Sometimes Vahn Writes Stuff Options

[Frisk]

She is sleepy, but she stirs. There is a warmth and an aggravation tucked in beside her, and her name is Mia. The girl is pressed painfully into Alice's ribs, and her breathing, deep and rhythmic, is not soothing. Over the night she has stolen the cover and wrapped herself in it, leaving Alice cold on the bed. Looking at her twin, she sees herself and her fists ball up for a moment before relaxing. With one quick motion she clenches her hand around Mia's hair and yanks upward, harder than she should. Mia cries out.

The moment is quiet, and the two sisters watch each other, waiting. Mia springs first, and soon they are rolling on top of each other, scratching and biting at every opening. They do not punch, yet.

Their house is big, and their parents live on the other side of it. They are free to beat the living hell out of each other as much as they want. Their fight ends when they fall off the bed and Alice's head smashes against the side dresser on the way down. She does not cry, or scream, but simply stares at Mia, and they know the fight is over.

"I'm sorry," Mia says first. Alice considers not saying anything back.

"I'm sorry too," she replies. They get dressed and go downstairs, to the kitchen. Alice pours both of them a bowl of cereal, and they sit in the quiet of the morning, eating. Outside the sky is still grey; the sun still hasn't risen.

"Looks like it's going to rain. When the sky is grey like that, it means rain," Mia says, looking from the dark sky outside to her sister.

"Not in the morning. It just means the sun isn't up yet," Alice says without looking at Mia. She breathes in, then breathes out heavily, leaning back to stretch. Little fingers drum a tune on the kitchen counter. Mia watches, then taps her spoon on her bowl in the middle of Alice's beat. Her head rocks gently back and forth, miserably failing to move with the rhythm. Soon her foot is tapping, and then Alice's hips are swaying on the chair, and of course they end up dancing around the kitchen, keeping just short of too loud.

It's almost twenty minutes before they notice the steady rain beating against the window.

[Frisk]

She asks them what they want and they say nothing. She asks again and they say nothing. The third time they answer honestly but she is exasperated and wishes they would have spoken up the first time. The phone goes off, and she hopes it is a certain handsome man. Mia and Alice grab at their sandwiches and rush off to pick out whatever table is most convenient. While paying, out of the corner of her eye, she sees them tearing into their sandwiches. Pieces of lettuce and tomato are being strewn all over the table. It does not concern her, because it’s the workers’ job to keep the place clean, not hers.

They can hold down the fort. She leaves them to their feast and makes a beeline for the bathroom. Words are exchanged, and the words aren’t entirely truthful. But the intentions behind the conversation are. Lisa will soon cheat on Mark with this man, and the thought thrills her. While sitting on the toilet, pretending to be at the grocery store, Lisa dreams of this man giving her an escape. She knows it won’t be, but she can nurse that heartbreak after she is satisfied.

She comes out of the bathroom and the beasts have abandoned the hunt to stare blankly out the window. Not for the first time, she wonders if one or both of them are defective. The way they press their nose to the glass, fogging it up, irritates her. The only thing outside is a heavy snowstorm, and she sees no beauty or grace in it.

“Sit down,” she says, and then turns to eat her own sandwich.