Scribbling Business: The Ink Decides All

i. the hidden watcher

life isn't always
sunshine and rainbows,
but why am i always
surrounded by crows?
do i just watch the smile on his face
when i remain unacknowledged,
my name stuck in a case?

We were twins.

It was a harsh winter night, when the land and trees is covered with snow and the danger of a blizzard lies nearby. The vehicle is unnervingly quiet as the delicate flakes that fell from the sky landed on the windshield of the car, only to be kicked out by its wiper.

"Mom, where are we going?"

I got not a single word from my parents, who seemed too focused on the road. The cold didn't seem to come from outside the vehicle; it feels so much colder in it.

I looked beside me, where my brother was sleeping soundly on the other side. I wouldn't dare to interrupt his sleep because I might get another bunch of hurtful remarks from my parents, not to mention that he just got well from his fever.

I just got better from fever too.

Why do they... not care?

How could they?

The silence that tortured and almost deafened my ears finally halted to a stop when the car did. It was parked in front of a church. It looked eerie. Really eerie.

Everything was so dark that I couldn't see half of the things on the trail as we walked, my mom's hand holding my arm as she silently wept.

"Are we going to pray, Mommy?" I asked, my voice shaky due to the temperature.

"I'm sorry," she replied, before letting go of me and running to Dad. "I can't do this, I can't just let our son go..."

"Calvin," I murmured, giving him a forced smile, feeling hurt by looking at them even though I don't understand what they're talking about. "Let's pray for them."

And so we went inside.

The darkness covered every nook and cranny of it, making my skin shiver. The cross didn't help either. It made everything inside feel uncomfortable. Even with fear, I pushed myself to be brave and walk to the altar to pray.

"Dear Father, please help my parents," I softly murmured, as I knelt in front of the cross. "I don't want to see them hurting. Please give them happiness."

I stayed there for minutes, even when my fingers started getting frostbitten, even when the coldness of winter crept onto my skin and made my head hurt.

Just as I was about to stand up, I heard the doors slam shut. I stopped for a moment to think about what just happened.

"Casio!"

When I heard the cries of my brother, I immediately rushed to the door. I tried to push it, pull it, punch it - all to no use.

I peeked at the tinted windows with tears. "Calvin! I can't go out, I'm locked! Open the door!" I ran back to the door and slammed my fists there as hard as I can, but a child so small can only do so much damage to it.

I heard his knocks, his shouts, his grunts of effort, as he tried to open the door from outside. Nothing happened.

His screams slowly faded and died out. I looked at the window pane and watched as he got pulled to the car by both our parents. "I can't leave Casio here! Dad, let me go! Let me-"

I heard the car door slam from afar, the jingling of keys, and the sound of the machine. I watched them leave without a proper goodbye. The cold was the least of my worries; I need to go back.

We're twins. And we can't be separated for too long.

"So, they live here, huh?"

The sunlight on the village felt really warm - not in a literal way - metaphorically. It made everything feel so bright, and happy, and stuff.

"Yeah," the landlord replied. "The Sumera residence. Your last name is Sumera too, right? Are you related with them?"

Upon hearing the question, I was hesitant to answer truthfully. It has been so long, but it still feels so fresh in my mind. Living beside them would feel like putting salt in a long-mended wound.

"I just heard of them. I heard that Calvin is a genius."

"Oh, hell yeah," he replied, handing me the keys. "Good luck getting his side then." he chuckled, before leaving.

"I'll watch over you, Calvin. And Mom. And Dad." I whispered to the air, before my packages and furnitures arrived.