation, he always thought of the past. And since the past was not an occasion to remember, he usually reverted back to the present. It was a vicious cycle. Already, the young boy was thinking like an adult, which was a tragedy indeed.
Tonight his mind was on Eloise. Well, his mind was always on Eloise, wondering if she had enough to eat, if she was warm, if she was happy here. But now his twin sister had gone missing, right from under his wing, and it disturbed him deeply.
“Hi Manny!”
He turned his head and found a little boy standing by his bedside. That was another thing that made him different: his dead foster brother sometimes visited him at night.
“Hey BoBo,” Emmanuel sighed. The kid’s horrifying real name was Beauregard, so everyone just called him BoBo. They used to call him BoBo, anyway. Running his fingers through his black curls, Emmanuel straightened up a little to face the five-year-old spirit boy.
“You look tired!” the spirit piped up.
“That’s ‘cause I am tired,” he yawned to prove the point, “you guessed it.”
He giggled lightly. That giggle used to annoy Emmanuel…but now he missed it. Kind of. “Well I never feel tired!” the spirit said, “I can play all day and night. Whatcha think about that?”
Emmanuel gave him a smile, trying to make his eyes abandon the sadness. “You’re a spirit BoBo, you can do whatever you want.”
“Even scare people? That’s what they always do in the movies.”
“Yeah, you can do that.”
BoBo scrunched his face and began to growl. He pounced at the bed but ended up running straight through. Emmanuel jumped. The hairs on the back of neck stood on end as the cold energy passed through him. The closest way he could describe the sensation was chilled, invasive static. Even after all this time, he had not grown used to it
.
Bobo forgot to stop running and melted into the wall, but soon enough he was back.
“Did I scare you?”
“I’m so scared I’m shivering!” Which was partially true – Emmanuel’s body had broken out into goose bumps. Satisfied, BoBo smiled. However, the smile quickly turned into a frown as he remembered something.
“I was going to play with Eloise too but I couldn’t find her.”
Emmanuel felt his heart beat against his ribcage. Instantly his mouth felt dry and it was hard to swallow. “I can’t find her either, BoBo.”
“Oh,” he said, “Then she’s playing hide and seek?”
“Yeah,” Emmanuel said absently, “Hide and seek...”
“Make sure you find her, okay? But I think I’m going to go now.”
“I will try…goodbye!” He attempted to sound chipper as BoBo faded away, back to whatever realm spirits reside.
*****
These poems are written by a dear friend of mine, Amber Zink.
The cheesiest poem ever:]
It's kind of sad, but sadly true:
I have too much time on my hands,
and absolutely nothing to do.
Nothing around can keep my busy,
so I hide under my covers and think of you.
.
I usually waste hours on sloppy collages,
or writing cliche poetry.
I'll close my eyes and watch mental montages,
biting my sweater sleeve to hide my smile.
.
My imagination is a little passed oridinary.
so when you're painted in my mind,
the detail is quite extraoridinary.
Your blue eyes are nothing like they are in person,
but you'd say that's quite the contrary.
.
We don't do much, but that's okay.
"As long as we're together!"
I'd always say.
You give me that lovey-dovey feeling,
that's why I always want to stay.
This poem's really cheesy,
but I'm in a cheesy mood today.
.
I look at the clock and it's half passed four,
I've been so busy doing nothing that I've forgotten to sleep.
The house is silent as I close the door.
Your image lingers behind my eyelids,
your voice fades into a groggy snore.
I spent all of my time in my head,
constructing thoughts to the ceiling from the floor.
Now I can dream,
I don't have time to waste anymore!
I have too much time on my hands,
and absolutely nothing to do.
Nothing around can keep my busy,
so I hide under my covers and think of you.
.
I usually waste hours on sloppy collages,
or writing cliche poetry.
I'll close my eyes and watch mental montages,
biting my sweater sleeve to hide my smile.
.
My imagination is a little passed oridinary.
so when you're painted in my mind,
the detail is quite extraoridinary.
Your blue eyes are nothing like they are in person,
but you'd say that's quite the contrary.
.
We don't do much, but that's okay.
"As long as we're together!"
I'd always say.
You give me that lovey-dovey feeling,
that's why I always want to stay.
This poem's really cheesy,
but I'm in a cheesy mood today.
.
I look at the clock and it's half passed four,
I've been so busy doing nothing that I've forgotten to sleep.
The house is silent as I close the door.
Your image lingers behind my eyelids,
your voice fades into a groggy snore.
I spent all of my time in my head,
constructing thoughts to the ceiling from the floor.
Now I can dream,
I don't have time to waste anymore!
Makeup and Lies
I must admit, I am quite the artist.
Every day I paint a mask of concentration and beauty on my adolescent face,
hiding my true identity with brilliant colors and other things taken for granted.
But I also must confess: I grow tired and bored of the same old joy.
I can't bring myself to paint right,
my work sloppy and slanted.
Hints of surrender and unsatisfaction are laced into the patterns and designs that cover my flaws.
Every morning I wake up next to the same thing; nothing.
I spend my day staring into a mirror,
hoping,
praying,
believing what was in front of me could change for the better.
Well, temporary perfection has a price.
Every eye laid on me is left with a memory of what beauty should be,
but when they're lured into believing my flawlessness,
they're disappointed to find a cowering, unknowing girl hiding,
despising her exsistence.
Makeup and lies make myself seem presentable,
but when you tear away my disquise..
I feel real.
But, I'm scared.
You have a look in your eye like you're going to leave me,
but I beg you to stay.
No one has ever made me feel beautiful.
You take my hand and caress my face.
Kissing my imperfections, you're making my blood race.
Soon enough my art is flown all over the place.
Now I am nude,
without my masterpieces to lure you in.
You give me a look of pure honesty,
and ask me how I feel.
I stutter,
cold and exposed.
I admit that you make my heart flutter,
and I feel beautiful
In fact,
I am beautiful.
You've lifted my spirits,
and have givin me hope.
With an eager expression you sigh,
and tell me your job is done.
Before I could argue,
you're gone.
and I am naked,
alone.
But I won't cry.
I dare not damage my beauty.
The only thing that troubles me,
is that I didn't thank you.
