Ariana is scared of the dark, and her big sister,
Ariana is scared of the dark, and her big sister, Sasha helps her Conquer her fear
Ariana, a wisp of a girl with hair like spun moonlight, clutched her moonstone amulet. The sun had dipped below the whispering willows bordering Whispering Glade, plunging their cottage into a twilight that felt less like dusk and more like the gaping maw of a shadow beast. Ariana trembled. She was terrified of the dark. Not just a childish fear, but a bone-deep dread that made the shadows writhe with monstrous shapes in her mind.
Her older sister, Sasha, a girl forged from sunbeams and starlight, her eyes the colour of a summer sky, knew this fear intimately. Sasha wasn’t just Ariana’s sister; she was a Whisperwind, a guardian of the glade, blessed with the power to speak to the creatures of the night and manipulate the very fabric of light.
“Come, Ari,” Sasha said gently, her voice like the rustling of leaves. “Tonight, we’ll conquer the shadows.”
Ariana whimpered. “But Sasha, the Gloomfang lurks in the darkness! And the Whispering Willows whisper secrets of things that shouldn’t be known!”
Sasha smiled, a reassuring warmth in her expression. “The Gloomfang is just a grumpy badger, Ari, and the willows only tell stories to those who listen too closely. Tonight, we’ll make the darkness our friend.”
Sasha held out her hand, and in her palm, a miniature sun, spun from captured starlight, pulsed with a gentle light. She touched it to Ariana’s amulet, and a soft, warm glow emanated from the moonstone, chasing away the immediate shadows around them.
Sasha led Ariana outside, the starlight their only guide. The miniature sun bathed the glade in a gentle luminescence, revealing fireflies winking like tiny stars amongst the tall grasses. Sasha showed Ariana how the fireflies danced to the music of the crickets, how the owls sang their nightly lullabies, how even the gnarled roots of the ancient oaks seemed less menacing in the soft light.
Using her Whisperwind abilities, Sasha coaxed a shy pixie from its hiding place in a mushroom. The pixie, no bigger than Ariana’s thumb, its wings shimmering like iridescent jewels, showered them with sparkling dust that illuminated the nearby bushes, revealing tiny, glowing flowers.
Sasha explained that the darkness wasn’t empty; it was full of hidden wonders, beautiful creatures, and quiet magic, visible only to those who dared to look beyond their fear. She showed Ariana how the shadows themselves held a beauty, a mystery, a depth that daytime couldn’t offer.
As the night wore on, Ariana’s fear lessened. She learned to appreciate the soft hush of the night, the gentle rustle of unseen creatures, and the comforting presence of Sasha’s starlight.
By dawn, when the first rays of the sun kissed the horizon, Ariana’s fear had retreated. She still felt a slight twinge of apprehension in the darkest corners, but it was overshadowed by a newfound sense of wonder and courage. She had faced the darkness and discovered it wasn’t a monster, but a canvas painted with secrets, and beauty, and the gentle magic of the night. And she had Sasha, her radiant sister, to thank for showing her the way.
