Chapter 2: Our Family

Nami and Alex sat in silence for a few moments. They both focused on unpacking their bags, setting up clothes for tomorrow, digging out necessities, and avoiding eye contact. Alex dug to the bottom of his duffel bag and retrieved a dusty old photo album. He wiped it off, the words "Our Family" revealed on the front. It was a gift from his mother, and the front cover featured a picture from Nami's first birthday.

He stared intently for a few moments. Jin and Rei were holding him and his then baby sister, Nami. All four looked perfectly normal and happy. Rei's eyes were closed, but she was beaming with the sincerest smile as she cradled the child version of Alex in her arms. Nami was wrapped in a pink blanket and staring wide-eyed at the camera, a pacifier in her mouth and a knitted white kitty hat covering her fiery hair. She was nestled in the arms of Jin, whose eyes abandoned the camera in favor of her, his smile showing only the purest of love.

Alex loved this photo, but it also bothered him. That photograph wasn't a diamond in the rough, a needle in a haystack. Those expressions, those smiles, all of that love had been so freely shown every day.

Why did it have to stop, he thought, shaking his head, I'll just…never understand it.

He tore himself away and gazed into the mirror by his bed. Mayor Hamilton wasn't far off at all when he said he could pass for Jin. His eyes, his hair color, even his normally stout expressions were an almost exact replica of his father. The only thing Alex lacked from Jin was the expression he wore in the picture, the one he showed whenever he was around his kids.

When Alex smiled, he saw only his mother, plain and simple. It was the weirdest thing he'd ever noticed about himself, but he looked back at Rei's smile in the picture, then shot his most sincere one back at the mirror, and there she was.

Nami, on the other hand, had turned out quite the opposite. She was their mother's clone, from the eyes to the long straight hair, the rosy cheeks, even the nose. But her smile was odd, like a strange hybrid between both parents. Sincere, like Rei's, but overwhelmingly pure, like Jin's. It was the kind of smile that Alex couldn't let disappear easily. It was a rare occasion for her to smile nowadays, and an even rarer occasion for it to be genuine.

In terms of temperament, both kids had received a strange mix. Alex possessed Jin's cool and calm demeanor, the ability to think logically under pressure, and yet his brain was more in tune with Rei's. In youth, he'd followed her around the farm, watering crops, observing the animals, learning how to know what they needed by sense alone. He knew when the crops were ripe. He knew when the cows needed food, when the sheep needed sheering, and how to tell if an egg was fertilized.

Nami, on the other hand, had opened one of Jin's reference books at age four, and had been stuck there ever since. She had his mind, his brain, his passion. She could quietly read and study for hours, thirsted for knowledge. She could even be cool and calm like him, provided she wanted to be. However, she often let her emotions run wild, and was prone to outbursts like her mother.

In the end, however, it was clear.

Alex was a mother's boy, and Nami was a daddy's girl.

Alex would track mud onto the floors with Rei, and Nami would be sitting with Jin on his armchair, curled up in his lap and slowly pronouncing long, complicated words as he read. Alex would be washing crops with Rei, discussing the happiness of their horses, and Jin would be playing word and memory games with Nami.

In the end, the four came together, Alex and Rei setting the plates, Jin running in with Nami perched on his shoulders, and they would all discuss their newfound experiences over dinner.

Alex stared back at the photograph, watching his memories swirl around within it, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach. He found himself staring into his parents' faces and wondering just what went wrong. What, after all of those happy times, could have driven two of the most loving people he'd known to separation, throwing one into despair, the other into silence.

He glanced to Nami, who was curled up in her bed and staring at the wall. He thought for a moment, patted his pocket, and sprung up from his bed.

=^x^=

"What's that?" Nami asked wearily.
"It's for you," Alex answered, "It's hot cocoa."

He handed her the steaming white mug. She gently held it in her hands and took a few little sips. The photo album was in her lap, opened up to a page of assorted family pictures. Alex sighed and sat on the bed beside her. She was still for a few moments, deep in thought, staring at the mug.

Then, she leaned over and kissed her brother's cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered, that rare little smile of hers gracing her rosy face, "I've…missed these. A lot…"

She sat for a few moments, sipping silently, her eyes closed and her nose inhaling the steam wafting out of the hot drink. Alex began to thumb through more of the album's pages, observing each photograph with sad nostalgia. Tons of family photos, pictures of Rei and Jin playing with baby Nami, pictures of Alex riding his first horse, feeding the cows. Pictures of the fields when they were still green and full of luscious grass, not to mention the endless sea of crops Rei always had growing.

"Mom took a lot of pictures," he sighed, flipping through pages of family, livestock, friends…
"Yeah," Nami said, finally detached from her mug, "Hey, y'know, it actually sorta got me thinking."

Her voice trailed off as she stole another sip.

"How should we spend the downtime?" she asked, "We have three days before we can even see dad, and I'll be honest…I'm not prepared."

Alex thought for a moment, staring at a photo of Rei beside another girl. Her hair was pink and wrapped up into two large buns, both adorned with little yellow flowers.

"Isn't that Luna? Vivian's mom?" Alex asked.
"I believe that's why it's labeled 'Luna and Me,' Alex," Nami answered flatly.
"Let's go see her," Alex suggested, ignoring her, "Mom's taken pictures of people I remember from way back…people she and dad were close to. Let's go talk to them."

Nami thought for a moment, her face brightening.

"Maybe they'll know," she said excitedly.
"Maybe," Alex agreed, "or at the very least, they can tell us anything they know, anything about mom and dad. That way, if dad doesn't tell us…"
"Then…maybe we can piece things together ourselves," Nami finished sadly, "Although I really hope it doesn't come to that…"
"Same here…I think dad owes us an explanation, at least…"

The two were silent for a few moments, and then Nami closed the album. Alex took it and walked back to his bed, gently placing it back into his bag.

"We'll go first thing tomorrow," Nami said, crawling under her blankets, "Oh, and Alex…?"
"Yes?"
"Um…if we see Angie…I won't say anything, OK?"

She curled up in bed, and closed her eyes. Alex lay still for a moment, smiling.

That was his sister's way of apologizing.

"And I'll keep my big fat mouth shut," he replied, and he heard a small laugh escape her.

That was his.