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Athena had woken up early, as she always did. Her parents didn't exactly appreciate her early mornings, so she usually stayed in her room until 8 a.m. before deciding that was enough. Today, though, was different. She cracked her eyes open at exactly 6 a.m., like clockwork, before sitting up straight and rubbing her eyes. Her contact lenses shifted in her eyes, making them sting and her vision blur for a moment before they settled back into place.
She yawned and stretched, before deciding that maybe she should finish wrapping the presents she'd bought for the family. But as she reached for the pile of wrapping paper at the foot of her bed, her gaze drifted toward the window. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. What was that? A flurry of white specks was falling slowly from the sky, and the entire neighborhood seemed to be blanketed in thick, powdery white. Snow? Athena stared in awe, unsure whether her eyes were playing tricks on her.
Quickly, she grabbed her phone from the bedside table, wincing at the twenty-eight percent charge. Did she forget to plug it in last night? Ugh, that was embarrassing. Whatever, she pulled up the weather app and scrolled through. December 21st... from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. - Snow?! Her core skipped a beat. Snow! She'd only ever read about it in science books. Her excitement quickly turned into action.
She jumped out of bed, her mind already racing with anticipation. She couldn't wait a second longer. Eclipto had to see this!
Rushing out of her room, Athena hurried down the long hall toward her little brother's room. She reached his door and gently knocked, but then decided it was too important to wait. She pushed it open.
"Eclipto, wake up!" she whispered loudly, shaking his tiny shoulder gently.
The three-year-old stirred, his soft blue eyes fluttering open slowly. He yawned, rubbing his chubby little hands over his face in an attempt to wake up. "'Theia?" he mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep. Despite being a young moon he learned to talk quite early.
"Come on, you've got to see something amazing!" Athena urged, excitement in her voice. Without giving him much of a chance to protest, she scooped him up in her arms, despite his sleepy wiggles. He let out a halfhearted protest.
"Wait, what? Amazing?" Eclipto's voice was still groggy but full of curiosity as he peeked up at his older sister. "What?"
"Snow!" Athena's eyes were wide, practically sparkling. "You've got to see it! It's falling right now! Snow!"
Eclipto's eyes widened at the mention of snow, his tiredness forgotten for a moment as he squirmed in her arms. "Snow? Is it... like.... Ice?"
Athena laughed softly, cradling him to her chest. "Sort of! But it's softer."
Eclipto, now fully awake, smiled up at her, his white eyes glowing with wonder. "Les go!" he said excitedly, his tiny hands clinging to her.
Athena, grinning at his infectious energy, walked toward their parents' room, where Europa and Ganymede were still fast asleep. It was still early, and she knew they'd be grumpy about being woken up, but she didn't care. This was something special.
