Talking to the Moon

He looked up at the stars, thoughts jumbled up in his head. Things where not supposed to end like this, to be this way. Families fight all the time but about something so simple as his profession? So what if he wanted to study science? So what if he wasn’t that all into familial culture? Is it wrong to want something else? Is it wrong to want to create a change?

The more he thought, the more he realized the humor in the situation. He knew they wanted o protect him, but controlling his life? He lightly scoffed, yeah right. That’s all they ever do. He sighed as his mind started finding the different constellations he studied as a child. Orion was always the first one he spotted, the hunter. Like Ricardo. Then Leo, the courageous lion, the leader of the pack. Like Lincoln. Now, he didn’t feel like looking up anymore.

That’s all he ever did anyways. He looked up to his father, to his brothers, to the scientists and geniuses of the world. And even when he tries to gain attention, it’s only for that time. No less and no more. So, he hides on the roof of the house, looking at the stars and talking to the moon. 

Never before had he wanted so much to see the stars from space, or look down from the moon to Earth. Maybe then he would be noticed. Maybe then they wouldn’t look down on him. “Dimitri?” He sighed and slid down to the side of the house, hopping off to land on the balcony connected to his room. 

Someone knocked on the door, “D?” He lightly scoffed, Miguel. The youngest and most exuberant of the four. And the one that would try to help Dimitri as much as possible.

Dimitri went to the door and opened it, seeing his younger brother at the door with a plate of food and a drink in the other hand. The younger perked up, “hey. Glad you opened the door, Rick was betting me our chores that you wouldn’t.” Dimitri lightly scoffed, “I can see why you wanted me to open the door now.” He then more aside to let his brother in, “come on in.” The younger quickly went in and sat the objects on the other’s night stand. Dimitri closed his door after his brother, his thoughts still running wild.

“D?” Amber eyes looked back to meet baby blue, “what’s up?” The younger could tell the Dimitri wasn’t feeling well, “are you okay? You skipped lunch at school and you missed dinner. Along with that, you came up here right after we got home and no one’s been able to get you out.” Dimitri only shrugged his shoulders, “its just been an off day.” 

Miguel don’t buy it for a second. He crossed his arms and gave his brother the 'really' look. Of coarse, Dimitri tried to act like he didn’t notice, only walking over and sitting on the edge of his bed. And then, only silence.

Miguel could sense the trouble coming from his immediate older brother, so, he just sat beside him and leaned in his shoulder. No words had to be said, just a comfortable silence. Miguel knew that Dimitri would speak when he wants to, when he feels ready to. And the family respected that, but him being silent for most of the day is something they knew was out of place.

And finally, Dimitri spoke. “It was during science class. Me and Ricardo where paired up, as usual. Our assignment was to create an Earth day themed project. He wanted to do the effects of pollution, I wanted to focus on how important the moon is to Earth.”

He took a deep breath and released it in a sigh, “he then said the only reason why I wanted to do that was because I was just like the moon, barely important and always trying to hang around the lively people.” Miguel’s face fell asleep he sat up, “but you’re not a satellite. I mean, you do like to stay close by us, and you’re not really noticed.” His voiced dipped down near the end as he slowly realized that their older brother was on to something. Dimitri only scoffed, “and that’s not the half of it. Some of the other students over heard and laughed, then started calling me Satellite for the rest of class. Then it carried over to lunch and Rick told Lincoln about it.” Miguel nodded, “yeah. I heard about that, but how come you weren’t at lunch? You know Dad gets worried when you skip.”

Dimitri scoffed, “why do you think?” He then pushed himself up to stand and walked over to his balcony. He leaned into the railing and looked up, not really sure what else to say. Neither did Miguel, but he did know he’d have a serious talk with his two older brothers and their dad. Out of all of them, Dimitri had the softest heart. But he never left it on his sleeve. Where he hid it is still a mystery. And it has been since they where all taken in from the orphanage.

