Long ago, there was neither day nor night. The sun and the moon were twins and lived together with their father Yupiteri who ruled the sky. Yupiteri was a strong leader. By his power alone, the other dwellers of the universe received light and warmth from him. He ruled for a thousand years and was revered by all. His son, Suni, and daughter, Moona looked up to him. They also had the ability to produce light and warmth like their father. As any siblings would be, Suni and Moona had an ongoing rivalry. They always competed in an attempt to find out who could impress their father the most. Being twins, they not only looked alike but had the same character and abilities.

One day, Yupiteri gathered his children.
“You know I am getting old and I won’t be here with you longer.” He said.
“However, it is the duty of this family to keep lighting and warming the sky for the Cosmos dwellers. The two of you have shown me that you are worthy and capable of taking my position. However, only one of you can become the next ruler. I am having trouble deciding who that should be.”
“Me, father.” Both Suni and Moona said in unison.
“You see what I mean. You both do things the same way. It is difficult to decide who will be best suited for this role.” Yupiteri lamented.
“Then let us both rule.” Again the twins said simultaneously.
“Hmmm. That will be impossible because if both of you were to rule, there will be too much light and warmth in the sky and can harm the Cosmos dwellers.” Yupiteri advised.
“I think I have found the perfect solution to determine which one of you will take my position in the sky. You are going to compete through a race. Whoever becomes first to complete the track from one end of the sky to the other and still has the right amount of light and warmth will take my position. The race will take place a week from now, so you have the time to prepare.” The patriarch instructed.
Suni and Moona started practicing for the contest. However, they each discovered that they got so tired after running for a while that their light and warmth faded. As they were practicing on different tracks, none knew the other was facing a similar problem. As the day of the race was approaching, Suni was worried that he will lose to Moona, unaware that Moona was also terrified of the same.
On the eve of the race, none of the twins had achieved the stamina needed to beat the other. As a last resort, Suni went to visit his friend, Volkano, a son of the Mountain family. He told him about the race and what his win means, and that he still felt too weak to beat his sister. Volkano was excited at the thought of having his friend as the ruler of the sky.
“I am going to help you”. He said excitedly. “Come this way.”
Suni followed Volkano to a chamber located way down in the basement of his home. He opened the chamber and showed Suni some glowing embers. Suni had never seen so much hot coal before.
“Just eat enough some of these to fill you up and your warmth and light will never run out during the race.” He offered Suni.
Without a thought, Suni gulped enough coals until he was full. He thanked his friend, assuring him that he will pay the Mountain family handsomely as soon as he takes the throne.
On her part, Moona visited her best friend, Windi.
“I don’t know how I am going to win this race.” She complained.
“Don’t worry dear.” Windi consoled her. “As soon as the race starts, I will whistle while looking your way. This will produce a breeze that will propel you miles ahead of your brother. You will be able to complete the track without wearing off any of your light and warmth.”
“You are the best friend ever,” Moona said while hugging her friend.
On the morning of the race, Suna and Moona came to the east side of the sky as that is where their father told them the race would begin. Moona was first to arrive at the starting point. The dwellers of the Cosmos had gathered to cheer Yupiteri’s children on that great day. Moona turned around to wink at her friend Windi as a reminder of their pact. While Moona was positioning herself on the track, Suni jumped onto the scene with a thud. He was smiling ear to ear and the radiance emitted from all over his face blinding and heating anyone close to him including Moona.
Tum! Tum! Tum! The sound of the drums that signaled the beginning of the race was heard.
However, Moona was still processing his brother’s appearance just as Windi was sending a blow her way causing her to fall out of balance. She slept and fell from the sky to the home of Osheni, the water dwellers, way below.

Suni was now way ahead. He peered behind but he didn’t see any sign of his sister. “He started laughing knowing that he had beaten her. However, the more Suni laughed, the more he emitted more light and heat. Six hours into the race, his light had turned into a blinding glare, while his warmth had become an intense inferno. The Cosmos dwellers dispersed to shelter from Suni’s heat. Yupiteri and other members of the planet family retreated away into darker, cooler, parts of the sky.

By the time the Osheni family had helped Moona out of the water, twelve hours into the race had passed. Moona was shivering because of the cold in the Osheni residence. Her warmth had completely gone away and what was remaining was a spotlight-sized globe of light. Still determined to complete the race, she resumed eastward and followed her brother’s path.

Convinced that his sister is far away behind, Suni descended to the Mountain family to feed on more of Volkano’s embers to help him complete the return trip.  When he arrived back east and found out that his sister was not there, he began to feel worried that she might be lost. Suni forgot about the competition and began looking for his sister by following the same track eastwards.

Moona thought that by the time she reaches east, Suni would have taken the throne. However, she was shocked to find him missing. She descended to the Osheni’s thinking that her brother may also have fallen in their waters. But Osheni said they haven’t seen him. So Moona rose back to the sky and resumed eastward on the track in search for her brother.
Their movement and search for one another continue to today. Every dusk, Suni descends to the Mountain family for more hot coals to power his search trip, while Moona descends to the Osheni to inquire about Suni’s whereabouts. She keeps turning her spotlight in different directions which changes the shape of the light in the sky into different forms. When it is hot and bright and Suni is on the sky, the Cosmos dwellers began saying that it is ‘day’. When it is cool and dark and Moona is in the sky, the dwellers began saying that it is ‘night’.