Lost and Found
December 28th, 2015; 2:35 PM
This chapter really gave me hell.
A lot of you have probably already read the original story, and so this isn't much of a surprise twist for you. But, some of you will be first-time readers- in which case, this might be huge. Maybe. I don't know, heh. Either way, it's been difficult to find a way to appeal to both these different kinds of readers.
Something like this - I call the issue in question 'this' because I don't want to spoil anything - is really complex. Everyone would understandably become very emotional. The struggle is figuring out how to explain it, how everyone will appropriately react to its reveal... I find that's been the most difficult part, Rin and Len's reactions. It's beyond my experience; it's been difficult to picture it.
At the same time, it feels like everything is happening so fast! For that reason, I decided to give readers more time to adjust; I split the chapter in two. Apologies in advance; this one will probably seem pretty short. Sorry about that. ^^" I know you've been waiting a while, so I feel like I might be disappointing you all a little to have kept this small. I think it's for the best, though. I'm trying hard to make this all as realistic and improved as I can.
Chapter II:
Bliss
There'd been a time when we'd all lived obliviously.
Tucked into bed beside her brother, Rin remembered listening to her mother's soothing voice as she recounted their favourite fairy tale. "And so Hansel and Gretel followed the trail of breadcrumbs they'd left behind, all the way back to their father, who promised never to leave them again-"
"But did he keep the promise?" Rin had been the one to ask. She remembered squeezing Len's hand, eyes glued expectantly to her knowledgeable mother's face. Len had been wondering the same thing, she could tell; Rin was often the mouthpiece for the both of them, voicing the thoughts Len was too shy to say himself.
Miriam's mouth dropped, unsure for a moment of how to answer. "I... Well, I guess he must have, right?" She smiled at them, ruffling their hair. "After all, he promised them, right? So he had no choice but to keep it."
If only that was the way the rules worked in real life.
"Ooh look!" Miku waved her phone, her swing jerking oddly with her movements. "Look at what my horoscope says today! I've got four hearts in the love section, four out of five!"
"Well that's good," Luka praised, leaning against the the swings' structure. They'd been at the park for hours, like old times, talking endlessly about whatever came to mind.
Miku beamed. "It says, 'Keep up the good work, your crush is noticing your efforts.'" She couldn't help a small smile as her cheeks heated, and she tried to discreetly glance at her crush in question... which was difficult to do when everyone else was doing the same.
Kaito pretended not to notice, suddenly very focused on the dirt before him. Knowing he wouldn't get away so easily, he looked up very suddenly after a few seconds, trying to act oblivious. "What?"
They all smiled, humouring him as they giggled under their breath. He glanced at Miku questionately, trying to catch her eye. "Seriously, what is it?" As if he didn't know. Luka noticed his embarrassment and tried to hide her smile as she watched them.
Meanwhile, the twins sat in the swings to Miku's left. "They're cute," Rin whispered to her brother. Kaito was bothering Miku right now, teasing her about being 'too young' to handle horoscopes, or something like that. "It makes me wish I had a senpai to crush on too."
That caught her overprotective brother's attention. "Really?" he asked, looking up at her with wide blue eyes. He wasn't sure whether to panic or play it cool, deciding to choose the latter.
Rin smiled at his reaction. "Don't worry." She leaned over, bumping her swing against the side of his. "You're still my favourite."
The fairy tale Miriam had told them as children had been rewritten and made appropriate for young minds: In the real fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel never found their way back. It was the true ending the twins had always refused to acknowledge.
Kaito walked closer to the swings, leaning over Miku's shoulder. "What does my horoscope say, then?"
"Hm?" Miku scrolled through her phone, well aware of Kaito's sudden proximity (though trying desperately to act normal). "You're an Aquarius, right?" she asked Kaito, who shrugged.
"If it says I am."
"You are." They were both surprised at Luka's voice, having for a moment forgotten they weren't alone. Luka's cobalt eyes focused on Kaito and even though she didn't say anything, he swore he could feel her scolding him. Still, she didn't mention anything. "Our birthdays are close; I'm an Aquarius too." To Miku, she smiled. "Read it out loud, I want to hear what mine says as well."
Oblivious to the unheard interaction between the oldest members, Miku hummed, quickly scanning the words on her screen. "It says, 'Now is the time to confess; the stars are all in your favour! If you wait too long, you'll miss your chance.'" She looked up. "For school, you've got three stars out of five, for money, you have three stars, for luck, you have four stars, and for love..." She smiled a little. "Four stars... just like me!"
Luka noted the unnecessary comparison. "Hmm... Now is the time to confess, hm?" For some reason, she found that funny.
Kaito caught her gaze. In response, Luka rolled her eyes and shook her head. Kaito made a face, jerking his chin.
