Many Years Ago

Many years ago, child,
This place was very different.
By the oak trees where you
Love to play,
There was a gallows.
And British ships in the harbor.
English flags flashing.


Many years ago, child,
This place was very different.
The townspeople pushed around like
Livestock.
Bayonets warning you
Not to misbehave.

Many years ago, child,

This place was very different.

Men clad in red uniforms.

Living in our house.

In Mother and Father's bed,

Forcing us to sleep

On the floor.

Many years ago, child,

This place was very different.

Interview with Athena Smith - Draft 1

There once was a Chinese priest who every other evening would invite a famous person from all around the world for an interview and celebration. One particularly special evening he invited the beautiful and talented American ballerina Athena Smith. It was a warm spring evening, a full moon was raising slowly behind the slow flowing river, the blossom of the flowers scented the air, and the most delicious dinner was cooking slowly in the kitchen, including the priest's favorite dessert, pumpkin pudding.

Athena had dressed her best. A silver mascara, a red and white dress that was protected by a leopard-skin scarf, and high heels. However, on her way to the temple where the priest lived, she slipped on a banana peel and fell face down into a muddy puddle -her fancy dress all ruined.

The Sun vs. The Moon

As you know, the sun and the moon are two of the most powerful stars in our galaxy. But they both think that they are better than the other. This is what John used to think about just before falling asleep. In school all John learned was that the sun and the moon control our daily schedule. When the moon comes up you go to sleep, when the sun comes up you wake up. But John would not have any of that. In his world, the sun and the moon were little tiny marbles that he, the giant, kept in his pocket.

But the irony was that the sun and the moon really were arguing. They were arguing then and they always have been and John believed that they always would be. So, he kept them apart - one in his left pocket, the other in his right pocket.

However, the sun and the moon were only tiny marbles in imagination, but in real life they were enormous galactic elements. But one evening,when John was emptying his pockets, he could not find the moon marble!

He searched the entire house but could not find it anywhere. Worse - he found that he lost the sun marble too! It was already dark and cold outside, and light rain drizzling. There was no way he could go to the playground and find them tonight!

That night was a long and hard on. He woke five times and all in the same hour. "Will the sun rise tomorrow?", he wondered in panic. Because it was a cloudy night, the moon was not out, and John was sure that the end of the world has arrived and that tomorrow there will not be day light as always.

However the sun did rise this morning but it was raining - although - there were no clouds. "How strange" John thought. His Mom and Dad and big sister greeted him at the kitchen table, but he was too excited to eat his breakfast. That was strange because his mom and dad made cornmeal toast which he loved and would not ignore, but all he could think was that there was something going on in space.

On his way to school (today they took bus number 11, which is walking - he particularly detested bus 11) his mind was wondering off and he was not paying attention to his sister's nagging and his father's explanations about the second world war, which was a topic he was generally interested in, but not today.

At school even the distraction of the kids that often tried to bug him into vandalizing the teachers equipment could not bother him. When he was called on to answer a question (mind you he was not listening) he did not know the answer and the teacher lectured him. All the while it was pouring rain outside, but, the sun was shining and there were NO clouds anywhere!!!

However, it was clear that John was the only person to notice something was wrong. At lunch he could not eat. All he could do was to look outside. Susan Whitherspoon, the class beauty sat next to him at lunch and glanced at him curiously. Once again, even her lustrous golden locks and her sky-blue eyes could not distract him. Finally, she scribbled a note and shoved it in his lunchbox before leaving him alone.

Finally it was time to go home. The bad weather stopped halfway on his way home but the sun was still shining. "What does this mean?" he wondered as he pushed the gate to their house. His older sister Dedra was waiting for him at the front steps, her arms crossed and her face scowling because he was late. "John Dickson, it's already dinner time! What were you doing?!"

John liked Dedra, but today his mind was off and he answered rather rudely "It's none of your beeswax!" Dedra threw the book she was holding at him, and stomped into the house. Now an even heavier weight went onto poor John's heart. Everyone was already seated at the dinner table. Today his father excelled himself and prepared John absolutely most favorite food: Cornmeal pie. John only ate half of his slice of cornmeal pie, and completely ignored dessert - triple chocolate, supreme, rich ice cream.

Considering that he skipped both breakfast and lunch, this was becoming worrisome, because John was typically a very good eater and a big fan of cornmeal food, which his family went out of their way to make for him especially because they all detested it deeply.

That night it was hard to go to sleep. He thought he heard thunder but when he looked outside he only saw the starry night sky and the sun. Wait a minute. Sun?! John jumped of of the bed and starred unbelievably out of the window at the large round golden sphere that was thew sun in the middle of the night. Then suddenly out from behind the sun the moon emerged, its craters gleaming proudly. Then there was a strong gust of wind and clouds rolled over, covering both sun and moon.

Breathless, John sped out of his room and stormed into his parent's bedroom yelling uncontrollably "The Sun...the moon...the sun...the moon...outside...all mixed up...the sun...the moon!". His parents were fast asleep and they were so startled when he stormed into their room like that that his mom nearly fainted out of panic and his dad almost got a heart attack. His older sister Dedra came running into the room yelling "Heck! John Dickson! What in the name of God are you doing?!".

John was at the window - he opened it wide - cold air streamed in. "Look for yourselves!" he cried. But to his dismay, the clouds still covered the sun and the moon. Dedra sneered and said "I don't see anything."
"You must have had a nightmare." his father said, yawning.
"It's becasue you didn't eat anything yesterday." his mother said.

