REPLACEMENT

Chapter 1

The Year Oliver Turns 18

"He couldn't be with her . . . because whenever he was anywhere near her, Gene would also be there to show her the smiling face she loves so much."

The flight back to England had been a long and tiring one. All he wanted to do upon arriving home was collapse on the bed and rest his mind until the next day. However, he knew that he had a pile of papers to look over. Not to mention that the society probably had a few errands for him to run. So, he was left with no other choice but to head straight to his home office after touching down at the airport.

As expected, on his desk were several official letters and documents that required his immediate attention. He meticulously organised all of them according to urgency and asked not to be disturbed until evening. It had been early in the afternoon when he arrived, but it was around four when he requested for a cup of tea to be brought into his office.

Something felt off, he thought. It was like there was something missing but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Perhaps he was just tired and had to take a short break. So, he put down the file he was currently working on and leant back on his chair. A cool breeze blew in from the open window so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of air.

The muted sound of footsteps could be heard outside his office. It was probably the housekeeper tidying up some stuff in the lounge. He felt unbearably restless still. With an inaudible sigh, he sat up and sipped from his cooling cup of tea. The action only served to make him even more ill at ease though. Seriously, what was going on? He had lived in that house for years so why was he suddenly uncomfortable?

He massaged his temples with his fingertips and moved to exit his office. However, the moment his hand touched the doorknob, it finally came to him. The reason why he was feeling so fidgety just burst into his mind like sunshine hiding behind the clouds.

The tea, it tasted different.

The footsteps, they sounded different.

The person he would see behind the door, she would be different.

"How stupid..." he mumbled and proceeded to the lounge.

Their middle-aged housekeeper really was tidying things up there. She had been serving the Davis family for as far as he could remember. It was she who performed many of the household duties, including doing the laundry and preparing meals. He had no problems whatsoever with her work, or her personality. Yet, for some reason, he really wanted to see a younger woman tinkering around.

"Oh, would you like me to prepare some more tea for you?"

"No. I will be stepping out shortly but I will be back for dinner."

"I understand. Please take care of yourself."

He noticed Lin was already standing beside him even though he had not called for the man. His assistant probably heard him conversing with the domestic help and wanted to be of service. He wasn't even surprised at the sudden appearance as he had worked with Lin for a long time now.

With a simple parting nod to the housekeeper, they went on their way. He didn't have to worry about informing his parents of his whereabouts as he was sure that the help would take care of that for him.

At first, Lin thought that his ward wanted to go to the SPR office to take care of an assignment. He had even plotted out a faster route they could take in his mind. But then, Noll seemed to have other things in mind as he had immediately asked to be taken to the cemetery where Eugene was buried.

Lin didn't bother asking if his charge was feeling sentimental as he knew Noll wasn't the type of person to be immersed in such emotions. He simply dismissed the order he was given as part of an investigation, perhaps involving the murder of Gene.

The final resting place of the psychic twin was within a reasonable distance from both the Davis home and the university where Noll was studying. It had been selected by Luella for being easily accessible by all members of their family. Being secure and well-kept was a factor she had considered as well.

The tomb they were visiting was situated in a mausoleum at the far end of the cemetery. This was done to achieve some semblance of privacy. Martin had wanted to avoid journalists and the rest of the media from snooping around his son's grave. Noll was thankful for this fact as he was able to visit the tomb away from the prying eyes of the public.

EUGENE DAVIS

That was all that the gravestone said. There was no date of birth or date of death. Noll wanted it that way for reasons he did not wish to speak of out loud. All he wanted was a marker of where the decomposing body of his twin was lying six feet under the ground. He did not even bother to bring flowers because he saw no point in such an act.

Noll requested Lin to wait for him outside the crypt. He wanted some time alone to think, he had explained. Lin had nothing to say to that so he simply followed the order and stood beyond the iron gate. And so Noll was left alone to stare at the cold tombstone.

It was only fifteen minutes later that Noll emerged from the mausoleum with the same old poker face. Lin did not ask him any questions as he was certain that his ward wouldn't want to answer them. He just followed the younger man back to the car and took him back to the Davis home. The drive back had been a very silent one. Noll was left to drown in his thoughts until he got back to his office.

"Have you moved on yet, stupid brother?"

He did not bother checking the mirror in his pocket to see if the familiar smiling face would appear.

"Go towards the light already."

'Or do you want to be with her that badly that you can't?' he asked in his mind.

"If you don't leave..."

'Then I'll never be good enough. I'll always be just an idiot scientist with the same face; someone in the background.'

Note: The idea for this just popped into my head recently. Not sure if I'll make this a multi-chapter story or stick to it being a one shot and compile other one shots under this title. What do you guys suggest?