Meanwhile, Len and Rin observed quietly. "What do you think they're saying?" Rin asked. He didn't answer; she looked up and found him concentrating on them, silently deciphering. Oh well, she smiled. He'd tell her later, once he figured it out.
The breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel had so discreetly trailed behind them had quickly been eaten by crows, and they'd stood outside the candy house lost and confused.
"Miku-senpai, tell me mine!"
The blue-haired girl nodded, elongating her legs and suddenly raising her feet so that she began to swing forward, clutching her phone around the chains. "December 27th... You and Len are Capricorn!" She scrolled, being careful not to kick Kaito as she swung back. "Hmm... 'Do not dwell on the finer details; you need to support and be supported. Focus on the big picture.'" She paused, her swing slowing a little. "That makes me feel a little bad... Ours were good, but yours sounds so serious."
"Eh?!" Rin kicked the ground. "Does that mean we're cursed?!"
"I don't think that's how it works..."
"For school," Miku read, "you only have one star!" She frowned. "That's terrible! But then again, we're still on spring break, so I guess it should be fine..."
Rin gripped the swing chains. "Well, if our bad luck is only in school, I guess that's okay, then."
"For money, you have four stars, which is really good. For luck, you have five stars!" Miku's eyes went wide. "Wow, that's amazing!"
"You should go to a casino," Kaito teased. "Four stars in money, five stars in luck? You could win us a fortune!"
"They're not old enough," Luka scolded.
"Didn't you hear our horoscope?" he turned and retorted. "If we wait too long, we'll miss our chance!" He started laughing. "The cosmics are giving us a sign! So what if it's illegal? We've gotta take a chance, the divine powers are insisting!"
"Senpai, shush!" Rin growled at him. She stood animately, focused on her own fortune. "Miku-senpai, what does it say for love?"
She'd been talking like that for a while now, Len noticed. Now that they were starting high school, Rin had suddenly become determined to find herself a boyfriend, or at least someone she could crush on. Personally, he didn't see the point; she had plenty of friends, what did she need a boyfriend for? It wasn't like he would suddenly rush out to get a girlfriend; if Len was by her side, why would she need anyone else?
"Sorry Rin-chan... it says you only have two stars for love..."
"Ehh?! So we arecursed!"
We used to always compare ourselves to Hansel and Gretel, cute blond twins, a boy and a girl just like us. I guess in reality, we were just as lost as our fictional counterparts, drawn to superficial candy houses because we had no other leads. Satisfied by promises of care and sweets, we barely noticed the charms the evil witch laid upon us...
"Is it really bothering you that much?" Len asked on their way home. "That you only got two stars in love?"
"You only got two stars too!" Rin replied angrily. "You got the bad luck too!"
Actually, they'd been predicted excellent luck, if he remembered well, but he didn't mention it. "It's not so bad. I'd rather be low in love than low in school." But then again, they had gotten low predictions for school, hadn't they? Maybe Rin was right, maybe they couldn't win after all. ...Nah, that was a little pessimistic.
"Well of course you can say that," Rin exclaimed, "you don't even care about love right now!"
He let her fume another few steps, then asked, "Why do you want a boyfriend so bad?"
"Hmm..." Calming down from her mock fury, she sighed a little, then met his gaze. "You don't want one?"
"A girlfriend? Mm, not really."
She watched him, cocking her head as they walked. "I... I don't know," she said simply, returning her gaze to the sidewalk ahead of them. "Maybe I read too much shojo manga." She giggled. "It just seems nice to have someone there to tell you cheesy things and spoil you like crazy."
"I spoil you like crazy."
She glared at him. "You know what I mean. Family doesn't count, silly. You have to spoil me!" He began to sulk and she realized maybe that's what it was, maybe he wanted to be the only one to spoil her. "Hey, are you getting jealous?" She laughed as he sputtered.
"Well, what?" he finally admitted, embarrassed. "I don't want anyone else to have you..."
She looped her arm around his, leaning on him lovingly. "It's okay, Len. You're still my favourite, no matter what!"
Even now, we're still following trails of breadcrumbs that lead us nowhere.
"Just think, though, only a few more days, and then we'll be high school students!"
"Mm. It's a little weird." He gently ruffled her hair. "Feels like it's all happening really fast. ...Do you remember, when Luka and Kaito-senpai started going to high school, and our music club was disbanded? We used to go to that park all the time, the one we were just at."
"And we'd sing together there instead of in a club," Rin mused, thinking back to it. "It seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?" She let out a small laugh at the memories. "We weren't really that good, were we?"
"You were always so loud, always trying to overshadow everyone else."
