In the Midst of Midnight Light

Hugs and Lies

I took off my shoes and threw them aside, and then Kily walked in. Her eyes were red, and I could see that in the short time I had left her outside, that she had been crying again. She was fragile, my little sister. Anything could trigger a meltdown in an instant. I was older than her by two years, I am 17 and she is 15. I watched as she silently slid off her shoes while shaking. I took her by the hand and slowly walked up the stairs. My uncle’s door was open and I peeked over the edge of the doorway while Kily clung to my back. I saw the disgusting being asleep in father’s old recliner with a beer next to him. I crept past his room with Kily following, and then I dropped her off at her room to change out of her wet clothes. I walked to my room, flopped onto my bed and picked up the book I had left when I first heard the door slam. After reading the same paragraph over and over again, I threw the paperback into the corner of the room and covered my eyes with my arm.

I heard a knock on my door’s frame and removed my arm to see Kily there. She was fiddling with her fingers nervously and was shifting her weight from one foot to another. I got up and went over to her and she stuttered out a sentence “I…I just wanted you to know…”, I silenced her with a hug. It startled her that I was hugging her, and even more so the fact that I was crying. She closed her eyes and started crying too; hugging me back tightly, she finished her sentence. “ T…that I was sorry. I’m so sorry Anzen.”. I wasn’t dumb enough to think that she was apologizing for running away; she was apologizing for mom dying. The very thing she blamed herself for.

I looked over at Kily’s sleeping form, her eyes now slightly puffy from crying. I was sure I didn’t look too different. I stroked her hair as she slept. I hadn’t called Kily out on her slight lie, and just kept the moment peaceful; as peaceful as it could be with my uncle in the house that is. After we had finished with the tears, it was awkward. But it didn’t affect us too much, since awkwardness was the least of our problems. Our mother died last week, and she was the only parent we had left. Our father had died years before, due to gang assault. Kily doesn’t remember anything about our father since she was 2 when it happened, I was 4 and witnessed it firsthand.

The weather was nice; warm but slightly windy. The clouds were fluffy and full, the type you dreamed about sleeping on when you were my age. I left my house with mom taking care of Baby Kily, and she told me to get dad, who had left for his afternoon walk. But dad was gone a little longer was usual, and mom was worried. I took my kite out and ran with it, in no hurry to get dad since mom was always paranoid. I was enjoying the feeling of the wind, when my kite string broke. The kite itself was still able to fly, and started spiraling out of control, when I saw it land in an alleyway. I ran to receive the kite, not wanting it to fly away again. When I turned the corner though, I saw the most hideous sight any person could see.