The Sun The Moon and All the Stars

1

"It was here, in this very spot that the goddess took her life, escaping the King's wrath and forever being imprisoned in the sky. Legend has it that on the anniversary of her death, the moon goddess falls from the sky, forever looking for her soulmate and punishing two mortals to the same fate. We better get moving on to the next checkpoint if we want to make it in time for the video at the end of the tour!" Said the tour guide a little too enthusiastically. I grab my little sister, Kayla's hand and started walking making sure to keep up with Cara.

"Do you think its real? " Cara's little cousin Mikey, who was just a few years younger than us, asked with a cocky eyebrow raised. I ran the story through her head over and over, knowing it was fake but still an eerie story altogether.

"There's no way! We all know that demigods or moon goddesses don't exist. Think about it, if she was a goddess, why didn't she stop her father from sending the demigod to the underworld?" Cara argued while playing on her phone.

I let my mind flutter elsewhere for the rest of the tour. I thought about all the stupid stories my mother told me as a child. Including the story of the Moon Goddesses curse over the land.  I remember when mom would come home late. Somehow she would always read me a bedtime story, even if it was made up on the spot and didn't really make sense. Mom would always make time for us.

"Leila? You okay, you look kinda pale?" Cara asked with her caramel eyes pleading into my own. I've always envied Cara's eyes, they were warm and inviting compared to my grey blue ones that always seemed cold and unkind.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about mom." I force a smile. I made sure her sister was captivated in the next story before continuing. "She's been gone for so long, I just miss her." Professor Aldrin, my mom, has been the talk of the town. Last summer she had been offered an all expense paid trip to study in Ancient Greece for two years. She had left the week before school started.

"I know, if you want you can spend the night at my house." Cara added gently. "No, its my turn to cook tonight and if cut out one more time my dad will kill me. Thanks though."

I grimace. Its not that I don't like my dad, he's just a little over bearing at times. He's always lecturing me and Kayla over small things. Sometimes, I feel like living by myself would be easier, but he'd way too overbearing to let that slide.

We were all about to move on to the next checkpoint when Mikey turned around and started going on and on about the legend and how the king had a right to banish the demigod. This started an argument between Cara and him. I let my mind drift off once again on the thought of the moon goddess' curse.

"Leila! Can we go out for ice cream after this?" Kayla asked quietly interrupting my thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah I guess. Maybe Cara and Mikey want to come?" I gave Cara a look. She flashed a smile at me in return.

"Of course! Mikey, you want some ice cream?" She replied enthusiastically. She winked at me as the kids went ahead.

We headed to the local ice cream parlor and gathered around the menu. I couldn't choose between the double chocolate with cookie dough or the mocha chocolate coffee with caramel drizzle. Cara had been arguing with the waiter for ten minutes, trying to convince him that just because its an ice cream parlor, it shouldn't make frozen yogurt any more expensive than it is at a fro-yo place. She was losing the argument terribly.

"8.95 is way too much to pay for a cup of frozen yogurt! I can go into town and get twice this much for the same price!" Cara gripped once she had given up and just paid the 8.95. I chuckle and wiped my little sisters face.
Kayla giggled and started coloring again.