Making Amends

Packing Day

"Mendel," a deep voice calls.
I sit up with confusion knowing only my mom would be speaking to me.
"I'll be down soon!" I holler.
I surprisingly got a response right away, "Mendel, did you say something?" Came the voice.
"Mendel!" yells a man. My eyes shot open. A man wearing a white suit with a golden trim is before me. He looks very formal and powerful, akin to a CEO.
The only thing I know about this man is that he is not from here. For starters, he is levitating off my carpeted floor, and he has a halo.
"Finally," The angel said, rolling his eyes, "Mendel, I am your guardian angel," he flips his hand over to motion to himself, and then rolls it to point to me, "and you are in grave danger."
"Danger?" I ask, "aren't angels supposed to help people in trouble?"
"That's what I'm doing right now," he says, raising his voice a bit, then mumbling something about teenagers. "Look, Mendel, you are going to die on the 29th this month, but guess what? It's your lucky day! I've come to warn you. You have to forgive-" his mouth moves, but nothing comes out. His eyebrows squint as he tries again. This continues until the angel's eyebrows swivel downwards in anger. Somehow he hasn't woken up my sisters in the next room.
The angel sighs and hangs his head low. In a final attempt, he opens his mouth, "Someone you have wronged."
"That's it?" I ask.
All the anger that he'd shown before came back in a rush, but instead he took a calming breath and said, "I was trying to tell you, but as an angel I can't tell you who is going to kill you. It's against the rules."
"Oh, okay," I say.
The angel snaps his fingers and he disappears like he was never there in the first place.
I stare at the empty area that my guardian angel once floated above.
I'm going to die?
The thought stays in my brain as the shock controls my action.
"Mendel!" Mother yells from downstairs, knocking me from my mind.
"Coming," I yell as I run out of my room banging into someone.
"Get out of my way, Mendel!" Miriam yells at me.
"You!"
"No, you!" Miriam yells, she points to herself with her thumb. "I was here first, I don't care if you're the first one out, but I was here first, so move it!"
"Come on guys, Mother's waiting," Malaya the youngest triplet yells from downstairs.
"Fine," Miriam grumbles.
"Why do you hate me?" I whisper as we descend down the stairs. Miriam first of course..
"Why do you ask such stupid questions?" Miriam's came back with.
"Whatever," I say, rolling my eyes.
We make our way to the dining table where Malaya and our mom are placing plates and silverware.
Malaya gently lays a plate with a stack of pancakes over it. "Bon appetit," She says, lifting an imaginary lid off the plate.
She began giving us our pancakes. I received a pancake with crispy edges that was a bit black in the middle. While Miriam got a pancake that was so white. It looked like it had not been cooked fully.
Miriam looked up at me with a glare, "What?"
"How can you eat that?" I ask, pointing to her snow white pancake.
"I could ask you the same question," she said, crossing her arms.
"Mendel," Mother warned. She and Father never really liked it when we fought. It has been that way since we were children.
Miriam sticks her tongue out, her eyes slit from her smile. "No so golden child," she whispers.
"Miriam!" Father raises his voice, scolding her. A smirk reaches my face at the action.
Father sits down at the table and Malaya places his pancake --which was similar to mine— on his plate.
***
After breakfast we began to pack for our upcoming trip. We have been doing the week long Triplet Trip for years now. The week is split Since we don't really like the same thing we don't agree on the same things. I like adventure, bright, and crazy, things while Miriam is more into nature and the simple things in life. I like the city and she likes the country. I like roller coasters and she likes hiking. I like the summer because of all the cool things I can do, she enjoys the winter so she can curl in a blanket and watch romcoms. At least I have a girlfriend. None of my sisters have one. Or should I say had one. We are ex's now.
Mother said we are going to Branson, Missouri for our Triplet Trip which has a lot of things I like. I just can't think of who I haven't made amends with. My ex maybe.
The thought sends shivers down my back. I shake my head and focus on packing. I throw some clothes in. Four shorts, a pant, three T-shirts and two tank tops.
I smile because I'm done packing my clothes until I hear a familiar voice.
"That's what you're packing?" Miriam says. She's carrying a basket full of clean laundry. "Mendel, you have to actually pack them. Not just throw it in."
"I pack what and how I want and so can you. Shoo," I say flicking my fingers at her.
Miriam leaves after giving me the raspberry and an eye roll from her. I go back to my closet when I hear another familiar voice.
"Why do you guys fight so much?" Malaya asks.
"I don't know," I shrug my shoulders. "I guess that Miriam is just jealous about being the middle triplet instead of the first. It's just fighting. She's not scaly going to hurt me."
I try to comfort Malaya's worries, but my words don't seem to work. I try a different approach.
My fingers tickle her neck and she giggles instantly scruning up her neck and moving her jaw to cover my hand.
"Stop!" She laughs and I don't, "Okay, I believe you," I yank my hand from the jaw hold, "just don't do anything violent."
"We don't," I say with a smile.
Malaya acts more like an adult out of all of us. She always compromises when we fight and she takes care of us. She leaves my room with a warm smile. She always brings a smile to my face.
***
We exit the car at night. And Malaya makes her way forward to a cabin.
My phone tells me it's about 10pm. We walk up red wooden stairs which are illuminated by my phone's flashlight. Malaya goes to a glass sliding door and grabs a lock that is hanging by it.
"Mendel," she calls, "can you shine that light over here?"
I make my way over to the lock and shine the light on the metal numbers.
Malaya looks at her phone and reads a four digit code. She then turns the number dials and we hear a click.
Malaya puts in the key to the sliding door and opens it.
"Yay," Mother cheers for no reason and we go back for our stuff.