Dedra dragged him back to his bed, dumped him under the covers, and to John's great annoyance, stayed in his room until she was completely sure he was asleep. But as soon as she left his room, he was back at the window, gazing at the amazing view of the sun and the moon shining side by side in the night sky.

The next day was Friday. It was the birthday of the second most beautiful girl in John's class, Gracie May. Gracie May was a chocolate nut and John found himself sitting in front of a dish that included the following: A slice of chocolate cake, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a cup of chocolate milk. John, who at this point was nearly starving, gulped the whole thing in one bite, and was looking for a second helping, which Gracie May, who liked him a lot, was eager to give him.

John liked Gracie May and wanted to tell her everything he'd seen in the sky. But he knew she would not believe him. But, he had to try because he felt he was loosing his mind, what with the sun and the moon still being up in the sky. "John," said Gracie May, "you look troubled.".

"Who, me troubled?" asked John trying to sound calm. "I don't know, you just don't look very happy." said Gracie May.

John could not think about something to say, so he just smiled oddly at her and said apologetically, "Why would I be unhappy?". The bell rang and he was spared from talking further. John headed to his math class and Gracie May headed to the gym. As John opened his backpack to take out his mathbook, a piece of paper folded in the shape of an envelope fell out of his open lunchbox. Curious, he unfolded the note.

The first thing he noticed about the note was that the signature was signed "Susan" and next to it was a cartoon spoon. It took John a couple of seconds to figure out that it was from Susan Whitherspoon. The handwriting was in red neon cursive (which by the way is a very fancy handwriting) so it took John a minute to decipher the words. He started laughing. The laughter was initially quiet, but he quickly became hysteric and could not stop laughing.

Just then his math teacher, Ms. Pandorski, stepped out of the classroom and said "Jonathan William Olson-Dickson, just what do you think you are doing? You are five minutes late!". But John just kept laughing and laughing, until he was sent to the principal's office. There he was lectured and sent home immediately. On the drive home his mother scolded him. But he just apologized profusely. When he got home his punishment was to write a three-hundred word report on the life of George Washington. And this he had to write BEFORE he could have dinner or dessert. He could smell the wonderful smell of the food in the kitchen - again his most favorite dishes. He was very hungry.

Mind you, his family was not very rich and could not afford a computer. They did not have as many books as they would have wanted, so how was John supposed to write the essay? Strangely, John was not paying too much attention to the sun that was still up there with the moon. No - he was way to hungry and eager to finish up with the silly essay so he could have something to eat.

Now luckily for John, he had a smart and trustworthy friend, Lampwick Jones. He called Lampwick for help. Unfortunately, Lampwick was not home. Desperate, his tummy growling, John remembered his lunch box and turned to open it, hoping to find some leftovers from today's lunch, but instead he found Susan's letter. Also a candy wrapper. Finding the letter uplifted his spirit so he started to read it again hoping to get some laughs. But instead, he started crying profusely.

It was a cartoon of a woman laying in a hospital bed. But when he looked closely at the woman, he saw that it was his mother. This was really spooky. John forgot everything about the essay he had to write, he forgot about his hunger and dinner, and about homework. Instead, he jumped out of his window (his room was on the ground floor) and ran to Susan's house, holding the letter in his hand.

When he reached Susan's house he found her at the front door. She looked as if she had been expecting him. "I've been expecting you." she said. "What do you mean?" asked John. "About the letter," said Susan, "I know what you want to ask me.". "I wanted to ask you why you drew my mother in a hospital bed?" said John. "Easy. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother was a prophetess. I have the gift too. So does Mother. The gift hits every generation of women in my family." said Susan. "So, does this mean my mother will be in the hospital?" asked John, who suddenly got very very worried about his mother.

"Well, this is the thing," said Susan, "this is only a warning. You can change the situation, but you need to hurry up." she continued in a serious voice. "The only way to stop this is- well, the situation with the sun and the moon.". John's jaw dropped, he was so surprised to hear these words, more even than what she already told him so far, which was quite amazing.

"I can only give you a little help. Take these." said Susan, and handed John the following: A thick glass helmet, a rainbow-colored feather, and a round metal disk. "Aha, and you can also use this," she handed him a piece of gum, "this is for your mouth breath...you need to visit the dentist soon!"

Just then Susan's mother, Mrs. Whitherspoon, came outside. John gulped. Even before he'd learned that she was a prophetess, well, the Whitherspoons had always been considered a "spooky" family. As usual, she was dressed all in black. "Hello John." she said in an alto voice. "H-he-hell-hello Mrs. Whitherspoon." replied John faintly. "Um...I need to run home now...dinner...paper due...bye!" and off he ran.

As usual, Dedra was being snobby and when she saw him she announced, "John Dickson, why didn't you do your essay?!". John ignored Dedra and brushed past her into his room. "You are going to be sorry for that!" she cried after him, her shrill voice chasing him into the privacy of his room. His mind was feverish "How can I save Mother?". Truth, his cat, was sitting on his table, her blonde fur streaked red-orange from the sunset light. When she saw him, she pounced on him by way of greeting.

"Truth...Truth...if you only knew the truth to this mystery." He held the cat in his arms, brushing his cheeks to the soft, fragrant fur. "What do I need to do...If only Susan would tell me the answer straight." He walked over to the window. Rain poured down, but the night sky was clear; the sun and the moon hanging together above the town's church tower. Then he heard his family eating and the hunger in his stomach roared.

"Tough, ha?" he heard a voice behind him. His cat, Truth, was growing rapidly. Her slender, flexible body shimmered and glowed as, in a shower of of sparks, she became a beautiful young woman. "I am Thesalia, messenger of the sun and moon." she said. This was too much, what with not eating for a day, all the crazy stuff going on, and now his cat transformed into some mysterious woman. John fainted, his body fell slowly to the soft carpet.

