Beech - Legend of the Dryads, Book 2

Chapter 2

"Why brown eyes?" asked Jayne, teetering precariously on her unstable mattress. Finding her balance, she stretched up her arm, her fingertips barely grazing the top of the shelf. Just one more inch. Was that too much to ask for? Something told Jayne that the height Gods did not favour her.

"Because I inherited the blue eyes. I wouldn't want my sibling to have nicer eyes than me!"

Jayne's fingers fumbled along the high surface, searching for what she was too short to see. Eventually, her hand hit the old shoebox she'd stored up there...goodness knew how long ago!

"So...you wouldn't want them to look like you, then?"

"Oh yeah, I just wouldn't want them to be prettier than me!"

The box was now just about visible poking over the edge of the wooden shelf, thanks to Jayne's efforts. She grabbed the garish blue cardboard with her left hand and expertly pulled it from its seat on the dusty ledge and caught the other end with her right hand, knocking off only the yellow Post-It note - labelled "Useless Junk" - in the process.

"So, you'd want a sister, I assume?"

"Yeah. Or a brother. Maybe both!" Her eyes twinkled with possibilities. "Ooh, what about a twin? That would be cool! Non-identical, of course!"

"Of course." Jayne grimaced at the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on top of the discarded shoebox. Gross. Instead of circulating it back into the air of her tiny room, she took it over to the open window and brushed the gunk out that way.

"Because then they'd be the same age as me and would be less likely to annoy the hell outta me!"

Jayne snorted. "You sure about that? I'm the same age as you and I annoy the hell outta you!"

"Yeah, sure," Tara smiled, eyeing the disused box that Jayne carried over to her greedily. "But that's different - we're not living under the same roof!"

Jayne took a seat on the beige carpet, seeing as Tara had already appointed herself to the beanbag. "Do you think we'd get along well? As sisters, I mean," voiced her wandering mind.

Tara sucked in a deep breath, pretending to be deep in thought. "Ooh, dunno if I could live with that," she teased. Jayne punched her playfully on the shoulder for the insult, and Tara rubbed it, pouting in mock pain. "See?" she said, "That's exactly what I mean! We'd end up killing each other!"

The realisation of what she'd actually said hit Tara the same time it did Jayne. Both girls dropped their gazes to the floor. That remark had hit a little too close to home, for both of them. A horrible silence snuck into the room.

Tara cleared her throat. "So, what about you?" she spoke up after a few seconds, eager to chase away the touchy topic she had unintentionally invited in.

"Huh?"

"What would your ideal sibling be like?"

This was a discussion Tara had instigated earlier. Both being the only children in their respective households, it was easy for them to fantasise about having to share their abodes with an extra family member.

Jayne thought for a bit, before confidently answering, "I'd have a brother, preferably older than me."

"Any reason?" probed Tara when Jayne failed to elaborate.

"Well, he could do all my homework for me!" she laughed, but Tara now wasn't really listening, as her attention had been turned to the contents of the bright blue box before her.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you never use these!" she squealed, picking up a pot of pearlescent pink polish. Jayne shrugged.

"Never had a reason to," she stated.