BY FRANK BEGHIN
Copyright is held by the author.
PARENTS ALWAYS complain about the terrible twos, but for older siblings, the fearsome fives are even worse.
No longer clinging to her mother, Luna morphed into Terra’s shadow — following her big sister everywhere.
Terra had recently turned 13, and at that tender age, the young adolescent needed her space. She was going through personal and intimate changes, and she insisted on privacy.
It was a confusing time for her five-year-old sister. Not only did Luna have to respect boundaries — whatever that meant — but Terra also stopped coming to Luna’s tea parties.
Why is she ignoring me, the impish child pouted. Doesn’t she like me anymore?
Not used to being snubbed, Luna was seriously bummed. She was ready to do something drastic.
And I don’t mean a temper tantrum, she huffed
So one bright and tempting morning, Luna crept slyly into the bathroom while Terra was taking a shower. The place was like a sauna, but the oppressive heat didn’t discourage Luna. Pretending to be a ninja, she zeroed in on her target.
There it is! Near the towel rack!
Getting closer to her goal, Luna froze at the sudden swishing sound of the shower curtain.
Peering through the haze, she saw a pair of snake-like eyes glaring at her.
“What are you doing?” a leprous voice asked.
Uh, oh! How would a ninja get out of this?
Screaming like a little girl — how ironic — Luna bolted from the room. On her way out, she still managed to snag her trophy — Terra’s training bra.
Hoping to avoid easy detection, Luna shrunk herself and her prize to insect size – but the implosion’s light explosive pop gave her away. Panicking, she sprouted tiny gossamer wings, and flew to the nearest picture frame hanging on the wall.
Maybe I can hide behind here, Luna thought. Her tiny heart strummed wildly, as a mixture of terror and glee raced through her veins.
Dripping wet and wrapped only in a flimsy towel, Terra matched her sister’s transformation and savagely gave chase. And what an epic chase it was:
From skimming across the back of a velvet painting to scurrying across the hallway’s popcorn ceiling;
From popping in and out of dusty air ducts to crossing the Persian rug’s jungle terrain;
From slipping and sliding on the kitchen’s marble countertop — and avoiding Momma’s fruits and vegetables — to ducking under tables and leaping over chairs.
Bouncing, tumbling, diving.
Teleporting, shrinking, flying.
Terra wanted to throttle her sister — or at the very least, club her with her hairbrush — but she could barely keep her towel from falling.
It took Momma to finally freeze these two into submission. It wasn’t hard when you knew the proper spells.
Cooler heads then prevailed — until the next predictable meltdown — and the home’s mortality rate stayed at zero.
All in all, it was just a typical day in the life of an especially gifted family.
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