By Isabel Sofia
Apollo was the god of the sun. He and his twin, Artemis, took charge of the main sources of our light and heat, the sun and moon.
One day as they began learning the duties of the sun and the moon, Apollo began wondering about what's so special being the sun god.
One day while he was still learning about what sun gods do, he skipped class. He visited Helios, the sun god before Apollo.
He ran as fast as he could to catch Helios before he left for his daily trip from East to West. He managed to see Helios preparing for his daily trip.
One day as they began learning the duties of the sun and the moon, Apollo began wondering about what's so special being the sun god.
One day while he was still learning about what sun gods do, he skipped class. He visited Helios, the sun god before Apollo.
He ran as fast as he could to catch Helios before he left for his daily trip from East to West. He managed to see Helios preparing for his daily trip.
“Helios!” he shouted.
“Oh, hi Apollo! Want to join me on my daily trip around the Earth? You can come if you want,” he replied.
“Really?” Apollo said.
“Sure, you can come. It’ll be happening soon anyway.” “Thanks Helios!”
“Hurry then, the mortals will be wondering soon where the sun is.”
“How do you travel from East to West, Helios?” Apollo asked curiously.
“By using the Sun Chariot! You’ve never heard of it?”
“Well, I have. But I’ve never seen it. Can we go now?”
“Oh, of course! It’s almost time for sunrise!”
They walked quickly to where the chariot is being held and started making the trip. Apollo stared in delight at everything they passed by, like the clouds, the birds greeting them and the beautiful color of the sky.
He never had so much fun as this before. It was always memorizing lessons from the book, writing down what he learned, but not as fun as this.
He never had so much fun as this before. It was always memorizing lessons from the book, writing down what he learned, but not as fun as this.
“Helios, is it always like this?” Apollo asked.
“Yeah. One of the advantages of being the Sun god,” He smiled.
“Can I go here every day?” Apollo asked hopefully.
“Maybe every two days? You can’t just skip your lessons.” “Ok.”
Every two days Apollo went with Helios to make the daily trip from East to West. It was always a fun thing to do. Until one day Helios said,
“Apollo, nothing lasts forever. My time of being the Sun god has ended. It is now your duty to make the daily trips from East to West.”
“But, I-I’m not yet ready to do this alone,” he exclaimed. “I can’t even ride the chariot without burning anything. It’s too soon!” Apollo complained.
“I have been the Sun god too long. Now, it is your turn,” and Helios started to disappear with these last words.
Apollo sighed as Helios disappeared.
“Better start doing things on my own then,” he thought.
He knew that he’ll be able to meet Helios again, so he did the daily trip properly knowing Helios would be proud. As his hard work progressed, he became a part of the 12 Olympians who watched over and protected the Earth. Even when he became an Olympian he never stopped believing Helios will come back.
One day, near the summer solstice, Helios appeared to Apollo.
“I see you’ve been working hard.”
“Helios! You’re back! Want to do the trip with me?”
“Sure, I want to see how you’re doing on your own.”
This time Apollo led him and had excellent skills. Helios was so proud of Apollo’s achievement that he gave the Sun Chariot to Apollo and joined him in the daily trip. Since then, Apollo was always happy, enjoying his time until a new god comes.
First published in Medieval Astro-clock 2013, this is the first short story of Isabel Sofia, a 12-year old budding journalist/writer.
She wrote this piece when she was just 10 years old after being inspired by Rick Riordan to read more on Greek Mythology.
Isabel Sofia is the youngest member of Astrology Friends Philippines and is now a contributor to Manila Bulletin's Fun Page.
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