August 11th, 3014
The sun shone brightly over the sandy expanse of the beach, its warmth embracing three young siblings as they raced across the shore. Helios, at twelve years old, sprinted ahead with a mischievous grin on his face. A ten-year-old Selene pursued him with determination, her feet kicking up small plumes of sand. Trailing behind them both was little Itus, barely two years old, his chubby legs carrying him as fast as they could.
"Your days are numbered, Helios!" Selene shouted, her voice carried by the sea breeze. "You'll soon feel our terror!"
Helios laughed, glancing back at his siblings. "You both have to catch me first!"
As he looked over his shoulder, Helios spotted tiny Itus far in the distance. With a smirk, he called out, "And from the looks of it, Itus won't ever catch me."
"That's where you're wrong!" Selene retorted. With a sudden burst of energy, she leaped forward, her arms outstretched. For a moment, it seemed she would miss, but her fingers managed to grasp the back of Helios's shirt. She dragged him down onto the sand, using all her weight to keep him pinned.
"Get off me!" Helios protested, struggling against his sister's grip.
Selene called out to her youngest brother, "Itus, now! Attack him!"
Little Itus, hearing his sister's call, tried to run faster. His eagerness, however, got the better of him. In his haste, he tripped and fell face-first into the sand. Slowly, he pushed himself up, but made no move to continue forward.
"Itus! Please hurry!" Selene pleaded. "I can't hold him any longer!"
Taking advantage of his sister's distraction, Helios managed to push Selene off and scramble to his feet. "Freedom!" he cried triumphantly, taking off once more.
Selene quickly stood up, ready to resume the chase. But as she turned, she saw Itus sitting on the ground, clutching his knee. Tears were forming in his eyes. Without hesitation, she ran to her little brother's side.
"What's wrong, Itus?" she asked gently, kneeling beside him.
Itus didn't speak but pointed to his knee. Selene leaned in closer, examining the tiny scrape on his skin.
"What, this?" she asked softly.
Itus nodded, his lips quivering as he began to cry in earnest.
Selene wrapped her arms around her little brother, her voice soothing. "Hey, it's okay. This will heal in no time at all. It's nothing to get upset over."
As she comforted Itus, Helios's voice rang out. He approached them, impatience on his face. "Guys! We were in the middle of playing a game. What are you doing?"
"Itus got hurt," Selene explained, still holding her little brother.
Helios peered down at Itus, skepticism clear in his voice. "Where? He seems fine to me."
"Here!" Itus exclaimed, pointing again to his knee.
Helios bent down to take a closer look. "That's nothing! I can barely see anything."
"But it hurts!" Itus protested, his lower lip jutting out.
Helios scoffed, "Hurts?! You know what really hurts? Getting attacked by a crazed lunatic of a sister who sits on you with her fat body."
Selene's eyes flashed with indignation. She let go of Itus and used all her strength to push Helios into the sand. "Fat body?!" she yelled. "Don't insult me just because you got beat up by someone smaller than you!"
"Please!" Helios retorted, brushing sand from his clothes. "You didn't beat me up! I got away after like 10 seconds! And—"
"You did not!" Selene interrupted.
As the two older siblings continued their heated argument, a sound cut through their bickering. They turned to see Itus, no longer crying, but laughing at their antics.
"Oh, you think this is funny!" Helios exclaimed. He playfully attacked Itus, pushing him gently onto the ground and tickling him. Itus's laughter grew louder as he squirmed, trying to escape his brother's tickling fingers.
"Hey, get off him!" Selene protested, though there was no real anger in her voice. She grabbed Helios, attempting to pull him away from Itus.
After a few moments of playful struggle, Helios relented. "You know he was laughing at you, too," he pointed out to Selene.
"Yeah," Selene admitted with a small smile, "but it got him to stop crying."
Helios rolled his eyes and flopped down onto the sand in front of his siblings, facking boredom. Selene turned her attention back to Itus, her voice soft with concern. "Are you feeling better?"
Itus nodded, his earlier tears forgotten.
"What did you even trip on?" Selene asked, curious about what had caused her little brother's fall.
Itus pointed to a spot just behind Selene. She turned, her eyes scanning the ground. As she brushed her hand against the sand, she felt something rough beneath her fingers. Grasping the object, she pulled it out to reveal a small starfish.
"The starfish?" Selene asked, holding it up.
Itus nodded again, his face scrunching up as he declared, "Mean!"
Selene couldn't help but smile at her brother's indignation. "It's not mean," she explained gently. "The starfish didn't know you were there."
Seeing that Itus remained unconvinced, Selene had an idea. She took Itus's hand and placed the starfish in his palm, then guided his other hand to feel its rough surface.
"See! He's friendly, not mean," Selene said. "And look, he's little like you."
Itus's eyes widened with wonder. "Like me?" he asked.
"Yeah!" Selene nodded enthusiastically. "He's just a little star."
Itus pointed to himself, his voice filled with excitement. "Little star, too?"
"Exactly!" Selene beamed. "You're both little stars."
Helios, who had been listening to the exchange, sat up and looked at his siblings with amusement. "How exactly is Itus a little star?" he asked, his tone teasing.
Selene, caught off guard, stammered, "Because he's cute and tiny, and he's sharp as a whip. And um..."
As Helios burst into laughter, Selene felt her cheeks grow warm. "Shut up!" she protested, which only made Helios laugh harder.
Turning back to Itus, Selene's voice softened. "Don't listen to him, okay? You're my little star because you shine brighter than anyone I know. And your name will finally match ours."
"How so?" Helios asked, his laughter subsiding.
Selene gave Helios an exasperated look before pointing to each of them in turn. "Sun, moon, and star," she explained.
Itus's face lit up with a wide smile, causing Selene to grin triumphantly. "See, Itus agrees."
"Don't you mean little star?" Helios quipped, unable to resist one last tease.
Selene's eyes sparkled with affection for both her brothers. "I knew you would get it," she said. "Sun, moon, and star! Siblings for life."
With a playful growl, Selene suddenly grabbed Itus and launched them both at Helios. The three siblings tumbled together in the sand, their laughter ringing out across the beach. Helios pretended to be crushed under the weight of his younger siblings before joining in their amusement.
As the sun began to dip towards the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant hues of orange and pink, the three children lay side by side on the cooling sand. Their earlier game and squabbles were forgotten, replaced by a comfortable silence and the gentle sound of waves lapping at the shore. In that moment, under the vast expanse of the darkening sky, they were indeed sun, moon, and stars – a family constellation, bound together by love.
Related Posts
