Through the slightly drawn curtains, the twins watched in fascination as the moon flickered to life vividly before hiding behind the shimmering dome.
"It's bedtime," their mother's voice rang. Both turned simultaneously to see her holding two vials of a shimmering blue liquid.
Wordlessly, they both crawled into their beds. The mother drew the curtains completely cutting vision to the outside.
"But first, medicine time," she said, a genuine smile lacing her thin lips.
Picking the vials, she poured the liquid into a cap and gave the full dose to each of the boys. Judging from their reaction, it tasted ghastly, though she presumed they had gotten used to it by now.
"Drink this. It'll wash away the bad taste in your mouth," she said, pouring a glass of juice and handing each. She made sure they drank just enough to give her a peaceful night without having bathroom breaks calls at the hour of the owl.
After tucking them in their beds, she took one of the bed story books on the shelf and sat close. Today's selection was a rare one. 'The Solar Apocalypse'. The title was carved in gold.
Turning the first page open, she began to read, her voice soft and somewhat musical.
"It was believed that the moon and the sun were once lovers, but their union would only cause chaos and bring imbalance in nature. So the gods decided to punish them. Giving them only a brief moment to share before they were separated for another long period of time.
When the sun learned about the gods' verdict later, he defied their will. So during the last full solar eclipse, the sun refused to let go of the moon for nearly a month.
The result. Chaos ensued, faced upon humanity and the creatures that dwelled on earth.
Shadows became sentient. Feeding on a person's desires, suppressed and negative emotions, the shadows turned corrupt and attacked their very creators.
Animals fell first, turning into beasts of carnal destruction.
Before the gods could intervene, earth as we knew it, had completely changed. Even when the sun and the moon finally separated, the corrupt shadows had already taken over nearly half of the entire world.
Humans, being the superior race, were prone to change. New civilizations emerged to protect those who had not yet been corrupted from themselves and other corrupt shadows as well. Dome-like structures were established. These used false ambient illumination to prevent shadow casting.
Elixirs were invented by the military to suppress one's negative emotions, and reflective materials were banned.
But among these humans rose an elite group that could face their own shadows and control them under different circumstances. These came to be known as the Shadow Watchers, entrusted to run the government and protect the domes from the corrupted shadows. Even the shadow watchers could only delay the decay.
There was a rumor, a prophecy, a gift from the gods. Hidden amongst the humans was the rare Eclipseborn descendants. With them, the world clung to the hope of being restored to normalcy..."
"Why has the Eclipseborn never showed up?"
The mother lifted her eyes to meet one of the boy's curious but innocent eyes. The other one was already sound asleep.
Giving him a nervous smile, she said, "It's been almost a century since the solar apocalypse dear. This gift from the gods, the Eclipseborn. It's just a rumor. No one believes it to be true."
She closed the book abruptly and placed it back in the neat stack.
"Maybe, one day," she said, glancing at the boy, "The Eclipseborn will show up."
Walking over to where the boys lay, she placed a kiss on their foreheads and whispered goodnight before turning off the lights.
The door closed behind as the little one stared blankly at the ceiling. 'Maybe they'll show up some day'. He thought before closing his eyes.
The wind blew the curtains to let in the moonlight, and in the corner, a shadow flickered to life momentarily before the curtains closed.