Short Stories

For Her

Jessie and Mary are identical twins. They look so much alike that ever since they were young, they perfected the ability to impersonate each other, fooling even their mother. However, they left such pranks aside, long ago. They are not children anymore. They are young adults now and their personalities have grown very different.

Jessie is in art school, she's laid-back and likes to think she's the fun sister, but Mary doesn't like her sister's idea of fun. Mary is the "good" twin, at least that's what their mother says. Jessie thinks her sister is entitled and acts superior, especially since she got in a very prestigious culinary school on a scholarship.

However different the sisters may be, they were always close. Mary used to be bullied a lot, but Jessie always had her back. In return, Mary used to help Jessie when she would get in trouble with the teachers or their mother.

Nothing can change the fact that they are sisters, but sometimes they wish they could. They rarely speak to each other now, as they live in the dorm rooms of their school. Last year, they only saw each other on Christmas, but that's about to change. They are going home for their birthday, their mother demanded it.

Neither is very excited. They would rather stay where they were, with their friends. At least, Jessie would, she thought that maybe Mary didn't have friends to celebrate with, since she had always been a loner. Mary would probably stay in her room, alone, on their birthday, and Jessie didn't want her sister to go through that.

Jessie looked at the door of the house she had lived in all her life, she didn't want to admit it but she missed home, she missed her mother and she even missed her sister, not that she would ever tell her that.

Anne, her mother was sitting by the window, enjoying the breeze coming from outside, but she turns when she hears someone arriving.

"Jessie, darling! Welcome home." She speeds to hug her daughter. That big empty house made her feel alone without her girls, and she felt sad that they didn't share anything with her or each other. Her babies were always close and now they feel like strangers to one another.

"Hi, Mom. Is Mary in yet?" Anne noticed the awareness with which her daughter asked about her sister, as if she was afraid of seeing her again. Jessie was always the strongest daughter, and that would cost her more than she imagined.

"She's getting ready for dinner in your old room."

"Alright. I'm going upstairs too, okay?"

"Sure, honey. But please, both of you come down to help me when you can, alright?"

"Of course, Mom." Jessie hugged her mother before going upstairs to the room she used to share with her sister.

The house has more than two rooms, but they always liked to share one, since they could talk until sunrise.

They hadn't done that in so long making it nothing more than an old memory.

Mary was too busy talking on the phone to hear her sister come into the room.

"Yes, babe, I know."

"Babe?" Mary turns around at lighting speed to see the look of shock in her sister's face.

"Uhm...Vince? Yeah, I have to call you back later." She hangs up without another word. That would get her in trouble later, but she had to deal with her sister now. "Jessie! Long-time no see." Her sister looked the same. Once, they thought the way to be distinguished would be with distinct hairstyles, so her sister decided she would have short hair for the rest of her life. It suited her personality, especially since she started curling it. Other than that, they looked the same, at least to other people. However, Mary and Jessie knew where to look for differences. The lighter colour of Mary's eyes, or the birthmark Jessie has on her shoulder, were just examples that no one seemed to notice. Nonetheless, even though they look the same, Mary always felt inferior to Jessie. She wasn't as strong or bold as her sister, and she envies her for that.