When he came to, Truth and the woman who called herself Thesalia had disappeared. All that was left was scattered sparkle and even that was vanishing. John shook his head. He heard another growling voice, but it was his stomach this time. There was a knock on the door. "John, is everything all right there? Come, dinner is getting cold." he heard his mother say.Dinner was pasta primavera. Pasta primavera, another favorite food of John's, is a dish including pasta in a shower of vegetables. As he was wolfing down his third helping he suddenly noticed that the vegetables were shaped like the sun and the moon, each little sliced glowing slightly in his plate.

Well, this surprised him so much he literally chocked on the sun-shaped piece of broccoli. Then he noticed that outside the sun and the moon were shining together in the cloudless sky and that it was still pouring rain. His parents and sister were having a conversation about something that happened in the news, and seemed not to notice the strange behavior of nature.

That night as he slowly got into bed he looked outside and saw all the stars and constellations. One constellation was shaped like Truth. Suddenly he knew what to do in order to save his mom. He jumped out of the house and ran.

The End

The Sun vs. The Moon - Draft 7

As you know, the sun and the moon are two of the most powerful stars in our galaxy. But they both think that they are better than the other. This is what John used to think about just before falling asleep. In school all John learned was that the sun and the moon control our daily schedule. When the moon comes up you go to sleep, when the sun comes up you wake up. But John would not have any of that. In his world, the sun and the moon were little tiny marbles that he, the giant, kept in his pocket.

But the irony was that the sun and the moon really were arguing. They were arguing then and they always have been and John believed that they always would be. So, he kept them apart - one in his left pocket, the other in his right pocket.

However, the sun and the moon were only tiny marbles in imagination, but in real life they were enormous galactic elements. But one evening,when John was emptying his pockets, he could not find the moon marble!

He searched the entire house but could not find it anywhere. Worse - he found that he lost the sun marble too! It was already dark and cold outside, and light rain drizzling. There was no way he could go to the playground and find them tonight!

That night was a long and hard on. He woke five times and all in the same hour. "Will the sun rise tomorrow?", he wondered in panic. Because it was a cloudy night, the moon was not out, and John was sure that the end of the world has arrived and that tomorrow there will not be day light as always.

However the sun did rise this morning but it was raining - although - there were no clouds. "How strange" John thought. His Mom and Dad and big sister greeted him at the kitchen table, but he was too excited to eat his breakfast. That was strange because his mom and dad made cornmeal toast which he loved and would not ignore, but all he could think was that there was something going on in space.

On his way to school (today they took bus number 11, which is walking - he particularly detested bus 11) his mind was wondering off and he was not paying attention to his sister's nagging and his father's explanations about the second world war, which was a topic he was generally interested in, but not today.

At school even the distraction of the kids that often tried to bug him into vandalizing the teachers equipment could not bother him. When he was called on to answer a question (mind you he was not listening) he did not know the answer and the teacher lectured him. All the while it was pouring rain outside, but, the sun was shining and there were NO clouds anywhere!!!

However, it was clear that John was the only person to notice something was wrong. At lunch he could not eat. All he could do was to look outside. Susan Whitherspoon, the class beauty sat next to him at lunch and glanced at him curiously. Once again, even her lustrous golden locks and her sky-blue eyes could not distract him. Finally, she scribbled a note and shoved it in his lunchbox before leaving him alone.

Finally it was time to go home. The bad weather stopped halfway on his way home but the sun was still shining. "What does this mean?" he wondered as he pushed the gate to their house. His older sister Dedra was waiting for him at the front steps, her arms crossed and her face scowling because he was late. "John Dickson, it's already dinner time! What were you doing?!"

John liked Dedra, but today his mind was off and he answered rather rudely "It's none of your beeswax!" Dedra threw the book she was holding at him, and stomped into the house. Now an even heavier weight went onto poor John's heart. Everyone was already seated at the dinner table. Today his father excelled himself and prepared John absolutely most favorite food: Cornmeal pie. John only ate half of his slice of cornmeal pie, and completely ignored dessert - triple chocolate, supreme, rich ice cream.

Considering that he skipped both breakfast and lunch, this was becoming worrisome, because John was typically a very good eater and a big fan of cornmeal food, which his family went out of their way to make for him especially because they all detested it deeply.

That night it was hard to go to sleep. He thought he heard thunder but when he looked outside he only saw the starry night sky and the sun. Wait a minute. Sun?! John jumped of of the bed and starred unbelievably out of the window at the large round golden sphere that was thew sun in the middle of the night. Then suddenly out from behind the sun the moon emerged, its craters gleaming proudly. Then there was a strong gust of wind and clouds rolled over, covering both sun and moon.

Breathless, John sped out of his room and stormed into his parent's bedroom yelling uncontrollably "The Sun...the moon...the sun...the moon...outside...all mixed up...the sun...the moon!". His parents were fast asleep and they were so startled when he stormed into their room like that that his mom nearly fainted out of panic and his dad almost got a heart attack. His older sister Dedra came running into the room yelling "Heck! John Dickson! What in the name of God are you doing?!".

John was at the window - he opened it wide - cold air streamed in. "Look for yourselves!" he cried. But to his dismay, the clouds still covered the sun and the moon. Dedra sneered and said "I don't see anything."
"You must have had a nightmare." his father said, yawning.
"It's becasue you didn't eat anything yesterday." his mother said.

Dedra dragged him back to his bed, dumped him under the covers, and to John's great annoyance, stayed in his room until she was completely sure he was asleep. But as soon as she left his room, he was back at the window, gazing at the amazing view of the sun and the moon shining side by side in the night sky.

