It was dinnertime, and Petir locked himself up in his room again. Tanah could imagine him curled up in his bed, crying. And as much as he wanted to let his twin be, Petir needed to eat.
Tanah went at the door of Petir's room and gently knocked. He was answered by a muffled 'go away' which made him sigh.
"Petir, I know you're hurting right now, but you have to eat. You hadn't eaten anything since breakfast," Tanah said.
"Go away. I'm not hungry."
"Petir..."
"I SAID GO AWAY!"
Petir's voice held so much contempt that Tanah took a step back. He didn't get angry though. He could understand his brother's pain. It was, after all, the anniversary of their parents' death.
"I understand," Tanah said softly. "If you ever get hungry, there's food in the kitchen."
"Understand?!"
Petir suddenly opened the door to Tanah's face. He had tear tracks in his face, and his eyes are puffy and red. He looked angry and hurt.
"You don't understand, Tanah! You weren't there! You don't know what it's like to watch them die in front of you! You don't know, Tanah, because you were in that stupid student council meeting." Petir collapsed on the floor, crying harder than ever.
Petir's words had hit him hard. Tanah could only watch as his twin brother sobbed on the doorway of his room.
"I know," Tanah whispered. "I know. I'm sorry, Petir."
Petir didn't listen and just continued crying, which made Tanah guiltier than ever.
"I wish I hadn't come to that meeting," the brown-eyed boy whispered, looking at anywhere but his brother. "They asked me not to come, you know. Because they wanted to spend time as a whole family. But the teachers wouldn't accept it, so I was forced to stay."
Tanah gulped and looked at the figure of his brother, not really seeing anything as tears pooled in his eyes. "When I got home a few hours later, I was terrified to see three bodies lying on the ground. I thought you were all dead. I blamed myself. I felt guilty of laughing at the meeting while you were all here, fighting for your lives."
Petir's head shot up during Tanah's story. "Oh, Tanah, I'm so sorry for snapping at you. I just got carried away by my emotions."
Tanah removed his glasses and furiously wiped away his tears. "Don't be. You have every right to be angry."
Tanah took a deep breath to collect himself, although he could feel his resolve breaking. "There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry." With that, he went to his room and locked the door behind him.