Trevor
I sat at my kitchen table, staring at the clock on the microwave. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, and that soon was 5 o’clock. I was eager to get out of here, because I had the house to myself once again, just like I had this day last year. I wanted to go back to the clearing, to where I saved Achlys. I wanted to feed the wolves.
I looked up again. 4:58. I put a hand against my leg, feeling my keys in my pocket. I tried not to think about last year. It brought back too many memories, the most painful happening actually this year, in early January.
4:59. I drummed my fingers on the table. Anything for a distraction, please! I silently beg, although there’s no one to hear me.
5:00! I jumped up and grabbed my jacket, then put my phone in my pocket. Last year I had to run all the way home before calling the cops and hospital, and barely saved the girl’s life. I nearly ran through the woods, to get to the clearing where I found her at the same time I found her.
Out of breath, I showed up at the clearing at 5:01. I had somehow expected to be the only one here, seeing as this was private property owned by my father, but I was wrong. Standing in the middle, facing North; away from me. From behind, I almost thought it was her.
Achlys, the girl I saved from wolves, died in January. I had to remind myself several times; my mind was fooled into thinking she was standing right in front of me.
“Excuse me, miss?” I said tentatively. “You’re on private property.”
She turned around to face me, and once again I had the problem of identifying her from Achlys. I knew it couldn’t be her. Of course it couldn’t be her! She died in a car crash on January 8th.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice just as soft. “I didn’t realize. I just thought I’d…” Her beautiful voice trailed off. Her dark blonde hair framed her face perfectly, her bangs covering her hazel eyes. Her freckles were the only way to tell that it wasn’t the same girl. Achlys didn’t have freckles.
“It’s okay,” I said. I stepped closer to her. “You know that a girl was nearly killed here?” I bit down hard on my lip. Such a dumbass thing to say, I thought. Why did I say it? Because I’m an idiot!
“My sister,” the girl said. “Sorry, my name is Angel. Achlys and I are –were– twins. It’s automatic to come to these places. I was just… drawn here, after her death. I wanted to see where she met the one who almost saved her life. I wanted to thank him, in person. So, if you please,” she stepped forward and took my hands. “Thank you. Saving her the first time meant so much to the family.”
“It was nothing,” I said. “She wanted to die, but I didn’t think that it was right for someone as beautiful as her to be wasted so quickly. I suppose that you’d be someone like that, since you’re nearly identical.”
“Even bloody and beaten, she was prettier than me,” Angel said. “I had the better name, but she was always the goddess. It was so unfair sometimes, I wanted her gone. But now that she is gone, I feel so bad.” Her eyes brimmed up with tears.
I reached a hand up to rest on her shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was an accident.”
“But we parted on such bad terms!” She started crying, tears silently spilling down her cheeks. I reached up and wiped them away delicately with the tips of my fingers, as if she would break.
“It’s okay, she hated me to the end,” I said quietly. “She resented me for saving her life. Would you like to go back to my house with me? It’s better than being out here in the cold.”
Angel nodded, and I took her hand and led her, slowly, back to my house. I heard a scream echo through the woods, and I felt her hand slip out of mine. I turned around, and she was gone.
