"That was a terrible idea," the girl said, her eyes wide as she struggled to balance the apple on top of her head.
"Just don't move, I told you..." The boy seemed to be about the same age, maybe a year older. He was a bit ahead of her, pulling the bowstring and aiming the arrow towards the girl. His fingertips were damp, and more and more strength was required to keep the arrow from being shot without being perfectly aligned, but it was too windy where they were.
The top of the hill looked like a small flowerless field with short grass. Only one tree provided shade from the sun shining at the top of the blue sky.
"Theseus!" The girl's heart kept pounding, a droplet running down her temple tickled her head, but her brother could hit her hand if she dared to raise it. "That's enough!" Her insistence was in vain, she knew her brother would never give up on the crazy ideas he got in his head.
"Just a little longer..."
The girl saw the wind sway the bow her brother held. The apple was not in his sights; it was time to run. She had barely taken the second step when she heard the arrow being shot. She fell to the ground with her eyes closed, trying to feel if the arrow had hit her anywhere.
"Bullseye!" The fruit hung just below where the girl had balanced it a moment ago, its juice already dripping from the arrow. "Demeter, are you in the mood for worm stew? Come on, get up."
Her brother lifted her gently while laughing, and she wiped the dirt from her knees and sweat from her forehead.
"That was too close, I won't listen to you anymore!" Demeter's cheeks were chubby and red, her face not sharing in her brother's joy.
"Hush! Can you smell that?" Theseus inhaled deeply. Demeter pushed her brother to try to smell where he was, but she must have been too small because she couldn't smell anything.
"What is it? I can't smell anything!" Even when she took a deep breath, nothing came to her nose.
"It must be... pie! Warm banana pie. Come on, sister, run!"
Theseus dropped the bow and ran down the hill, his sister panting as she tried to keep up, but always falling behind. The small Fieldgar house was a little brick burrow at the foot of the hill, near the field where fences separated the animals. The boy arrived at the back door of the house, out of breath, and realized his sister was still halfway down the slope, but the smell of banana was too strong to wait for her. The boy pushed the door.