"Hey! That's not true!" She paused, thinking it over, then blushed. "Okay... maybe a little true. But that's only because everyone else was so quiet!"
"Luka used to get so embarrassed." Len smiled at the memory. "She used to be the quietest, never wanting anyone to hear her voice. She's better now, don't you think?"
Rin nodded, closing her eyes and picturing it. "Luka-senpai has such a nice voice too. It's so smooth and calming... I wish Luka would sing me lullabies at night, I'd fall asleep right away if she did!"
They walked a little longer. Inspired by their memories, Len began to hum a tune. "Watashi no chou fukisoku ni tobimawari..." He smiled at her, knowing she recognized the song. "Anata no te ni rinpun wo tsuketa!"
"Karami au yubi hodoite," Rin joined. Ah, her voice was a little rusty! She hadn't really had time to sing lately, not for real. "Kuchibiru kara shite he to... Yurusarenai koto ga naraba, naosara, moe agaru no!"
They laughed, singing the song's chorus together like old times. If she closed her eyes, she could picture herself back in that park, dressed in her middle school uniform, Luka, Kaito and Miku clapping to the beat of their song. "Kisu wo shite, nurikaete hoshii..." Harmonizing like this with her twin brother, these were probably the happiest times in her life. "Miwaku no toki ni yoishire... oborete itai no!"
He took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. "I still like your voice best," he said proudly.
"You have to say that though," Rin teased. "Because you're my brother."
Lost and confused, following breadcrumb trails that no longer existed...
They took off their shoes at the door, shedding their coats in the warmth of home.
Little did they know, Hansel and Gretel's worlds were about to be shattered. Lost in the forest, it was only a matter of time before the big bad wolf scooped them up. 'As long as we have each other...' Did they have each other? Or would that be taken from them too?
"Rin, Len? Is that you?"
"We're home!"
Their mother hovered by the kitchen door as if scared to pass its threshold. She watched her children and felt her heart grow heavier by the minute, knowing that soon, they wouldn't be looking at her with such concern. Surely, they'd hate her if she told them.
"Sit down," the twins' father said, appearing behind her. "Your mother and I have to talk to you."
Rin and Len exchanged glances, frowning. What was this about? Were they in trouble? Could it be about their argument the other day? Rin's eyes widened at the thought of that, somewhat excited at the possibility of answers. Quickly, the twins sat on the couch, Leon perching himself on the coffee table. Their mother, evermore sophisticated, carried over a stool instead, nervously bopping her husband on the head for his laziness.
Leon laughed a little, squeezing her hand reassuringly. She'd be fine. They'd get this over with, and by next week at the latest, everything would be settled again. Everything would be perfectly okay.
If only she could have his confidence.
She decided to take in the site of her children sitting together, holding each other's hand on that couch, closing her eyes and making sure she could remember every detail, just... in case. Rin's hair was a little messy, maybe from the wind, maybe from being ruffled or played with. Len's curious look, those beautiful blue eyes that had captured everyone's attention even as a baby. The way he watched, calculated, deduced so intelligently...
She wondered if he already knew what she was about to tell him. He was so smart, he might have already figured it out. Oh, how she hoped that was true. How she wished she could tell them everything and have them laugh and exclaim, 'Geez mom, we already knew all of that!'
Rin frowned, sensing Miriam's awkwardness. "What's wrong, mom...?"
Panicking a little, she turned to her husband, silently pleading with him. Not now. She wasn't ready to tell them now! Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, but... not now...!
He squeezed her hand tighter, nodding encouragingly. She could see his response in his green eyes: If not now, then when? It'd be best to get it over with. You can do it.
She knew he was right; they wouldn't be able to hide it from them forever, no matter how hard she tried. It would be best to let Len adjust while he was still young and at home, where she could nurture him. The longer he spent not knowing, the more devastating it would be when he found out...
This was for the best: that's what she had to believe.
"There's something we need to tell you."
December 28th, 2015; 3:08 PM
It's as I said, painfully short.
Then again, the original story also had this part end on a cliffhanger. Let's call it, a tribute! No? That's not a good enough excuse? Haha, sorry. ^^"
I don't have very much to say about this chapter right now. In a way, maybe I'm rushing through this first twist. It's been very troublesome, and... eh. The story only truly starts after the almighty calling, right? I can't wait. I've much unplanned after they set out, so it'll be much like the original Lost and Found: an adventure into the unknown.
I don't know what to expect either. Isn't that the most exciting part of an adventure? I can't wait. ^^
Love,
~Naty17
December 28th, 2015; 3:36 PM
Now that I'm actually checking its word count, it's not actually as short as I feared, is it? 2856 words… Thank goodness. ^^" That makes me feel better~
Please review to let me know what you think, it would certainly be appreciated.
