CHAPTER ONE
I felt the warm sun dress my face in gold as my eyes twitched. I could still feel the feathers beneath my head and wool draped my lower half, I nuzzled in deeper to the sheets. I smiled and stirred turning closer to the light to have it illuminate my skin and to wrap in its warmth, I raised my arms above my head stretching and basking in the warmth until my final moments of sleep which were not long off but I kept postponing the day for dreams. I suddenly felt the blankets fall off, my face turned sour as I tried to reclaim them reaching up, down and all around wooden floors only to find nothing there on my floor. I peeked through my eyes and squinted through the light, now it was blinding me they warm gold was making all around me blurs, to see a looming figure with red cloth in its arms, the red quilt I made for myself. I couldn't make out its face only its figure but I could tell who it was none the less.
"Give that back, Marc." I trailed off my eyes shut tight making me look like I was in agonizing pain when I was only trying to block the sun.
"You know you have to get up Mabella. Today's finally the day we can join the military and make our way to the MPs. But to do that you have to wake up."
"Yeah, but sleep." I rolled over and he rolled his eyes. I didn't see him do it but I know my brother well enough.
"Mabella get up now or I will get the bucket."
"You keep forgetting I'm the older one don't you?" I could hear his feet click with the ground as he made his way to the door and bring my demise, he only used cold water to get me up, why couldn't he use warm for once? "Okay, I'm up. Happy?" He turned and smiled at me with a look of accomplishment while I gave my signature glare that turned to a smile itself.
"I could be better, but this'll do." he turned out of my doorway dropping my blanket as he went. I sat up cursing the light and my brother.
"Great now my blanket will have dust and dirt all over it." I picked it up and threw it on my bed then made my way to my kitchen "You're washing my blanket Marco."
"No I'm not!" I heard as I turned a corner
"I thought this day would never come." In the kitchen, our mother had prepared an amazing breakfast consisting of a fair amount of pork, eggs, and fruit. "What's the occasion?" I asked already knowing the answer. My mother didn't say anything but came over and hugged me from behind as I sat down in my usual chair.
"You know the occasion Mabella. Your father and I couldn't be prouder of you two. Although what you're doing is dangerous, it's a great thing you two are willing to give yourselves up for the benefit of others."
"Okay Mom, you can let go now. Go hug Marco." I said gasping for breath as the woman strangled me.
"She already got me." he said as he shoveled sausage and bacon into his mouth.
"Then get him again." I said about to do the same
"You really are twins, aren't you? You do everything the same and you've been inseparable your wholes lives. I don't know how you rarely fight and get along so well all the time. Not to mention you look drastically alike and that's the tip of the iceberg."
"Older by five minutes." I said with pride.
"Doesn't really count." Marco said matching my tone.
"Calm down you two. If you plan on making through training you'll need to not fight with each other and get along as usual and have each other's back." Our father commented
"We're just playing right Marco? We'll always have each other's six."
"Right you are Polo."
"Really? That again?"
"I've been holding it in all morning. It's never gonna stop. Not till I die." He smirked at me with slight puff in his cheeks. All I did was roll my eyes, how foolish we were.
We left a little later that morning, taking with me the simple things like extra clothes and some mementos like my mother's locket and a family photo. He took the same but made more of a fuse over it. We turned our backs to our home leaving our parents in the dust and distance as they shrunk and became less defined. We walked through town, taking everything in for the last time before we left and who knew when we would be back? We traveled the gate that had a wagon waiting for us and anyone else dumb enough to join the military, and half the town came to bid us farewell. The wagon wasn't filled but it wasn't empty, looks like there weren't that many suicidal teens from our town. The people and the town itself did what our parents did and faded off like a hazy memory.