The next day was Friday. It was the birthday of the second most beautiful girl in John's class, Gracie May. Gracie May was a chocolate nut and John found himself sitting in front of a dish that included the following: A slice of chocolate cake, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a cup of chocolate milk. John, who at this point was nearly starving, gulped the whole thing in one bite, and was looking for a second helping, which Gracie May, who liked him a lot, was eager to give him.

John liked Gracie May and wanted to tell her everything he'd seen in the sky. But he knew she would not believe him. But, he had to try because he felt he was loosing his mind, what with the sun and the moon still being up in the sky. "John," said Gracie May, "you look troubled.".

"Who, me troubled?" asked John trying to sound calm. "I don't know, you just don't look very happy." said Gracie May.

John could not think about something to say, so he just smiled oddly at her and said apologetically, "Why would I be unhappy?". The bell rang and he was spared from talking further. John headed to his math class and Gracie May headed to the gym. As John opened his backpack to take out his mathbook, a piece of paper folded in the shape of an envelope fell out of his open lunchbox. Curious, he unfolded the note.

The first thing he noticed about the note was that the signature was signed "Susan" and next to it was a cartoon spoon. It took John a couple of seconds to figure out that it was from Susan Whitherspoon. The handwriting was in red neon cursive (which by the way is a very fancy handwriting) so it took John a minute to decipher the words. He started laughing. The laughter was initially quiet, but he quickly became hysteric and could not stop laughing.

Just then his math teacher, Ms. Pandorski, stepped out of the classroom and said "Jonathan William Olson-Dickson, just what do you think you are doing? You are five minutes late!". But John just kept laughing and laughing, until he was sent to the principal's office. There he was lectured and sent home immediately. On the drive home his mother scolded him. But he just apologized profusely. When he got home his punishment was to write a three-hundred word report on the life of George Washington. And this he had to write BEFORE he could have dinner or dessert. He could smell the wonderful smell of the food in the kitchen - again his most favorite dishes. He was very hungry.

Mind you, his family was not very rich and could not afford a computer. They did not have as many books as they would have wanted, so how was John supposed to write the essay? Strangely, John was not paying too much attention to the sun that was still up there with the moon. No - he was way to hungry and eager to finish up with the silly essay so he could have something to eat.

Now luckily for John, he had a smart and trustworthy friend, Lampwick Jones. He called Lampwick for help. Unfortunately, Lampwick was not home. Desperate, his tummy growling, John remembered his lunch box and turned to open it, hoping to find some leftovers from today's lunch, but instead he found Susan's letter. Also a candy wrapper. Finding the letter uplifted his spirit so he started to read it again hoping to get some laughs. But instead, he started crying profusely.

It was a cartoon of a woman laying in a hospital bed. But when he looked closely at the woman, he saw that it was his mother. This was really spooky. John forgot everything about the essay he had to write, he forgot about his hunger and dinner, and about homework. Instead, he jumped out of his window (his room was on the ground floor) and ran to Susan's house, holding the letter in his hand.

When he reached Susan's house he found her at the front door. She looked as if she had been expecting him. "I've been expecting you." she said. "What do you mean?" asked John. "About the letter," said Susan, "I know what you want to ask me.". "I wanted to ask you why you drew my mother in a hospital bed?" said John. "Easy. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother was a prophetess. I have the gift too. So does Mother. The gift hits every generation of women in my family." said Susan. "So, does this mean my mother will be in the hospital?" asked John, who suddenly got very very worried about his mother.

"Well, this is the thing," said Susan, "this is only a warning. You can change the situation, but you need to hurry up." she continued in a serious voice. "The only way to stop this is- well, the situation with the sun and the moon.". John's jaw dropped, he was so surprised to hear these words, more even than what she already told him so far, which was quite amazing.

"I can only give you a little help. Take these." said Susan, and handed John the following: A thick glass helmet, a rainbow-colored feather, and a round metal disk. "Aha, and you can also use this," she handed him a piece of gum, "this is for your mouth breath...you need to visit the dentist soon!"

Just then Susan's mother, Mrs. Whitherspoon, came outside. John gulped. Even before he'd learned that she was a prophetess, well, the Whitherspoons had always been considered a "spooky" family. As usual, she was dressed all in black. "Hello John." she said in an alto voice. "H-he-hell-hello Mrs. Whitherspoon." replied John faintly. "Um...I need to run home now...dinner...paper due...bye!" and off he ran.

As usual, Dedra was being snobby and when she saw him she announced, "John Dickson, why didn't you do your essay?!". John ignored Dedra and brushed past her into his room. "You are going to be sorry for that!" she cried after him, her shrill voice chasing him into the privacy of his room. His mind was feverish "How can I save Mother?". Truth, his cat, was sitting on his table, her blonde fur streaked red-orange from the sunset light. When she saw him, she pounced on him by way of greeting. 

"Truth...Truth...if you only knew the truth to this mystery." He held the cat in his arms, brushing his cheeks to the soft, fragrant fur. "What do I need to do...If only Susan would tell me the answer straight." He walked over to the window. Rain poured down, but the night sky was clear; the sun and the moon hanging together above the town's church tower. Then he heard his family eating and the hunger in his stomach roared.

The Sun vs. The Moon - Draft 6

As you know, the sun and the moon are two of the most powerful stars in our galaxy. But they both think that they are better than the other. This is what John used to think about just before falling asleep. In school all John learned was that the sun and the moon control our daily schedule. When the moon comes up you go to sleep, when the sun comes up you wake up. But John would not have any of that. In his world, the sun and the moon were little tiny marbles that he, the giant, kept in his pocket.

