The Lost Brother

Jupiter was worried. He had not seen his younger brother Pluto in a long time. The Great Shift happened, which is a cosmic event that disrupted the orbit of Pluto. After that event, Pluto drifted further away from the rest of the family. The other planets attempted to persuade Jupiter that Pluto was right and that he was simply on one of his trips to explore the Solar System’s cold zones. But Jupiter could not shake the sense that something was wrong.

He decided to look for Pluto. He asked his siblings if they wanted to join him, but everyone had their reasons for staying. Mercury was too busy running around the Sun. Venus was too vain to abandon her mirror-like clouds. Earth was excessively preoccupied with its live inhabitants. Mars was too egoistic to acknowledge that he missed Pluto. Saturn was too sluggish to leave her comfortable rings. Uranus was too rebellious to follow Jupiter’s plan. Neptune was too dreamy to be concerned about anything else.

Jupiter felt bad and insulted at the same time. He believed his siblings did not adore Pluto as much as he did. He headed off on his own, determined to find and bring his younger brother back. He searched high and low, from the Asteroid Belt to the Kuiper Belt, but he could not find Pluto. He queried every comet and meteor he came across, but none of them had seen Pluto either. He began to lose hope and thought he would never see Pluto again.

Then one day, he noticed a dim light at the spike of his sight. He pursued it with hope: it was a sign from Pluto. As he came closer, he discovered it was a new comet formed from the remains of a faraway planet. The comet was dazzling and gorgeous, and it left a path of stardust behind. Jupiter felt a burst of joy, believing Pluto had sent him a message, a present, or a method to find him.

He approached the comet and tried to communicate with it. But when he did, he felt a sharp jolt. The comet had collided with him and made him spin out of control. He attempted to stabilize himself, but it was too late. He had been knocked off his route and was heading towards the Sun.

He screamed for rescue with the hope that his siblings could hear him. But they were too far away, too busy, and too unconcerned. He understood he was alone and destined to be the meal of the Sun. He wished he had never abandoned his family, never searched for Pluto, and never trusted the comet. But he wished he could meet Pluto one last time and tell him he loved him.

He closed his eyes and waited for the end. Then he heard a friendly voice.

“Jupiter! Jupiter! Wake up.”

He opened his eyes to see. Pluto was standing in front of him, smiling and laughing. He looked the same as he always did: little, round, and charming.

“Pluto? Is this you? How did you…Where did you…?”

Jupiter was speechless. He could not believe his eyes. He held Pluto, feeling his icy yet comforting touch.

“Pluto, I have missed you so much! I thought I had lost you forever!”

Pluto returned the hug, feeling his warm and caring embrace.

“Jupiter, I missed you, too! I am sorry I left you. I was simply fascinated by the other empires out of the solar system. I wanted to know what they were like. But I always thought of you and our family. I have always wanted to come back.”

“So how did you find me? How did you save me?”

Pluto smiled and pointed towards the comet.

“That is how. That is not a comet. That is a spaceship. A spaceship I built from the scraps of the other worlds. A spaceship I used to travel across the Solar System. A spaceship I used to rescue you from the Sun.”

Jupiter was amazed. He looked at the comet and saw that it was indeed a spaceship that looked like a comet. He saw the engines, the wings, the windows, the doors. He saw the stardust, which was exhausted from the spaceship. He saw the big light on the top.

“That is wonderful, Pluto! You are fantastic! You are a genius, a hero, and a legend!”

Pluto blushed and shrugged.

“Nah, I am only a planet. A planet who cherishes his brother’s love. A planet who wishes to return home.”

Jupiter smiled and nodded.

“I agree, Pluto. I agree. Let us go home.”

When they were about to board the spaceship another similar spaceship appeared. Both the spaceships were so identical even Pluto did not get which was the spaceship that he created. When Jupiter asked about the other one, Pluto got confused and wrapped the situation by saying,

“As we are nine siblings, I created two similar spaceships so our other siblings can travel the cosmos and go for adventure”.

They both boarded the separate spaceships and started to fly away from the Sun. Pluto said,

“Let’s start a race.”

Jupiter agreed. Sometimes Pluto gets ahead and sometimes Jupiter. Both of them were having fun. Suddenly, a dust storm came in the way. After crossing it, Jupiter looked back, but Pluto was not there. Jupiter felt a little strange, but now the house was not far away, so he was not too worried. When he reached his home, he asked other planets about Pluto, and Pluto had not yet reached. Everyone started to wait but they did not know that they would continue to wait forever. Because the other spaceship was not created by Pluto but by aliens who came to kidnap Pluto forever.

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