Twisted Fate

Chapter 9: Opening

I leaned down, speculating the strange white envelope lying right in front of me.  What in the world could it be?  Could it have some sort of cure for m sleeping beauties next to me?  Well, more like sleeping uglies, in Henry’s case.

Deep breath.  Deep breath. Shallow breath. Deep breath. Hyperventilating.

Get over it.  Open the stupid thing!

The spotless, wordless envelope was mercilessly shredded by my hands, ruining my iridescent blue manicure.  As if I actually was thinking about that at all.

Luckily, my extreme ripping session didn’t affect the scrap of paper inside of that scandalous little envelope.  I pulled it out between my thumb and forefinger, like it was some sort of slimy, odorous exotic cheese.  I hated cheese.  Would I hate what was contained on this piece of paper?

The paper obviously contrasted the blank white envelope, as it was more of a tan color with splotches of black scattered over it like it was made by Polly or Pollock or some artist like that.  It also was brimming with words, all crammed together into this tiny space.  I found myself actually reading it, surprisingly, as I always spent about 3 minutes staring at books before actually reading them.  Normally, I would look at them and wonder what I would read about that time; it seemed to get me more excited about it.  This situation was completely different, though.  I was yearning for what this letter was about.  I needed it to survive, whether I wanted to admit it or not.

This is what greeted my greedy eyes as they starting to dig deeper and deeper into the words:

 

 

Hello, Miss Frett.

I know you are wondering what exactly this is, or why your mother and brother are in a deep, unbreakable slumber.  These questions can all be answered.  In time.  For now, I will give you the most logical and simple answers.

This is for you.  You are the cause of everything you have ever wondered.  This life is because of you.  Perhaps one day you can change it.  One day you will understand everything, and everything will be understood about you.

There is something larger than life going on here.  You are a tiny, but necessary piece of our puzzle.  In order to fit in, to be snapped into place, you are going to have to make sacrifices.  You are going to have to make choices that will leave you dazed and shocked.  But remember: this is because of you.  This is for you.  We are counting on you.

And because this part revolves around you at the moment, we are giving you instructions to guide you, but only when you believe you are ready.  If you are ready, not prepared, just ready to face the world and what lies beyond our realm of reality, read on.

 

Was I ready?  Was I ready to make sacrifices and choices I never thought I’d have to make?  The thought tempted me, pulling me closer and closer to the point I was sure that I would read on.  But although the desire was almost overwhelming, it was just that.  Almost.  I was strong.  I had willpower.  And I knew that I still wasn’t ready to let go.  I wasn’t ready to leap of the cliff into the raging chaos below.  Soon, maybe, but not now.

I knew that I had to hide that piece of my fate, of my future.  Not just so that the outside world would never find it, but so that I couldn’t.  it’s like having lots of candy in a cabinet in a child’s reach: at first, the child would resist because he knew it was wrong and that there would be consequences, but there was a certain breaking point where the supply of good sense and willpower would be cut off, and the child would lunge desperately for the delicious candy.  That breaking point was different for every person, and for me it was extremely hard to get to, but it still existed.  It still hung there, dangling.

This was a powerful force, this little letter.  I knew it, and I knew that I had to wait, but it was so difficult.  Eventually, I summoned up out of me the courage to put it up in my little safebox that was up in the attic.  I clambered up the ladder, scrunching the paper in fear.  The fear of what was to come, the fear of facing everything.

Once I had accomplished that task, I had to move onto the next: what to do with my mom and Henry.  It was almost 8 o’clock, which meant that my dad would be home in about 30 minutes.

I plunked myself down on the couch, not really caring if I accidentally smashed Henry’s pinky finger.  This whole thing felt so surreal, like it was a book or a movie.  My mind was wandering around a foreign land, looking for the answers.  Never in a million years I would have ever imagined this happening.  Especially not to me.  Perfect little Kelly, who purposely got B’s and C’s to not look too smart or dumb, who had the best boyfriends, who was so popular because of a fake half of her.

Back to the mission, Kelly.  Right. How to hide them.

After several minutes of pondering my options, I finally decided with the dragging them to their bedrooms then saying that they had a really, really hard day at work.  So much that they were now fast asleep, and that they couldn’t be bothered to wake up.

The physical part of it turned out to be much harder to comlete than the lying part.  I wasn’t particularly muscular or fit, so it was a fairly daunting task.  For the next 20 mintues, I sweated and panted as I slowly moved my family from the living room to their nice, cozy beds.

Finally, it was completed.  It was 8:29.  That was when the text came.