We never knew each other

The Body

Of course we happened to come upon the dead body. He looked in his late 50s and wore an expensive suit; he had a crisp black tie and a perfectly white handkerchief in the right-hand pocket. The man's pitch-black hair was framing his waxy face. His mouth parted in an expression of surprise. The leaves fell around us like hail, fast and heavy. It was like the trees had an unlimited reserve. We had walked this path many times, the details engraved in my mind, how each tree curved up and towards the sun, blocking out the sunlight, making it seem more like a path in a movie than a natural trail. My brother and I were walking through the graveyard, fitting, I know. We were wandering around as dusk loomed ahead, ashy gray clouds covered the sky, and a slight drizzle started to fall. The sun was just setting, casting a golden glow around the clouds. It was a suitable atmosphere for a walk in a graveyard.

It was the 6th of July, the day our parents were found dead. We were returning from their graves when something caught my eye. I would later wish I hadn't looked, that I had kept walking. I turned and froze, horror spreading through me. Alex, luckily, walked past, not noticing what I was staring at. I turned and ordered myself to walk away, but my feet wouldn't comply. I was petrified.

"What's taking so long, Arora?" Alex said, walking toward me before I could reply.

"Ummm," I faltered, my mind racing to find a reasonable explanation for finding a dead body on the ground. "I don't know... I justtt... fou..und a dead body, I ii...'' hoping that my stammering would hide my panic at having stumbled upon the dead body.

"I can see that." He said, his voice lowered, the confusion and alarm unmistakable.

"I'm going to have to report this," He mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Ok..." We stared at it for another minute, and then he finally broke the silence.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day," he said, playing with his bracelet. It was a simple leather band with a stone set into it. I had once asked where he got it from, and he pretended not to have heard me. I have assumed it's from some sort of lover.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong? There is a dead body!"

"You are doing that thing with your bracelet again."

"I don't do 'a thing' with my bracelet." He declared after immediately dropping his hand,

"and if I did, it's because there is a literal dead body about a foot in front of us."

"Oh yeah, right, my bad. I must have been thinking of another Alexander with a brown leather band and a small black stone. My bad," I say, the sarcasm not lost on him.

This banter was not uncommon between us, as it was our way of coping. We had developed this understanding, and so he didn't press it.

"Laying it on real thick there, I see." He grinned a hidden laugh in his voice before turning to look back at the man. We were still standing there when I realized how suspicious it would look if someone found us: the dark sky and black trees, two kids shrouded in mist, standing over a suspiciously still body, not talking.

"I think we should go."

"Go? Go where?"

"I don't know"

"So we should just leave him here."

"I don't know"

"Just walk away and not tell anyone."

"I don't know! I'm sorry, I'm stressed, and I-"
"Okay, okay, it's fine, Arora. You're fine," he answered, wrapping me in a hug. My vision started to blur and sway, the ground buckling under me. I wondered what was happening until I realized I was crying. Well, that adds drama. Thank my allergies, I thought with a slight grin, fading as I realized the danger he was in. An orphaned seventeen-year-old boy sighted with the dead body of an important political figure would definitely not be a good look. With the trees swimming in and out of my vision, I felt myself hit the ground.

The silence was deafening as I lay still in my bed. Not for the first time, I second-thought all this. Alex was the only family I had left that I knew of; if they took him, I didn't know what I would do to get him back. On the other hand, if he found out, I can't even imagine what would happen. Alex always loved the rules; he took after our parents in that way. Having gotten home, I went straight to my room, telling him I needed time to myself. I instantly felt that something was amiss stepping in. I had memorized everything in my room, from how I folded my bed sheets every morning to how many inches my dresser was from the wall. Even then, it took some time for me to realize what exactly was awry. A flower had been replaced. I always had fresh snapdragons in my room, some of the only life in our house.

The snapdragon was so lifelike that I almost didn't notice it. The only thing that tipped me off was a tinge of too much green in the stem. I walked over, careful not to make the slightest noise; at this point, it was 10 pm, and my brother and I may have different rooms, but the wall between us was as thin as a leaf. He was the lightest sleeper I knew. It seemed like he merely stayed awake all night.

I picked up the discolored snapdragon and unfolded it. Nice to hear from you again, I thought, laughing.

ce soir, quand les sorcières volent, 38.2607° S, 175.1113° E

I was going to be tired tomorrow. Three am was unusually late, even for our meetings. I went to lie down, and my heart skipped a beat as I heard my door open. With my back to the door and the note in my hand, I faked, coughed, and brought the paper to my mouth, popping it in before I turned to see who was there. Peppermint flooded my mouth as the paper disintegrated. I gagged, breaking my concentration, using all of my self-control to not spit it out.

There was no reason for peppermint-flavored paper unless he had found out, but of course, he had.
Shit.

"Are you ok?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened. I guess I just had something in my throat," I answered cautiously. Testing how suspicious he was.

"Okay, I was just coming to say goodnight."

"Haha, goodnight."

"Night sis."

He headed out, leaving me to wait for what felt like the longest five seconds of my life to let out my pent-up breath.

I lay down thinking I could catch some sleep for at least an hour, but sleep remained elusive.
Never mind, these five seconds are longer, I considered with a half chuckle, staring at the grandfather clock and watching the second hand. Finally, finally, the clock chimed three. By the first gong, I was on my feet; by the next, I had reached the window. The last gong echoed around, concealing the sound of my window sliding closed. My slippers hit the dirt surrounding our house with a soft thump, repeating as I ran toward the caves. Blond hair flew out behind me like a kite string when I was younger, and my eyes started to water from the cold wind.

I loved the caves. They were always pitch black, like you entered another world when you stepped inside, even in the middle of summer. You could almost hear the black. Then, as you walk along, the sand, small stones, and rose moss make a sleepy symphony. It slowly gets lighter, like when the sun barely touches the horizon, turning the sky pink. Then, when your eyes have adjusted, you can see the millions of glow worms. They moved around, creating an ever-changing ambiance, the shadows shifting, making it impossible to focus on one thing. Creating an eerie melody of scratching and vibrating that you could feel in your bones and mind. That's why I didn't see or hear Theo until he spoke. That and that no one ever can.

"Hello, Arora"

I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard him, quickly composing myself, hoping he didn't see. Knowing that, of course, he had, he never missed anything.

"Nice to see you again, Theo."