The storm came in like a surprising knock on the door. Total darkness prevailed, every dismal obsidian cloud formed itself in the night sky. The darkness of the night spread its black wings, closing in like a curtain. The tight storm clouds covered the last silvery glow of the moonlight like a dark veil being spread across the sky. Agonizing sweat gradually raced down from Pollux’s face as his eyes landed on the dead body of his twin brother.
Pollux and Castor, the inseparable twins. Their mother, Leda, was married to King Tyndareus of Sparta while at the same time seduced by Zeus in the guise of a swan. The twins were half brothers, Castor was the mortal son of King Tyndareus and Leda while Pollux was the immortal son of Zeus. Castor was chosen to be part of the crew of the Argo with Jason when he attempted to retrieve the Golden Fleece. A fierce battle formed, taking many lives of innocents, including Castor.
Liquid droplets of salty sadness tumbled down Pollux’s cheeks, each craving a pathway of grief. The heavy rain poured down, each drop felt sharp like small stones. Its tingling pain paralyzed Pollux’s body and numbed his feelings. Hopelessness through his eyes still held its very own presence. His hands clenched onto the shoulders of his brother like a locked chain, tight and unbreakable. Every silver tear droplet that rolled down his sad face was tickling like an accumulated ocean of brine. His heart broke into a million pieces, shattering throughout his whole body.
A sudden sound of bright blinding light exploded across the sky like a powerful batter hitting a home run. In the swirling mist, a bold figure stood still. Indeed, it was Zeus. His eyebrows frowned, unable to hide the worriedness he had when the death of Castor was revealed. Pollux looked at him with sorrowful eyes, the evidence of crying still showing on his face. The two stood silent for several minutes, both losing the capacity for speech. The silence was only broken when a sudden shock of lightning flashed before Pollux’s eyes, blinding everything like a striking camera flash. Once his vision returned, he saw Zeus’s thunderbolt pointed directly at his forehead. A wave of chill formed in his blood, coldness bringing his whole body to a sudden freeze.
“Sacrifice your own immortality, I’ll grant you eternity bond with Castor” Zeus’s voice was dominant, yet it was still shaking. His very decision means a loss for both of his precious sons. Through Pollux’s blurry vision, he noticed the reddened eyes that appeared on his father. He knew exactly what his father was thinking and quietly replied, “immortalizing both me and Castor, we will have to spend half of our time on Earth and the other half amongst the stars in heaven.” Pollux’s raspy voice gave out the uncountable time a tear had rolled down his face. He forced out a smile through his sadness and whispered, “Yes.” Zeus’s eyes showed how much he didn’t want that to be true, yet still held his thunderbolt directly towards Pollux. A flash appeared and covered everything like a white blanket. Several seconds passed and the flash faded away, taking Pollux with it. Zeus still remembers the smile that appeared on his son’s face, the last smile that told Zeus he had made the right decision.
Since then, when sailors saw these two stars together, they knew their journey would be prosperous. Humans wanted the two twins to be forever inseparable, so the final decision was to name them Gemini(Latin word meaning twins). Even though Pollux was a bit brighter, the two twins still shine prominently in the evening skies of the Northern Hemisphere spring each year, flourishing hope to every human living on Earth.
