Chapter 3

"I told you Gertie," Charles Bingley 2 said as patiently as possible, "It is not for a girl."

"Who is it for then?" Gertrude John Williams asked her company curiously.

"All right, all right…" The young man said, resigned. "It is for my brother."

Gertrude's eyes widened.

"You have a brother?" she said, surprised by the news.

"Yeah, and you know what's strange? We are, like, from two different societies. He lives in Victorian time. Heard that love? Victorian. I kinda left the family at one month old, but you know, it's not like I meant to do that." Charles said, thanking God that he still could explain himself clearly in this situation.

"So what?" Gertrude said, still not understanding her friend's feeling at the moment.

"I dunno if it is a good idea or not to meet him. I mean all right, we are twins but we grew up in different societies."

Gertrude nodded and left him alone, deep in his thoughts.

Charles Bingley2's POV

Brother. My brother. My family.

How could these words pierce my heart as they passed through my mind?

I was not thinking rationally. I knew it, but I couldn't help.

Fraternity is a feeling, and all feelings are bond to be irrational.

I love my brother dearly, but I knew one thing, one thing : that the world's greatest obstacle was presently between us, and that all feelings would fly away like birds with this obstacle in between.

Or will it?

Sometimes I felt a small light of hope inside me, but it was soon drowned by a strange apprehension and an almost painful hesitation. These nights I always repeated one same prayer:

" God, tell my brother that there is somebody, somebody in this world who cares about him. Tell him that he will never be alone and that he might call to me whenever he needs me. Tell him I love him and that I will be there for him in all his life, and please, please, please remember to ask him if he ever cares about me and remembers the small baby who has been with him 26 years ago."

I called his name in my dreams, wishing vainly that he could hear it, however far he was from me.

" Africa!" Gertrude shouted.

I smiled bitterly. Even Africa was nearer from home.