This is a story I wrote back in 2009 on another blog. I do love it, so I thought I would post this up here!
Her skin was pale against the dark red of the dirt. The black sky jealously hid the blood red moon. The girl was sitting beneath a tree with equally red leaves. She was reading the story, the myth, of why everything was stained red like blood on white sheets.
There was heavy debate as to why this was so, but the story went as such:
A long time ago (as most stories start) the earth was all colours. The ground was shaded brown, many beautiful browns. Sometimes it was almost black with how rich the soil was. Leaves on everything were green, depending on the plant of course. Flowers came in all bright colours! What a gorgeous world it was! The Sun was bright and shining yellow, making the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises. The Moon, why She shone silver in the dark sky! Her children, the Stars, sparked everywhere, though not as bright as her. People danced and played on green grasses, tossed white snowballs at each other. What fun times they had!
But not all was well, it seemed. There were men that wished the world was quite different. While they loved the Sun and warmth it gave, they were not so fond of the Moon. One day, one of these men looked up at the Sun.
"O great, shining Sun!" He called out. "Why must we give you up only to see the harsh, cold gaze of the Moon? She is not as bright, nor as warm as you! Why must this be so?"
The Sun, who had never thought of why He danced around the world with the Moon, pondered for a bit. "Well," he said after a thoughtful moment, "we do this for fear that you may get bored of us after too long! We do not wish to be unloved and tossed out. Besides, are you not asleep when my Sister peaks her head up over the horizon?"
The man looked at the ground a moment. "That we are, but does that make what I'm saying any less true?"
"It does not!" The Sun cried out. "But you make it seem as though I should be jealous of Her!"
"But you should, O great Sun! For I fear that there are those that would rather see Her than you in the sky for all to see!"
The Sun scoffed at the accusation of the people. "We shall see about that!" He said. "I will have to have a great, long talk with my Sister!"
And He was off. The man, quite pleased with himself, went back to his friends. He told the story as best he could, leaving out the part where he lead the Sun on to believe there were more that loved the Moon more than Him. That night, the sky was much darker than normal. The Sun had kidnapped his Sister away from everyone to have the talk with Her. Days went by, and then weeks when the sky was black. Only the Stars shone and watched over the people, but They seemed nervous. One day, the man went out and called out to Them.
"O bright, darling Stars! It has been so many days without your Mother or her Brother! Have you any news?"
Some of the Stars flickered and hid behind clouds. One answered and a few more joined in. "O dear man, such news as we have should not be heard by your ears alone! Please, gather more and we shall tell you what we know!"
"Oh yes yes!" Some other Stars called out to the man. "Please, we must tell everyone!"
The man nodded thanks at them and ran off. "Lo! what have I done!" He mumbled to himself as he ran off to gather all the other people. Once they were all assembled under the sky, they looked up to the Stars. Again, he called out to them. "O gentle, kind, darling Stars, what news have you about the Sun and Moon?"
Seeing all the people gathered, They watched over them as They told the story. "O poor man! Lo! the Sun came and took our Mother away before she rose to see all your gentle, sleeping faces! So jealous was He of Her they ran off deeper into the sky! Mother said She would be back soon with her dear Brother, but lo! They have not come back!" The Stars cried, Their tears raining down on the people.
Shocked, all the people went home and hoped the Sun and Moon would be back soon. It was so very cold without either of Them.
Not but a week later, the Moon was back in Her night sky. Oh how happy everyone was! Even the Sun returned from the long trip, though both seemed tired and spiteful of the other. They seemed fond of hiding each other every so often, which confused the people. Until that day...
It was called the Day of Red Skies, for that was the only colour anyone saw. Those who dared to leave the house were covered in blood. Those who dared look at the sky saw the Siblings attacking each other! The battle went on for a generation before something fell out of the sky onto the blood-stained earth. It was a man! His blonde hair was streaked with blood and His body was battered. The Moon was still in the sky, but She was red.
"O poor man! What is your name? Long has it been since we have seen one such as yourself!" A woman said to Him.
"Dear woman... I am the Sun! My Sister has cast me out of the sky and I must live here as a man on the earth, such as it is. The sky will always be dark and the earth stained with my blood for I was not as mighty as Her. Oh how I wish I had not been jealous of my Sister's beauty!" The Sun cried.
The people gathered around Him and held Him as He wept.
The girl looked up from her story, seeing a blonde man standing before her. His skin looked as though it was kissed by the Sun Himself. He held His hand out to her. Gently taking it, she felt warm inside as he led her away. Her book, still beneath the red tree, was found not but an hour later by her family. They never found her, nor the blonde haired man.
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