Things I Almost Remember: A Selection Story

The Abernathy Brothers

After a trudging through the snowy streets of Nieve,  Johnny and Kate finally came to a halt in front of a dilapidated-looking old brick building right on a street corner. The street was dimly lit by a few fading street lamps.

"It's pretty lucky those are lit tonight," Johnny remarked pointing to the lamps. "It is really hard to see coming home sometimes when they forget."

"Does that happen a lot?" Kate asked. She pulled her coat a bit more tightly around when a sudden gust of ice cold air blew down the street. 

"More than you would think," Johnny replied giving her a half-smile and fumbling around his pocket for his key. 

Kate nodded and stood glancing around the quiet street until Johnny pulled out a rusty key and unlocked the front door. 

"We are just three floors up," Johnny said as he led Kate up a narrow flight of stairs. "It isn't much, but we at least have a roof over our heads. That's never been a guarantee for Connor and me."

"I know what you mean," Kate said quietly as she followed him. She had lived in the orphanage until she was a teenager, but it had never felt like a home. It was a place where she had been beaten, forced to work, and nearly starved. Since she had left there, she had lived on the streets, under bridges, in alleyways, in abandoned buildings or camped outdoors when she was traveling in the country. A true home was something she had no memories of, even if she had had one once.

Johnny led Kate to a door at the end of the corridor on the third floor and pulled another key out of his pocket to unlock it. Once the door was unlocked, Johnny pushed it slowly open.

"Connor? You here?" Johnny called out as he peeked his head in.

"Yeah! I was beginning to wonder where you were, it is getting pretty late. Where have you been?" a male voice from within the apartment called.

"Well I made a new friend who I think can help us out and is going to be staying with us for a while," Johnny replied as he walked into the apartment and motioned his head for Kate to follow.

"Connor, this is Kate, Kate, this is my brother Connor," Johnny said as the two stood there, both staring at Johnny. 

An awkward silence fell over the room.

"Johnny, can I talk to you in private for a second?" Connor said staring down his brother and avoiding any eye contact with Kate.

"Connor look, it's not.." Johnny began.

"Just a few minutes, Kate please excuse us," Connor said as he pulled his brother into the back bedroom they shared.

Once Connor shut the door to the room leaving Kate outside, he started at Johnny.

"Of all the crazy things you have done, this definitely might be the craziest!" Connor hissed at Johnny as he rubbed his temple with his hands

"Connor, please let me explain, did you look at her?" Johnny pleaded.

"Yes, she is attractive, Johnny, but that is not a reason to let some random girl you meet on the street come live in your apartment that you and your brother can just barely scrape enough money together to afford," Connor said, anger in his voice.

Connor could barely look at his brother with how frustrated he was. He did not want to be mad at his brother, but he did not know how many of his brother's crazy ideas he could put up with.

"No Connor, that isn't it. Did you see who she looks JUST like?" Johnny asked, hoping his brother would get the message.

"She does not look like anyone who would be useful in helping us. I told you to leave the planning to me on these things," Connor replied.

Over the years, Connor and Johnny had found that one of the easiest and fastest ways to get money was through, as what they liked to call it, "scheming." It had started when they were younger and would beg for money on the street and ask for help with paying for medicine for their dying mother or for a ticket to finally return home to a family. As the years had gone on, the schemes had gotten a bit more elaborate. From posing as German ambassadors to selling forged passports, they liked to view themselves as true men of their trade.

"Connor, she might be able to help us pull off the biggest scheme of them all, and it wouldn't even really be a scheme because I am sure it is her," Johnny said smiling as he could finally talk about the idea that had been building in the back of his mind since he met Kate.

"WHO?" Connor asked. At this point, he was getting more irritated than angry.

"Princess Kerttu. It's her eyes. She has the same eyes. She has the same determination. There is just something about her..."

"Oh my god, Johnny, you have to let go of the boyhood crush you had on the princess who probably was murdered ten years ago," Connor said.

Over the years, he had heard far more about Kerttu Koskinen from his brother than he had ever hoped to.

"She has the same locket with the same inscription that Kerttu used to have," Johnny said. "She wants to go to France, and whether you believe she is Kerttu or not, I think she could help us with a plan that could get all three of us out of Illéa and make us rich."

Connor was now intrigued but still skeptical.

"How ever would she be able to do that?" Connor asked.

Johnny sighed.

"The French Royal Family is offering a reward for anyone who can bring back Kerttu Koskinen. No one has succeeded, but we, my brother, have her here, I am sure of it." Johnny said. "But, on the off chance Kate is not Kerttu, I think that she may look enough like her that we could, well, convince the French Royal Family that she is. We lived at the palace. We were around the Royal Family of Illéa all the time. We know all about the protocol, the rules, the little details that only someone on the inside would know."

Connor was starting to think Kate might not be someone who would be too bad to keep around. He was about to ask more when Johnny spoke again.

"There is one more thing," Johnny began slowly. "I want Kate to be fully in on this. I know it may not be the most honest thing ever, but I want to be honest with her. I want her, um,  I want her to think well of me."

Connor laughed.

"Of course, you have fallen in love with the mysterious girl you met on the street you think looks like your childhood crush who is probably dead," Connor said. Johnny glared at him.

"She has amnesia. She can't remember anything of who she was. She was found by the side of a road and has traveled for miles to find out where she belongs. If I can help her do that in some way, I want to," Johnny said adamantly.

"Yes, you want her to lie and you to trick her. Well done, dear brother. You can hold onto that, but I still will see through this scheme for exactly what it is. However, I think I too am interested in helping Kate get to France, and I think we both know I am the one who can get us the passports. So, I want you to listen to me and let me take some control if we are going to do this. You are far too emotional and let your feelings block your reason to pull this off on your own," Connor said with a wry smile.

Johnny said nothing. If he wanted to succeed in this, he knew he had to give in to Connor to some degree. He hated having to rely on his brother to help Kate, but Connor had been there for him for a long time and never gave up on him. He knew what he wanted to do was a bit dubious, but in the end, it only would help get them all out of Illéa, and he knew that just had to be a good thing. It just had to be.