Sunrise, Sunset.
The youngest daughter
"Astrid?" Xanda asked from a lower branch on the large oak of which we both sat. "Why does the sun set all the time? It's so preddy but I still don't like it."
"Pretty, Xanda. And sorry but, I don't know why the sun sets." I smiled down at my little brother. He was adorable, trying to say words he couldn't pronounce.
"Really? But mummy said that you know a lot about telling stories. Tell me one, oh please, tell me one." He bumped up and down on the branch. I feared that the branch might snap off.
I thought hard about the details of my new sunset story. Berrying my head in fantasy books had some uses when it came to the entertainment of my siblings. "Astrid!" Xanda pleaded.
"Okay then. There was once two beautiful light gods, the sun and the moon. The two of them were in love. But moon was laughed at and told how she did not deserve the sun's affection, for she did not shine as bright. There was another god, the earth, who loved the moon without a shadow of a doubt. Oh, how he loathed the sun. So he casted a spell on the two lovers, tearing them apart forever, so that the sun could forever see the moon, but he could never speak to or touch her again. What the earth didn't know, was that now he too could no longer touch or speak to the moon again." I sighed while my brother pretended to gag.
"Some say that the only reason why the sun sets, is because he wants to see his lover shine for all she's worth. Because she is no longer laughed at, and is the brightest thing in the night sky."
I stared first at the on going rows of meadows and rolling hills, nod then to the golden sun setting behind them as it painted the sky a luscious magenta. I hoped to see the day when my own ray of sunshine would come and whisk me away from this place. From the harshness of poverty, the responsibility of three younger siblings and two older ones. And the danger that lied beyond all the boundaries that were set just so I only wouldn't venture beyond them. My own prince. Even if he was a simple farm boy poorer then I and wore rags, who could give me nothing but his heart, mind and spirit. If he was as mine as I were his, so be it.
Mother and father worried far too much for my safety. No not the twins, or Xanda, or Mary-Anne or Brian, just me. With my head so far up in the clouds that not even a giants bean stalk could reach me. And that was how I wanted it to be.
The sound of bells rang in my ears and Xanda jumped from the low branch to the grass below. "Tea time!" He called repeatedly as he stumbled away.
I smiled as I swung from my legs, my chestnut hair flowing below me in the the wind. I dropped onto the ground laughing. A perfect landing. The bushes around me rustled. Probably deer or something, I thought, shrugging off the idea. But then a huge mass of white fur emerged from the shrubbery. Before I could catch a glimpse I had decided that it was definitely not a deer and ran for it, not even thinking of looking back.
"Pretty, Xanda. And sorry but, I don't know why the sun sets." I smiled down at my little brother. He was adorable, trying to say words he couldn't pronounce.
"Really? But mummy said that you know a lot about telling stories. Tell me one, oh please, tell me one." He bumped up and down on the branch. I feared that the branch might snap off.
I thought hard about the details of my new sunset story. Berrying my head in fantasy books had some uses when it came to the entertainment of my siblings. "Astrid!" Xanda pleaded.
"Okay then. There was once two beautiful light gods, the sun and the moon. The two of them were in love. But moon was laughed at and told how she did not deserve the sun's affection, for she did not shine as bright. There was another god, the earth, who loved the moon without a shadow of a doubt. Oh, how he loathed the sun. So he casted a spell on the two lovers, tearing them apart forever, so that the sun could forever see the moon, but he could never speak to or touch her again. What the earth didn't know, was that now he too could no longer touch or speak to the moon again." I sighed while my brother pretended to gag.
"Some say that the only reason why the sun sets, is because he wants to see his lover shine for all she's worth. Because she is no longer laughed at, and is the brightest thing in the night sky."
I stared first at the on going rows of meadows and rolling hills, nod then to the golden sun setting behind them as it painted the sky a luscious magenta. I hoped to see the day when my own ray of sunshine would come and whisk me away from this place. From the harshness of poverty, the responsibility of three younger siblings and two older ones. And the danger that lied beyond all the boundaries that were set just so I only wouldn't venture beyond them. My own prince. Even if he was a simple farm boy poorer then I and wore rags, who could give me nothing but his heart, mind and spirit. If he was as mine as I were his, so be it.
Mother and father worried far too much for my safety. No not the twins, or Xanda, or Mary-Anne or Brian, just me. With my head so far up in the clouds that not even a giants bean stalk could reach me. And that was how I wanted it to be.
The sound of bells rang in my ears and Xanda jumped from the low branch to the grass below. "Tea time!" He called repeatedly as he stumbled away.
I smiled as I swung from my legs, my chestnut hair flowing below me in the the wind. I dropped onto the ground laughing. A perfect landing. The bushes around me rustled. Probably deer or something, I thought, shrugging off the idea. But then a huge mass of white fur emerged from the shrubbery. Before I could catch a glimpse I had decided that it was definitely not a deer and ran for it, not even thinking of looking back.