The Witness

Chapter XIII

"A... brother," I utter in disbelief.
"Yes," Matthew nods. "A brother. You used to have two, but one... well, we can talk about him later. He's older than you, this brother. Twenty-two. His name's Miguel-" I'm assuming Matthew picked his children's names, since they all start with "M"- "and he's been waiting to meet you ever since you got here, but I've kept him away. I didn't want to scare you before you were ready. But now... are you ready to meet your brother, Maple?" My... brother. I have a brother? This gets crazier by the second.
"I guess I'm ready..." I murmur, and Matthew's face brightens. "But, can I finish my breakfast first?" Matthew gives a chuckle and leads me back into the restaurant.

After breakfast, Matthew leads me back up to where my room was, but continues walking down the hallway. After many turns, we stop at a door.
"Here it is," Matthew tells me. "Your brother's room. Would you like to knock?" I take a few deep breaths - four, to be exact - before knocking twice on the wooden door. Almost as soon as my hand leaves the door, it flies open, and there I see a young man, his long brown hair disheveled, and his wild green eyes widening at the sight of me. His face is a lot rounder than mine, and his nose a lot thinner. He stands about five foot seven, towering over me. Am I the only short one in this family? Immediately, he pulls me into a tight embrace. I tense, but he doesn't seem to notice.
"Maple!" he sighs once he's pulled away, holding onto my shoulders. "Dad told me I'd be able to see you today. I've been awake since three this morning, waiting! I'm so glad you're here. You came from Earth, right? What's it like there?"
"What do you mean, Earth?" I respond as Miguel leads Matthew and I into his apartment. "Aren't you from Earth, too?" Miguel chuckles.
"I guess Dad hasn't told you yet. The Islands aren't considered to be part of Earth. Sure, you can travel between the Islands and Earth, but only if someone part of the Islands lets you in. In other words, normal people on Earth don't even know the Islands exist."
"But then how did Olivia get into the Water Island that one night?" Matthew sighs at my question.
"She used to be a part of the Water Island," he begins, "before she turned to Fire. About seven years ago, she made the change. Spilt her blood upon the ruby, the centre of the Island. Since then, she's been loyal to Fire Island - so loyal, it's like she was there all along."
"So that's how you can switch Islands," I murmured. "But what's this ruby you spoke of?"
"Each Island has a stone," Matthew responds. "A gem, that is special to that place. Fire Island has the ruby, Water the aquamarine, Air the diamond, and Earth the emerald. Actually, thinking of it now, it's kind of funny an Island is named Earth, considering it's so different from the actual Earth. Anyways, get a drop of your blood on any of these stones, you pledge your allegiance to the respected Island. You can do this as many times as you like. Sadly, people like miners who have access to stones like these, accidentally pledge themselves to an Island unknowingly. Then, when they pass away on Earth, their soul remains there forever. That's where humans get the idea of ghosts from." Well, there's a lot more to this than I originally thought.
"Enough about that," Miguel cuts in. "I want to get to know my sister. So, how's life been without me?" As Miguel laughs, I realize he took on Matthew's sense of humour. I'm starting to warm up to him.
"I mean, it's been a bit boring, without your amazing presence gracing my life." Matthew bursts out laughing from behind me, as Miguel winks at me. I think I'll like this new family.

I find a smile on my face that I can't conceal as my family of three heads down to the restaurant for lunch. We talked about how life was, and I told them all about my adoptive mother. I decided to leave out the part about Olivia coming to find me. I didn't want to dampen our spirits. We make our lunches - for Matthew, pizza; for Miguel, a sandwich; and for me, a salad - before sitting down at a table in the corner of a restaurant. We eat in comfortable silence for a bit, before Matthew swallows and speaks.
"Maple, do you remember me mentioning a second brother before?" he murmurs, to which Miguel's sandwich freezes a few inches from his mouth. When I nod, he continues. "His name was Mason, and he... well, he was your twin, Maple." For some reason, this fact doesn't affect me. I guess I've already received my share of crazy facts. Matthew seems surprised when I don't react, but he continues anyways. "That boy that you saw that night. The one Olivia... shot. He was your twin, Mason." Oh... oh. My twin was killed, before my eyes, and I didn't even know. I open my mouth, the close it, then open it again.
"But he looked... older than me. Like, a year older." Matthew looks at his feet.
"Yes, your brother always had a mature look to him. One morning, one of my guards reported Olivia travelling to Earth. I had reason to believe she was coming for you, so I sent Mason to follow her, and, well... we found his body when he didn't return in a day."
"But then... his soul..." my words trail off, but Miguel knows what I'm about to say.
"Yes, Maple," he says, moving around the table until he's standing by my side. "His soul remains on Earth. And it will until the end of time." At this, my breath catches. Tears begin to form, but again, Miguel gives me a hug - looser, this time. "It's okay, Maple," he says. "Don't worry. You still have us, your family." My family.