But the irony was that the sun and the moon really were arguing. They were arguing then and they always have been and John believed that they always would be. So, he kept them apart - one in his left pocket, the other in his right pocket.

However, the sun and the moon were only tiny marbles in imagination, but in real life they were enormous galactic elements. But one evening,when John was emptying his pockets, he could not find the moon marble!

He searched the entire house but could not find it anywhere. Worse - he found that he lost the sun marble too! It was already dark and cold outside, and light rain drizzling. There was no way he could go to the playground and find them tonight!

That night was a long and hard on. He woke five times and all in the same hour. "Will the sun rise tomorrow?", he wondered in panic. Because it was a cloudy night, the moon was not out, and John was sure that the end of the world has arrived and that tomorrow there will not be day light as always.

However the sun did rise this morning but it was raining - although - there were no clouds. "How strange" John thought. His Mom and Dad and big sister greeted him at the kitchen table, but he was too excited to eat his breakfast. That was strange because his mom and dad made cornmeal toast which he loved and would not ignore, but all he could think was that there was something going on in space.

On his way to school (today they took bus number 11, which is walking - he particularly detested bus 11) his mind was wondering off and he was not paying attention to his sister's nagging and his father's explanations about the second world war, which was a topic he was generally interested in, but not today.

At school even the distraction of the kids that often tried to bug him into vandalizing the teachers equipment could not bother him. When he was called on to answer a question (mind you he was not listening) he did not know the answer and the teacher lectured him. All the while it was pouring rain outside, but, the sun was shining and there were NO clouds anywhere!!!

However, it was clear that John was the only person to notice something was wrong. At lunch he could not eat. All he could do was to look outside. Susan Whitherspoon, the class beauty sat next to him at lunch and glanced at him curiously. Once again, even her lustrous golden locks and her sky-blue eyes could not distract him. Finally, she scribbled a note and shoved it in his lunchbox before leaving him alone.

Finally it was time to go home. The bad weather stopped halfway on his way home but the sun was still shining. "What does this mean?" he wondered as he pushed the gate to their house. His older sister Dedra was waiting for him at the front steps, her arms crossed and her face scowling because he was late. "John Dickson, it's already dinner time! What were you doing?!"

John liked Dedra, but today his mind was off and he answered rather rudely "It's none of your beeswax!" Dedra threw the book she was holding at him, and stomped into the house. Now an even heavier weight went onto poor John's heart. Everyone was already seated at the dinner table. Today his father excelled himself and prepared John absolutely most favorite food: Cornmeal pie. John only ate half of his slice of cornmeal pie, and completely ignored dessert - triple chocolate, supreme, rich ice cream.

Considering that he skipped both breakfast and lunch, this was becoming worrisome, because John was typically a very good eater and a big fan of cornmeal food, which his family went out of their way to make for him especially because they all detested it deeply.

That night it was hard to go to sleep. He thought he heard thunder but when he looked outside he only saw the starry night sky and the sun. Wait a minute. Sun?! John jumped of of the bed and starred unbelievably out of the window at the large round golden sphere that was thew sun in the middle of the night. Then suddenly out from behind the sun the moon emerged, its craters gleaming proudly. Then there was a strong gust of wind and clouds rolled over, covering both sun and moon.

Breathless, John sped out of his room and stormed into his parent's bedroom yelling uncontrollably "The Sun...the moon...the sun...the moon...outside...all mixed up...the sun...the moon!". His parents were fast asleep and they were so startled when he stormed into their room like that that his mom nearly fainted out of panic and his dad almost got a heart attack. His older sister Dedra came running into the room yelling "Heck! John Dickson! What in the name of God are you doing?!".

John was at the window - he opened it wide - cold air streamed in. "Look for yourselves!" he cried. But to his dismay, the clouds still covered the sun and the moon. Dedra sneered and said "I don't see anything."
"You must have had a nightmare." his father said, yawning.
"It's becasue you didn't eat anything yesterday." his mother said.

Dedra dragged him back to his bed, dumped him under the covers, and to John's great annoyance, stayed in his room until she was completely sure he was asleep. But as soon as she left his room, he was back at the window, gazing at the amazing view of the sun and the moon shining side by side in the night sky.

The next day was Friday. It was the birthday of the second most beautiful girl in John's class, Gracie May. Gracie May was a chocolate nut and John found himself sitting in front of a dish that included the following: A slice of chocolate cake, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a cup of chocolate milk. John, who at this point was nearly starving, gulped the whole thing in one bite, and was looking for a second helping, which Gracie May, who liked him a lot, was eager to give him.

John liked Gracie May and wanted to tell her everything he'd seen in the sky. But he knew she would not believe him. But, he had to try because he felt he was loosing his mind, what with the sun and the moon still being up in the sky. "John," said Gracie May, "you look troubled.".

"Who, me troubled?" asked John trying to sound calm. "I don't know, you just don't look very happy." said Gracie May.

John could not think about something to say, so he just smiled oddly at her and said apologetically, "Why would I be unhappy?". The bell rang and he was spared from talking further. John headed to his math class and Gracie May headed to the gym. As John opened his backpack to take out his mathbook, a piece of paper folded in the shape of an envelope fell out of his open lunchbox. Curious, he unfolded the note.

The first thing he noticed about the note was that the signature was signed "Susan" and next to it was a cartoon spoon. It took John a couple of seconds to figure out that it was from Susan Whitherspoon. The handwriting was in red neon cursive (which by the way is a very fancy handwriting) so it took John a minute to decipher the words. He started laughing. The laughter was initially quiet, but he quickly became hysteric and could not stop laughing.

