Faith

Prologue

Faith McCather was born on May 19, 2002. She was born a week early, taking her parents, Peter and Anne, by surprise. Not much else is remembered about her birth, except for what I know. It's no surprise that I know - I was there, after all. It's usually custom for a twin to be born along with their sibling.

My name is Hope. I'm Faith's twin sister, but few know or remember me. Faith doesn't remember me, for example. My parents and would-be older sister do, but not my sister. I'm not surprised, though. Most people don't remember something that they only saw for a few moments of their life - especially the first few moments. At least she knows that I existed.

You may have come to realize by now that I'm only alive in memory and spirit. I died shortly after birth for no apparent reason. Despite dying, I didn't leave. God allowed me to stay and watch over Faith, but nobody would be able to hear me, see me, or know that I'm there at all. I agreed, and it's been that way ever since. I can remember her entire life - even our birth.

We were born on a Sunday, and Mom and Dad were missing church. It was a five-hour labor per baby, just over ten hours in all. My parents named us, and my mom was allowed to hold us for a bit. It was in her arms that I died.

Mom noticed that I wasn't breathing and freaked out. The doctor took my body and rushed off, but it was too late. After they heard that I had "passed on," Mom was crying as she handed Faith to our dad, who was too much in shock to do or say anything. They eventually got over me, but it took a while.

Faith has always been quiet, even as a baby. She rarely cried, and when she did, it wasn't the usual screaming type of baby cry. It was softer, less harsh. I've never heard anything like it.

Slowly, Faith grew and matured. She was quiet and resigned, seeming to be shy. She needed glasses at an early age due to a rare disease, and a complicated surgery at seven years old saved her from blindness. The surgeons were unable to completely restore her vision, and Faith continued wearing thick glasses.

Our older sister, Rosemary, was three years older than us, and was quite the opposite of Faith. Loud, outspoken, and rude, she started seeing a therapist for her "anger issues".

Rosemary resented Faith, believing that our parents loved her younger sister more than her. She also hated having to take care of a child who seemed weak and helpless. As a result, she would torment Faith whenever possible - locking her in closets and cupboards, insulting her, shouting at her, even hitting or kicking her, though that was more rare - but only when Mom and Dad weren't there, and wouldn't be there for a while. Faith never complained or told anyone about it - it could be that she was scared that Rosemary would only hurt her more.

It was around the time that Faith was fourteen that things really started going downhill....