The Forest in Between

Medea Agarwal

Make dinner, clean rooms, and put the twins to bed. Medea remembered the instructions her parents gave her before they left for work. Of course, a list of three tasks was not terribly extensive, but knowing Simon and Ravi, each task would take a minimum of an hour. Making dinner was always difficult, given the picky pallets that the twins shared, but you could never go wrong with simple daal chawal.

Digging through the pantry in search for the large container of rice that her parents kept perpetually full, Medea tried to block out the whines that came from the twin's room.

"Didi!" Medea heard Simon cry from down the short hall. "I'm hungry and Baba said you were making dinner! Ravi is hungry too!"

To punctuate Simon's claim, a sob shook the thin walls of the San Francisco apartment. Medea cringed and quickly poured onions and ghee into the steaming skillet.

"If you're so hungry, Simon, come and help me make dinner," Medea called over the sizzling of the spices. "And tell Ravi to stop crying!"

Medea heard the pattering of Simon and Ravi's small feet as they hurried into the kitchen, tripping over themselves in excitement.

"Can we eat now, Didi?" Ravi pulled at Medea's sleeve.

"I'm still cooking," Medea sighed. "Set the table for me."

"But Baba said that I don't have to set the table until I'm seven."

"Six is close enough, Ravi. I don't have time for this."

Ravi shot Medea a pout and began to grab the plates from the cupboard. "Did you make enough for Mommy and Baba?" He asked, standing on tip-toe to reach the table.

"Yes, but I don't think they'll be home in time to eat with us," Medea admitted, the aroma of daal filling the small kitchen. "Simon, can you please put the rice in the rice cooker?"

"But I don't know how to turn it on!" He whined.

"I'll turn it on once the daal is done. Just put it in there for me."

Simon obeyed his sister, all the while looking at Medea with sad, hungry eyes. "Why can't we have dinner earlier?"

"I'm sorry, Simon, but I need to do my schoolwork and I don't get home until five."

Finally, dinner Medea finished dinner. The twins dug into their meals, taking large, ravenous bites. Medea watched them, tired already, despite the fact that it was barely seven. In between bites, she glanced at the altar by the front door. On top of the beautifully woven cloth stood an intricate illustration of the goddess, Aster, the one goddess you could not cross. Though she was not the head goddess, Deline, she was notorious for taking harsh revenge on the mortals that defied her or did not pay her proper respect. As the goddess of temptation, her ploys were many and her influence irresistible. Yet if you were on her good side, your life could be prosperous and full of luck; because of this, everyone in their right mind kept a lavish altar to Aster in their home, in hopes to please the mercurial goddess.

"What did you do in school today, Didi?" Simon's question interrupted Medea from her thoughts.

"Oh nothing much," she started, trying to remember any highlights of her day. "Since it's still the beginning of sophomore year, we're still getting into the groove of things, you know."

"Oh okay," Simon nodded. "Well today, Ravi and I made necklaces out of macaroni! The teacher told us to count every single piece that we put on the string. You'll never guess what number I counted up to!"

"What was it?" Medea feigned excitement, six year olds were such funny creatures.

"Fifty!" Simon exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air and launching daal all over the table.