Just then his math teacher, Ms. Pandorski, stepped out of the classroom and said "Jonathan William Olson-Dickson, just what do you think you are doing? You are five minutes late!". But John just kept laughing and laughing, until he was sent to the principal's office. There he was lectured and sent home immediately. On the drive home his mother scolded him. But he just apologized profusely. When he got home his punishment was to write a three-hundred word report on the life of George Washington. And this he had to write BEFORE he could have dinner or dessert. He could smell the wonderful smell of the food in the kitchen - again his most favorite dishes. He was very hungry.

Mind you, his family was not very rich and could not afford a computer. They did not have as many books as they would have wanted, so how was John supposed to write the essay? Strangely, John was not paying too much attention to the sun that was still up there with the moon. No - he was way to hungry and eager to finish up with the silly essay so he could have something to eat.

Now luckily for John, he had a smart and trustworthy friend, Lampwick Jones. He called Lampwick for help. Unfortunately, Lampwick was not home. Desperate, his tummy growling, John remembered his lunch box and turned to open it, hoping to find some leftovers from today's lunch, but instead he found Susan's letter. Also a candy wrapper. Finding the letter uplifted his spirit so he started to read it again hoping to get some laughs. But instead, he started crying profusely.

It was a cartoon of a woman laying in a hospital bed. But when he looked closely at the woman, he saw that it was his mother. This was really spooky. John forgot everything about the essay he had to write, he forgot about his hunger and dinner, and about homework. Instead, he jumped out of his window (his room was on the ground floor) and ran to Susan's house, holding the letter in his hand.

When he reached Susan's house he found her at the front door. She looked as if she had been expecting him. "I've been expecting you." she said. "What do you mean?" asked John. "About the letter," said Susan, "I know what you want to ask me.". "I wanted to ask you why you drew my mother in a hospital bed?" said John. "Easy. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother was a prophetess. I have the gift too. So does Mother. The gift hits every generation of women in my family." said Susan. "So, does this mean my mother will be in the hospital?" asked John, who suddenly got very very worried about his mother.

"Well, this is the thing," said Susan, "this is only a warning. You can change the situation, but you need to hurry up." she continued in a serious voice. "The only way to stop this is- well, the situation with the sun and the moon.". John's jaw dropped, he was so surprised to hear these words, more even than what she already told him so far, which was quite amazing.

"I can only give you a little help. Take these." said Susan, and handed John the following: A thick glass helmet, a rainbow-colored feather, and a round metal disk. "Aha, and you can also use this," she handed him a piece of gum, "this is for your mouth breath...you need to visit the dentist soon!"

Just then Susan's mother, Mrs. Whitherspoon, came outside. John gulped. Even before he'd learned that she was a prophetess, well, the Whitherspoons had always been considered a "spooky" family. As usual, she was dressed all in black. "Hello John." she said in an alto voice.

The Sun vs. The Moon - Draft 5

As you know, the sun and the moon are two of the most powerful stars in our galaxy. But they both think that they are better than the other. This is what John used to think about just before falling asleep. In school all John learned was that the sun and the moon control our daily schedule. When the moon comes up you go to sleep, when the sun comes up you wake up. But John would not have any of that. In his world, the sun and the moon were little tiny marbles that he, the giant, kept in his pocket.

But the irony was that the sun and the moon really were arguing. They were arguing then and they always have been and John believed that they always would be. So, he kept them apart - one in his left pocket, the other in his right pocket.

However, the sun and the moon were only tiny marbles in imagination, but in real life they were enormous galactic elements. But one evening,when John was emptying his pockets, he could not find the moon marble!

He searched the entire house but could not find it anywhere. Worse - he found that he lost the sun marble too! It was already dark and cold outside, and light rain drizzling. There was no way he could go to the playground and find them tonight!

That night was a long and hard on. He woke five times and all in the same hour. "Will the sun rise tomorrow?", he wondered in panic. Because it was a cloudy night, the moon was not out, and John was sure that the end of the world has arrived and that tomorrow there will not be day light as always.

However the sun did rise this morning but it was raining - although - there were no clouds. "How strange" John thought. His Mom and Dad and big sister greeted him at the kitchen table, but he was too excited to eat his breakfast. That was strange because his mom and dad made cornmeal toast which he loved and would not ignore, but all he could think was that there was something going on in space.

On his way to school (today they took bus number 11, which is walking - he particularly detested bus 11) his mind was wondering off and he was not paying attention to his sister's nagging and his father's explanations about the second world war, which was a topic he was generally interested in, but not today.

At school even the distraction of the kids that often tried to bug him into vandalizing the teachers equipment could not bother him. When he was called on to answer a question (mind you he was not listening) he did not know the answer and the teacher lectured him. All the while it was pouring rain outside, but, the sun was shining and there were NO clouds anywhere!!!

However, it was clear that John was the only person to notice something was wrong. At lunch he could not eat. All he could do was to look outside. Susan Whitherspoon, the class beauty sat next to him at lunch and glanced at him curiously. Once again, even her lustrous golden locks and her sky-blue eyes could not distract him. Finally, she scribbled a note and shoved it in his lunchbox before leaving him alone.

Finally it was time to go home. The bad weather stopped halfway on his way home but the sun was still shining. "What does this mean?" he wondered as he pushed the gate to their house. His older sister Dedra was waiting for him at the front steps, her arms crossed and her face scowling because he was late. "John Dickson, it's already dinner time! What were you doing?!"

