From Solar Girl and Lunar Boy – Stories
by Gabriel Constans
Solar Girl and Lunar Boy
“Good night,” their Mom said, as she turned on the night light by the closet.
“Sweet dreams,” said father, as he switched off the lamp and blew them both kisses.
“Good night,” Angelina replied.
“Good night,” Corey whispered, pulling the covers up around his neck.
The bedroom door had been closed but a few minutes when Corey heard something in the corner. “Haaafffeeerrrahhh,” it wheezed, then “Hoooeeerrrahhh.”
He turned towards his sister’s bed, but couldn’t see her under the covers.
“Angelina . . . Angelina . . .,” he whispered, not wanting the monster or whatever it was, to hear him. There was no reply.
The breathing grew louder and sounded mad. “Haaafffeeerrrahhh . . . Hoooeeerrrahhh!”
“Mom . . . Mom! Help!” he yelled.
“What is it Honey?” his mother asked, coming into the room.
Still holding the covers tightly around his neck, his eyes wide with fright, Corey nodded towards the corner of the room. “Over there,” he said, “it’s over there!”
“There’s nothing,” his mom said. “Look.” She walked to the corner, returned and kneeled by his side. “Go back to sleep Hon. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” She kissed him on the forehead and left.
He wanted to believe her; he really did, but as soon as the door closed it started again, only louder. “Haaafffeeerrrahhh . . . Hoooeeerrrahhh!”
Corey almost stopped breathing. Before squeezing his eyes shut, he saw a large swirling shadow in the corner. It was spinning like a top and was bigger than a giant bear. “Haaafffeeerrrahhh . . . Hoooeeerrrahhh!” it hissed. It didn’t have eyes, but he knew it was looking right at him.
“Dad . . . Dad! Help!” he screamed and started to cry.
“What is it son?” his father said, opening the door and turning on the light.
“There . . . over there,” he pointed, “in the corner!”
“I don’t see anything,” his father replied. “You must have been dreaming.”
“No,” he said. “It breathes loud; really loud!”
“Sometimes the night can be scary,” his father said, stroking his son’s forehead, “but there’s nothing there, it’s just your imagination.”
“It’s . . . it’s not my . . . my manation,” he said, shaking his head side to side. “It’s real.”
“Dreams can seem very real,” father said. “Look at your sister, she’s sound asleep. If there was something loud it would have woken her, don’t you think?”
Corey glanced at his sister’s bed, but only saw her covers. “But . . . but she’s seven,” he said. “She’s not scared of anything.”
“She can get just as scared as you,” father grinned. “If there was something in this room, she’d know it.”
“But . . . but I heard it,” Corey said, “I even saw it!”
“Now now,” father said, tucking in the covers around Corey’s neck. “Go back to sleep. Everything will be OK.”
“Haaafffeeerrrahhh . . . Hoooeeerrrahhh!” the monster moaned, not long after father had left the room and closed the door. “Your time . . . mmmh . . . has come!” it belched, swirling closer to the foot of Corey’s bed, blocking out any glow from the night light.
Corey’s mouth opened without a sound.
“No it hasn’t!” he heard someone yell. “YOUR time has come!”
He turned his head and saw his sister, in her pajamas, standing on her bed with her arms stretched towards the ceiling. A bright light glowed from her chest. As her arms dropped, the light moved from her body and became a ball of energy between her hands. “It’s YOUR time,” she said, “to stop scaring my brother. LEAVE US! NOW!” she commanded, as her hands guided the ball of light towards the shrinking shadow.
“It’s gone!” Corey shouted. “It’s gone! How did you do that?” The ball of light hovered, vibrating in the same corner where the monster had been.
“It’s easy,” his sister replied, sitting on the side of the bed.
“Easy?”
“Yeah, easy,” Angelina said, “when you’re Solar Girl.”
“Solar Girl?” Corey said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Who is Solar Girl?”
“I am,” she replied.
“I wish I could do that.”
“You can,” she said.
“No I can’t,” Corey replied. “I’m only four.”
“But don’t you know who you are?” Angelina asked.
“What?”
“You’re Lunar Boy.”
Corey’s mouth dropped open. “I’m who?”
“Lunar Boy.”
“Who is Lunar Boy?”
“You are. You’ve always been Lunar Boy; you just forgot.”
“But I can’t do that,” he said pointing at the floating light in the corner.
“Yes you can,” she said, “You just need to find your own inner light.”
“How?”
“I’ll show you how I do it,” she said, standing and taking his hand. “Here,” she said, putting her hand over her heart. “It comes from here. It’s always here, but sometimes we are too scared to remember.
Corey took his hand and placed it on his chest. “Now what?”
“Close your eyes breathe slowly and say, “Like the sun.”
“Like the sun,” he repeated.
“I am full of light.”
“I am full of light.”
“I shine inside and out.”
“I shine inside and out.”
“I am energy.”
“I am energy.”
“I am a star.”
“I am a star.”
“I will shine forever.”
“I will shine forever.”
The next night, after their mother and father had turned on the night light, shut off the lamp and closed the door, Corey and Angelina heard and saw the shadow, even bigger than before, come through the closet doors towards their beds.
“Haaafffeeerrrahhh . . . Hoooeeerrrahhh!” it gurgled.
“It sounds like water from the bath when it goes down the drain,” Angelina said, but Corey was too frightened to laugh.
“Angelina,” he said, “I mean Solar Girl . . . do something!”
“No,” she said, “it’s time for Lunar Boy.”
“I can’t,” Corey said. “It’s too big and scary.”
“Yes you can,” she said. “Just do it. Don’t think about it, do it.”
Corey quickly climbed on top of his bed. The swirling shadow monster was almost upon him. His body was shaking, but he closed his eyes, put his hand on his chest and took a slow breath. He heard his sister say, “Like the sun.”
“Like the sun,” he repeated and continued.
“I am full of light.”
“I shine inside and out.”
“I am energy.”
“I am a star.”
“I will shine forever.”
His toes and fingers prickled with heat, as light flowed from the center of his body, shooting out through his hands. He opened his eyes. His arms were raised and his palms turned outward. The light was so brilliant he could barely see.
“You did it!” he heard Angelina shout. “You did it Lunar Boy! It’s gone!”
“I did,” he said. “I really did!”
“Now it’s for real,” Angelina grinned.
“What’s real?” asked Corey.
“You’re a real member.”
“Member of what?”
“Of the Inner Light Club.”
“I am?”
“Yes, forever and ever.”
When they were tucked into bed the next night and their mother went to turn on the night light, Corey said, “Mom, that’s OK.”
“What?” she said, turning the light on as usual.
“You can turn it off,” he said. “We don’t need it anymore.”
“Are you sure Hon?”
“Yeah,” he said, turning towards his sister and smiling.
“OK,” their mother said.
Just before she turned out the lamp and closed the door, Solar Girl winked at her little brother, Lunar Boy and they closed their eyes in the dark for a good night’s sleep, knowing they were always safe with the Inner Light Club.
Read more children’s stories in Solar Girl and Lunar Boy.