Syf became relaxed once he put his bags inside his room. Looking at the portrait of his favorite artist still hanging on the wall gave him an itch in his heart. The embers in his heart, which had previously died out, almost seemed to be on the verge of ignition. He let the sight out of his eyes and out of his mind and decided the first thing to do was have a shower.

  Living in the city, Syf had become accustomed to the terrible nature of the washroom and the dirty water that came out of the tap. However, once he was inside the house’s bathroom, he suddenly felt like life had become better all of a sudden. He turned on the shower. The shower didn’t work where he lived previously. He braced himself as he opened the shower, expecting to get drenched in cold water, but warmth rained on him.

  He closed his eyes as he reveled in the sensation of water. He took his sweet time cleaning himself, and when he finally felt that he was getting exhausted, he decided to come out of the shower before turning to look at himself in the mirror in his room.

  Gone was the man toiling hard in the rough sections of the city. It was the version of him that had gone into hiding. He was now face-to-face with himself. The Syf in real life made contact with the eyes of the one in the mirror. Both asked the same question.

  “Where have you been?” Redness crept up in his eyes as he shied away from himself.

  After dressing up, Syf went outside his room to take a look at his house. The kitchen was his first destination, because it was the place where he used to pester his mom to make delicious food. She was the best chef as far as he knew. He wouldn’t belittle his father, though. In a few moments, his dad can cook something extraordinary, and both he and his sister will swarm around him, asking for more.

  Those days were some of the sweetest of his life. There was only joy and no fear. Fear—how could he be afraid of something when his father was always there to convince him that there was nothing to be afraid of? His father looked the same today. His father believed in something. He asked his father who that was, but he never got the answer. His father would always distract him with other things.

  And then there was his sister. His twin sister’s room stood adjacent to his room. However, he felt afraid to go there, let alone open it. He kept looking at the door. The little courage he gathered wasn’t enough.

  “You know we are one. No one can beat us when we are together.” Syf looked at his younger self. The snooty kid grinned, showing off his teeth. Some of them were already broken.

  The kid wore a cape made from the older curtains and wielded a sword his dad had carved out of cardboard. He swung his sword, convincing his twin sister standing behind him. Wearing a small box as her helmet, and with her own little cape clung to her back. She held a small shield.

  “And I will protect you from anyone who harms you,” Isolle shouted from the top of her lungs, her eyes closed.

  “Then let’s defeat the monsters. Haarrrrr.” Syf shouted before running into the halls and fighting against the invisible monsters. Isolle stepped from time to time, protecting against some of the invisible attacks.

  “Brother, we need to be faster,” Isolle said before swinging her shield faster than before.

  The kids went around his legs as Syf watched them with a smile on his face. He really used to be pretty imaginative for his age.

  “Yes, I will protect you,” Syf said, swinging his sword here and there before he bumped it against a hard surface and broke it.

  An invisible enemy took advantage of the moment and slashed across his body. Syf fell with a scream. He lay there on the ground, half his cape coming off.

  “Isolle, I couldn’t protect you,” Syf said weakly.

  “No, brother, you can’t fall like that. I will protect you.” She swung her shield even more wildly around in the air. At one point, the glue on the handle came loose, and the shield went flying off.

  “Noooo.” She shouted in misery.

  “Isolle,” Syf spoke weakly from the ground.

  The story was on the verge of reaching its climax when someone interrupted it.

  “What are you two even doing?” An upset mom came running from downstairs, hearing the rush of steps from upstairs. Looking at her, both Syf and Isolle instantly got somber as if someone had doused them in elixir. They looked at the frustrated mom who was keeping her vision between the two, and then they looked at each other.

  “Run.” They screamed as they ran away from their dangerous mom.

  “Hey, stop both of you.” Ellen kept shouting as they both tried to avoid her. However, every journey comes to an end, and it did just then. Syf sighed as he recalled the defeat not against the monsters but against his own mom.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The memory was something he deeply treasured to the point he remembered it even now. Taking courage from the same, he went across his sister’s room and pushed the door open.

  In high school, she often sat across the study table doing her homework. She was the studious kind, and he liked mischief more than studies. And so he deliberately went searching and menacingly entered her room once he realized she was inside. Strangely, the Isolle sitting there didn’t look like the Isolle from high school.

  “Huh.” Syf was confused. Why was his sister sitting inside the room with a laptop at that?

  The person, Isolle, was busy with something on her laptop, and when she realized someone had entered the door, she thought it was her dad.

  “Dad, at least knock—" Isolle fell silent. The man standing in her room was not her father but was her brother?

  “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…” Isolle kept repeating as she jumped from her bed, not even glancing at where she kept her laptop, and ran toward the man standing across the door. She even jumped as she came across him, hugging him instantly.

  Syf was unprepared for the whole thing and went tumbling on the floor.