John liked Dedra, but today his mind was off and he answered rather rudely "It's none of your beeswax!" Dedra threw the book she was holding at him, and stomped into the house. Now an even heavier weight went onto poor John's heart. Everyone was already seated at the dinner table. Today his father excelled himself and prepared John absolutely most favorite food: Cornmeal pie. John only ate half of his slice of cornmeal pie, and completely ignored dessert - triple chocolate, supreme, rich ice cream.

Considering that he skipped both breakfast and lunch, this was becoming worrisome, because John was typically a very good eater and a big fan of cornmeal food, which his family went out of their way to make for him especially because they all detested it deeply.

That night it was hard to go to sleep. He thought he heard thunder but when he looked outside he only saw the starry night sky and the sun. Wait a minute. Sun?! John jumped of of the bed and starred unbelievably out of the window at the large round golden sphere that was thew sun in the middle of the night. Then suddenly out from behind the sun the moon emerged, its craters gleaming proudly. Then there was a strong gust of wind and clouds rolled over, covering both sun and moon.

Breathless, John sped out of his room and stormed into his parent's bedroom yelling uncontrollably "The Sun...the moon...the sun...the moon...outside...all mixed up...the sun...the moon!". His parents were fast asleep and they were so startled when he stormed into their room like that that his mom nearly fainted out of panic and his dad almost got a heart attack. His older sister Dedra came running into the room yelling "Heck! John Dickson! What in the name of God are you doing?!".

John was at the window - he opened it wide - cold air streamed in. "Look for yourselves!" he cried. But to his dismay, the clouds still covered the sun and the moon. Dedra sneered and said "I don't see anything."
"You must have had a nightmare." his father said, yawning.
"It's becasue you didn't eat anything yesterday." his mother said.

Dedra dragged him back to his bed, dumped him under the covers, and to John's great annoyance, stayed in his room until she was completely sure he was asleep. But as soon as she left his room, he was back at the window, gazing at the amazing view of the sun and the moon shining side by side in the night sky.

The next day was Friday. It was the birthday of the second most beautiful girl in John's class, Gracie May. Gracie May was a chocolate nut and John found himself sitting in front of a dish that included the following: A slice of chocolate cake, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a cup of chocolate milk. John, who at this point was nearly starving, gulped the whole thing in one bite, and was looking for a second helping, which Gracie May, who liked him a lot, was eager to give him.

John liked Gracie May and wanted to tell her everything he'd seen in the sky. But he knew she would not believe him. But, he had to try because he felt he was loosing his mind, what with the sun and the moon still being up in the sky. "John," said Gracie May, "you look troubled.".

"Who, me troubled?" asked John trying to sound calm. "I don't know, you just don't look very happy." said Gracie May.

John could not think about something to say, so he just smiled oddly at her and said apologetically, "Why would I be unhappy?". The bell rang and he was spared from talking further. John headed to his math class and Gracie May headed to the gym. As John opened his backpack to take out his mathbook, a piece of paper folded in the shape of an envelope fell out of his open lunchbox. Curious, he unfolded the note.

The first thing he noticed about the note was that the signature was signed "Susan" and next to it was a cartoon spoon. It took John a couple of seconds to figure out that it was from Susan Whitherspoon. The handwriting was in red neon cursive (which by the way is a very fancy handwriting) so it took John a minute to decipher the words. He started laughing. The laughter was initially quiet, but he quickly became hysteric and could not stop laughing.

Just then his math teacher, Ms. Pandorski, stepped out of the classroom and said "Jonathan William Olson-Dickson, just what do you think you are doing? You are five minutes late!". But John just kept laughing and laughing, until he was sent to the principal's office. There he was lectured and sent home immediately. On the drive home his mother scolded him. But he just apologized profusely. When he got home his punishment was to write a three-hundred word report on the life of George Washington. And this he had to write BEFORE he could have dinner or dessert. He could smell the wonderful smell of the food in the kitchen - again his most favorite dishes. He was very hungry.

Mind you, his family was not very rich and could not afford a computer. They did not have as many books as they would have wanted, so how was John supposed to write the essay? Strangely, John was not paying too much attention to the sun that was still up there with the moon. No - he was way to hungry and eager to finish up with the silly essay so he could have something to eat. 

Now luckily for John, he had a smart and trustworthy friend, Lampwick Jones. He called Lampwick for help. Unfortunately, Lampwick was not home. Desperate, his tummy growling, John remembered his lunch box and turned to open it, hoping to find some leftovers from today's lunch, but instead he found Susan's letter. Also a candy wrapper. Finding the letter uplifted his spirit so he started to read it again hoping to get some laughs. But instead, he started crying profusely. 

It was a cartoon of a woman laying in a hospital bed. But when he looked closely at the woman, he saw that it was his mother. This was really spooky. John forgot everything about the essay he had to write, he forgot about his hunger and dinner, and about homework. Instead, he jumped out of his window (his room was on the ground floor) and ran to Susan's house, holding the letter in his hand.

The Sun vs. The Moon - Draft 4

As you know, the sun and the moon are two of the most powerful stars in our galaxy. But they both think that they are better than the other. This is what John used to think about just before falling asleep. In school all John learned was that the sun and the moon control our daily schedule. When the moon comes up you go to sleep, when the sun comes up you wake up. But John would not have any of that. In his world, the sun and the moon were little tiny marbles that he, the giant, kept in his pocket.

But the irony was that the sun and the moon really were arguing. They were arguing then and they always have been and John believed that they always would be. So, he kept them apart - one in his left pocket, the other in his right pocket.

However, the sun and the moon were only tiny marbles in imagination, but in real life they were enormous galactic elements. But one evening,when John was emptying his pockets, he could not find the moon marble!