His mind was brought back to the present when Dimitri sighed, “he’s right. I am a satellite, especially to you three. Everyday, I’m always near one of you or we’re all together. Heck, I’m just like the moon.” His face fell, “all I do is pull at you guys and never do anything else.” Miguel looked away when he heard a soft click from the door, looking to see a set of green and a set of dark blue eyes looking in. He waved the two in, both being his older brothers. Lincoln having the dark blue eyes and Ricardo having the sharp green but now, they both where filled with worry. And Miguel knew that the worry was for their brother and not him. All three were worried for Dimitri.

Miguel sent a sharp glare towards the two, letting them know that he knows of the satellite situation. And Ricardo lightly winced, having rarely seen such anger on the youngest one’s face. But Rick understood why he was given such a look, it was his fault anyways. And he knew he had to fix it. So, he took a breath and headed to stand near the entrance of the balcony. He hesitated, then walked over and leaned against the railing beside his brother, still trying to create a sentence at least. 

“You don’t need to apologize.” Rick perked up at that and looked at Dimitri, seeing Amber eyes looking down to the small backyard they had. “I understand what you meant when you called me a satellite, and the truth to said name.” Rick felt the guilty start to eat at him, “D. Look I-“ 

Dimitri only shook his head as he closed his eyes, “its okay Rick.” He sighed and looked up, “you are right. I’m just a glorified satellite and you guys are Earth. I follow you three around, pulling and pulling for something I could never have. And you’re Earth, lively and always wanted. Nobody really cares for the Moon, only seeing it as something pretty to look at wen, in reality it’s just a hunk of cold rock.”

“Dimitri, that’s not true.” Ricardo had enough, and when he could think straight, he spoke from his heart. “You are important, even if it doesn’t seem like it. The Moon gives us tides, right? What else does it do for us?” Dimitri scoffed, but answered it anyways. “The moon was once used to tell how long time was, a month roughly being long enough from one full moon to the next. However, the moon is slowing down the Earth's rotation while, simultaneously, moving away from Earth. I don’t see how this helps Rick.”

Amber eyes looked at his older brother, not sensing the slight unease he held. “Would it help if I said we could do your idea instead?” Now that was unexpected. And the other two could tell by Dimitri’s face. He blinked a few times and gave a confused look, “what?” Ricardo sighed, “I want to do your idea for the project. Pollution is a popular and only someone who wants to see Earth from a different perspective could think of using the effects of the Moon on Earth as a unique idea for this kind of project.” 

Ricardo then lightly scoffed, “beside.” He then look to his younger brother, “aren’t Satellite's seeing everything in a different perspective?” It took a second, but Dimitri lightly smiled. “Yeah, and they always give insight on what they see.” Rick smiled back and looked up at the moon, “so. How about you eat and get some rest. We got a whole week and the weekend to finish the project. I overheard that our teacher has to go to a funeral and is going to give us the weekend as well since she’ll need some time to grieve.” 

Dimitri nodded, “alright. But, can you not try to disprove my facts this time? Last time, you tried to prove that Lithium wasn’t an element in front of the whole class and made a fool of yourself.” Lincoln scoffed, “yeah. And Dimitri signified himself as the smartest in the school because of that stunt.” Miguel gave a slight shudder as the two joined them on the balcony, “and no doubt gained a lot of swirlies because of that.” The four stood beside each other, giving each other a small smile and light nudges. 

Yeah, they were a weird bunch, having no blood relation. But, they did have something else. The bond of brothers, that which can never be torn apart. “By the way,” Miguel started, “you’re a lot more than our satellite.” “Yeah,” Lincoln continued. He wrapped his arms around Ricardo, who wrapped one around Dimitri, Miguel wrapping his own around Dimitri as well. “Your our brother. And brothers stay together.”

Maybe, they were right. Through thick and thin, they had stood by each other’s side. When one was down, the rest where there to help in any way they could. Even if help was denied over and over again. So what if they are different. The Solar System is beautiful but none of the planets look the same. And that’s the same with us. We may not look the same, but we do share the same brotherly love for each other.

And, with that thought in mind, he looked back up to the stars.