  “You are kidding me,” Syf said as he realized Isolle was here in her room, in their house in their own city.

  “Obviously, it’s you,” Isolle said before climbing back to her feet.

  “What do you mean obv—.” Syf stopped. Isolle extended her hand towards him, and he understood her intention. He slapped her hand, which was intentional because it was their secret greeting. With full enthusiasm and giggles, the twin pair jumped around. Syf nearly expected his mom downstairs to scold him, but that didn't happen.

  “It is so good to see you here,” Syf said after they both stopped. His eyes were full of emotion.

  “Likewise, dummy,” Isolle said.

  ***

  Even though it was nearly nighttime, it was still early compared to the usual closing time for Ellen and David's restaurant. But unlike other days, today was special. Both of their kids had come back, surprising them, and that too on the same day.

  “It is excellent that we didn’t tell them about each other,” Ellen said, looking at the first floor from outside the restaurant.

  “Oh, that was intentional, of course. You know, I was really starting to miss them.” David said, grabbing his wife’s hands.

  “Oh, we both know that.” Ellen smiled. “Let’s go and see what those rascals are up to then.”

  “I hope they don’t decide to demolish our home with all that jumping,” David said jokingly. However, he was sweating inside. The house was a little old for that much enthusiasm after all.

  It was time for a little family reunion, and so on the first floor, all four family members had gathered and were now sitting across the table. They were eyeing each other with suspicious eyes because this was the time all secrets would be revealed.

  Syf was especially feeling his mouth dry with all the tension, and so even in that quiet moment, he tried gulping saliva. Although he tried to be inconspicuous, the sound reached his mom’s ears. And suddenly, Syf started feeling hot despite the chill in the air.

  “So.” Syf was the first to open his mouth. “Mom and Dad, why don’t you tell us how you are doing nowadays?” Half afraid of what they might say next. And Syf was right in this regard.

  “So, the son is old enough to question things now,” David said, meeting Syf’s gaze.

  “Of course not. Haha, I—we just wanted to know how the restaurant is doing nowadays.” Syf said awkwardly. No, it was his fear creeping in.

  “Stop scaring him, Dad. Just tell us; we want to know.” Isolle said, and suddenly Syf was a thousand times glad for her presence in the room.

  “Alright. Well, the thing is, business has been going pretty well. I mean, it always has been; locals generally tend to visit us. But with the recent circumstances, the numbers have increased. Your mom has become like a social leader of sorts," David said, teasing Ellen.

  “Oh, stop with that stuff. We are doing fine; we wanted to let you know how ashamed we are.” Ellen started, but suddenly her mood became somber. “Even with all this, we didn’t have enough to send both of our kids to college.”

  “Ellen.” David looked at her with worry. Her children also began to worry, but it affected Syf the most.

  “What are you talking about? Mom, you haven’t failed us. I just never wanted to go to college. I was never into studies, you remember that, right? I always told you it was my memory that made it easier; that was it. Nothing else.” Syf tried to rectify the situation. He didn’t want his parents to feel guilty. The reason he decided to run away was just for that.

  “Hey, don’t go around ruining the mood, guys. I have something wonderful to tell all of you.” Isolle let her cheerful persona do the work in the room.

  “What is it?” Dad said.

  “Glad you asked.” Isolle said smugly before continuing, “My mentor has decided to include me in the scholarship.” A dimple formed on her cheeks.

  “That’s great,” Syf said.

  “Really. I must make you something to celebrate," Mom said.

  “Congratulations,” Dad said, each word deliberately hanging in the air.

  Isolle thanked everyone in between all the enthusiasm, and then she turned toward Syf.

  “That means you can start your studies again. Isn’t that good?”

  Syf didn’t share her opinion. He turned awkward as he tried to avoid her previous question.

  “Hey, Syf, why don’t you tell us about your stay in the city? Let’s hear some of the adventures you went through during your time there.” Dad suddenly looked at him.

  “Oh yes, tell us. You never tell me anything on the phone.” Ellen said with grievance. And then Syf looked at Isolle, who was giving him a big nod, asking him to go on.

  There were many things that assaulted his brain at the same time. There were a few sweet ones, but the dark ones drowned them until Syf felt like he was gasping for air. The memories continued to flash, causing his brain to ache.

  Syf started with a few sweet memories. Like he had a girlfriend named Sophie, he had a well-paying job, and the locality he lived in wasn’t too awful. But that was it.

  “That’s it?” His mom seemed surprised that it had ended so soon.

  “Come on, you need to tell us more,” David said with a bit of a laugh.

  Isolle nodded twice in a row.

  After a bit of deliberation, where he thought of hiding things away, he decided to come clean.

  Syf sighed as he looked at the expectation in their eyes. His own had darkened a bit, as if a huge dark cloud had clung to his destiny.

  “Then listen to my story. However, I must warn you, it isn’t the one you are expecting.”