He searched the entire house but could not find it anywhere. Worse - he found that he lost the sun marble too! It was already dark and cold outside, and light rain drizzling. There was no way he could go to the playground and find them tonight!

That night was a long and hard on. He woke five times and all in the same hour. "Will the sun rise tomorrow?", he wondered in panic. Because it was a cloudy night, the moon was not out, and John was sure that the end of the world has arrived and that tomorrow there will not be day light as always.

However the sun did rise this morning but it was raining - although - there were no clouds. "How strange" John thought. His Mom and Dad and big sister greeted him at the kitchen table, but he was too excited to eat his breakfast. That was strange because his mom and dad made cornmeal toast which he loved and would not ignore, but all he could think was that there was something going on in space.

On his way to school (today they took bus number 11, which is walking - he particularly detested bus 11) his mind was wondering off and he was not paying attention to his sister's nagging and his father's explanations about the second world war, which was a topic he was generally interested in, but not today.

At school even the distraction of the kids that often tried to bug him into vandalizing the teachers equipment could not bother him. When he was called on to answer a question (mind you he was not listening) he did not know the answer and the teacher lectured him. All the while it was pouring rain outside, but, the sun was shining and there were NO clouds anywhere!!!

However, it was clear that John was the only person to notice something was wrong. At lunch he could not eat. All he could do was to look outside. Susan Whitherspoon, the class beauty sat next to him at lunch and glanced at him curiously. Once again, even her lustrous golden locks and her sky-blue eyes could not distract him. Finally, she scribbled a note and shoved it in his lunchbox before leaving him alone.

Finally it was time to go home. The bad weather stopped halfway on his way home but the sun was still shining. "What does this mean?" he wondered as he pushed the gate to their house. His older sister Dedra was waiting for him at the front steps, her arms crossed and her face scowling because he was late. "John Dickson, it's already dinner time! What were you doing?!"

John liked Dedra, but today his mind was off and he answered rather rudely "It's none of your beeswax!" Dedra threw the book she was holding at him, and stomped into the house. Now an even heavier weight went onto poor John's heart. Everyone was already seated at the dinner table. Today his father excelled himself and prepared John absolutely most favorite food: Cornmeal pie. John only ate half of his slice of cornmeal pie, and completely ignored dessert - triple chocolate, supreme, rich ice cream.

Considering that he skipped both breakfast and lunch, this was becoming worrisome, because John was typically a very good eater and a big fan of cornmeal food, which his family went out of their way to make for him especially because they all detested it deeply.

That night it was hard to go to sleep. He thought he heard thunder but when he looked outside he only saw the starry night sky and the sun. Wait a minute. Sun?! John jumped of of the bed and starred unbelievably out of the window at the large round golden sphere that was thew sun in the middle of the night. Then suddenly out from behind the sun the moon emerged, its craters gleaming proudly. Then there was a strong gust of wind and clouds rolled over, covering both sun and moon.

Breathless, John sped out of his room and stormed into his parent's bedroom yelling uncontrollably "The Sun...the moon...the sun...the moon...outside...all mixed up...the sun...the moon!". His parents were fast asleep and they were so startled when he stormed into their room like that that his mom nearly fainted out of panic and his dad almost got a heart attack. His older sister Dedra came running into the room yelling "Heck! John Dickson! What in the name of God are you doing?!".

John was at the window - he opened it wide - cold air streamed in. "Look for yourselves!" he cried. But to his dismay, the clouds still covered the sun and the moon. Dedra sneered and said "I don't see anything."
"You must have had a nightmare." his father said, yawning.
"It's becasue you didn't eat anything yesterday." his mother said.

Dedra dragged him back to his bed, dumped him under the covers, and to John's great annoyance, stayed in his room until she was completely sure he was asleep. But as soon as she left his room, he was back at the window, gazing at the amazing view of the sun and the moon shining side by side in the night sky.

The next day was Friday. It was the birthday of the second most beautiful girl in John's class, Gracie May. Gracie May was a chocolate nut and John found himself sitting in front of a dish that included the following: A slice of chocolate cake, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a cup of chocolate milk. John, who at this point was nearly starving, gulped the whole thing in one bite, and was looking for a second helping, which Gracie May, who liked him a lot, was eager to give him.

John liked Gracie May and wanted to tell her everything he'd seen in the sky. But he knew she would not believe him. But, he had to try because he felt he was loosing his mind, what with the sun and the moon still being up in the sky. "John," said Gracie May, "you look troubled.".

"Who, me troubled?" asked John trying to sound calm. "I don't know, you just don't look very happy." said Gracie May.

John could not think about something to say, so he just smiled oddly at her and said apologetically, "Why would I be unhappy?". The bell rang and he was spared from talking further. John headed to his math class and Gracie May headed to the gym. As John opened his backpack to take out his mathbook, a piece of paper folded in the shape of an envelope fell out of his open lunchbox. Curious, he unfolded the note.

The first thing he noticed about the note was that the signature was signed "Susan" and next to it was a cartoon spoon. It took John a couple of seconds to figure out that it was from Susan Whitherspoon. The handwriting was in red neon cursive (which by the way is a very fancy handwriting) so it took John a minute to decipher the words. He started laughing. The laughter was initially quiet, but he quickly became hysteric and could not stop laughing.

Just then his math teacher, Ms. Pandorski, stepped out of the classroom and said "Jonathan William Olson-Dickson, just what do you think you are doing? You are five minutes late!". But John just kept laughing and laughing, until he was sent to the principal's office. There he was lectured and sent home immediately. On the drive home his mother scolded him. But he just apologized profusely. When he got home his punishment was to write a three-hundred word report on the life of George Washington.