text: SISTERS OF THE HARVEST by J. T. WHITE Down in the valley, where the vineyards grew their succulent grapes basked in the light of the midsummer morning. A wooden caravan, the colour of wine, gilded with golden features, pulled by two identical white horses wearing peacock feather plumes made its way gracefully down the dusty dirt road. Sitting at the front of the caravan was an old man with a long, pointed, white beard and eyebrows wearing a bright blue tailcoat with a white rose placed in the breast pocket. Insects chirped in rhythm with the foot falls of the horses hooves and grinding of pebbles against dirt under the wooden wheels. The caravan gently rocked from side to side over the uneven terrain before coming to a crossroads and stopping in the centre. Stepping down from his seat the coachman walked around the caravan and pulled down on an engraved golden handle and opened the door before pulling down a set of wooden steps. Holding up his rough, calloused hand, palm facing upwards. A dainty, white gloved hand and wrist emerged from inside and gently placed itself in the old coachmens. Out of the caravan stepped a woman in a ruffled yellow dress and white heeled boots stepped down, lifting a white lace parasol above her head, shading her porcelain like skin and large honeycomb styled chestnut hair from the sun. A few seconds passed and out of the caravan stepped a second woman, this time wearing a similarly styled dress but in a pale pink, with the addition of large purple flowers attached to the bottom of the dress running up and diagonally across her chest, her hair was bright blonde and was much more uncontrolled and frizzy than the other woman's. It was decorated with a large blue bow on the left side and she wore small gold framed oval sunglasses which hid her eyes behind dark black lenses. Standing out in the crossroads the two women looked around studying the valley, the woman in yellow gazed up at the snow peaked mountains and smiled while the woman in pink skipped over to the grape vines and plucked a perfectly ripe, red grape, popping it into her mouth and admiring the sweet, juicy succulent flavour of the fruit; closing her eyes and lulling her head as she lost herself in the satisfaction of her work. "This is the place" The woman in yellow said, resting the parasol on her shoulder and spinning it with her fingers, she stepped towards the woman in pink and stood a mere two feet behind her and watched as the woman came down from her ecstacy. "How is your fruit sister?" "Delectable my dear sol, although I suppose I should be thanking you. Without your help, they would never even reach this stage" The woman in pink turned around and smiled at her sister before looking past her towards the old coachman. "Driver would you mind bringing me the little vial with the blue liquid please. It should be in the bag next to my seat" "Of course Lady Fauna" The old coachman stepped into the caravan and Fauna began to walk around her sister, whistling an upbeat melodic tune. "Don't you think it is strange that we do all of this without receiving any thanks?" Sol said staring ahead, voice monotone as her sister passed in front of her, standing still and lifeless. "Are you tired dear sister? Tired of providing life to those who need us?" Fauna said with an inquisitive yet melodic tone, she stopped walking and instead appeared to start dancing to the tune of the breeze blowing by just like a flower would. She looked at her sister trying to read her expression, it was however useless as always; she found that Sol only ever had one mood and it didn't give anything away. "Not that no, merely disappointed that they hold us in such low regard despite the fact their entire survival is reliant entirely upon us, and unfortunately... We Shall also be the death of them" Fauna stopped moving and considered what her sister had just said and stared back. "No... Not we, you dear sister. They are killing me and in return you are killing them" Sol stared at her sister, the parasol no longer spinning on her shoulder, instead she was now looking through the dark lenses of the sunglasses resting upon her sisters cute button nose. Footsteps grew closer behind her until the coachman stepped between them and handed Fauna a small crystal bottle filled with a brightly glistening pale blue liquid, Fauna took it in her gloved hand and pulled off the top before breathing its scent in deep. "Mmm thank you coachman, we shouldn't be too long" The coachman bowed his head and headed back to the caravan. Fauna stepped back over to the vines, giving her sister a sly smile as she turned. Tipping the crystal bottle she poured the liquid onto the ground at the base of one of the vines, watching as the soil absorbed the liquid and was taken up by the vines as the leaves became greener and the branches grew thicker. "We are the cycle of life dear sister, soon enough it works itself out, we just have to wait. We've already been patient enough, billions of years with you has been a test of that, you're not exactly the most fun" Fauna turned back around smiling at her sister, she stared into her sisters' eyes and could feel the heat coming off her. Sol stared back, she wanted to smile but couldn't, her face was unmoving, everything around would change but her face would always stay the same. "My dear sister, it breaks my heart that I am not only older, but also knowing that I will outlive you and everyone here, brings me sadness that I can't even explain" Fauna stepped closer to her sister and wrapped her arms around her and held her close. "I love you Sol, do not worry of the burden of the end, as long as you shine bright enough I will be by your side. The harvest season is nearly over and we can both rest for a while" Sol stood motionless as her free hand moved up and rested on her sisters back pulling Fauna closer to her, it was then she felt a hot tear run down her face before sizzling and evaporating, she could only imagine how much it hurt her sister to hold her like this, but she knew it wouldn't stop her. Faunas love for Sol was eternal, she needed her big sister and though she could not hold her for long she embraced every second before she had to pull away but not fast, she took her time and enjoyed the warmth of her sister. Not saying a word the two walked back to the caravan, dirt and gravel grinding beneath their footsteps as the two sisters stepped up into the caravan before the door was closed by the old coachman who walked around and returned to his seat as the caravan of the harvest set off once again.