"Genesis"

Chapter 4

I hesitated as I stood upon the threshold. I had passed through this doorway times too numerous to count - but this time was different, this time the warmth was gone. Wisely, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Howard stayed back, not wanting to intrude but letting us know they were there for us should the need arise. I was glad of that. This was something I had to do by myself. As painful as it was going to be I needed to do this alone. Krystal, with her sixth 'twin' sense, also left me to myself. I moved forward and entered the now cold empty house.

As I moved slowly down the hallway so the sounds of my footsteps echoed back. I stopped at the foot of the staircase and looked up, my eyes blurring. I gulped then moved away. No, not yet... I headed for the kitchen. I stood and gazed around at the familiar room. I ran my fingers over the table top remembering the numerous meals we had shared here. Looking at the kettle I was dragged back to that morning and the cup of tea I had made my mother. I looked for the cup and found it back in its usual place in the cupboard. I picked it up and cradling it carefully in my hands looked at its pretty surface once more. I put it down then turned and ran blindly from the room, heading for the stairs. I pounded up them two at a time and then down the hallway, stopping briefly to throw open the door to my parents' bedroom. I charged into the room, the familiarity of it settling over me like a favourite jumper. I fully expected, or should I say hoped to see my parents curled up safe and warm in their bed, to see them beckon me over to share a cuddle like we had shared so many in the past. Through the mist I could see them and I reached forward, stretching for those warm arms to engulf me. As I fell on to the bed so the figures disappeared and I realized that I was still caught in this nightmare, spiralling into emptiness with no hope or way back.

I don't know how long I lay there sobbing, but I cried until there were no more tears left to shed. I cried for my parents who were too young to have passed on, I cried for the future we could no longer share, I cried for the love that had been so cruelly taken, I cried for the emptiness we were now forced to feel; but mostly I cried for Krystal and myself for being thrust into this life that obviously wasn't ready or willing for us as the realization finally began to sink in. We were orphans... our parents were never going to come home to us again, never would I see them walk through that front door, never would I hear the laughter or share the joy of being a family. As the well became dry so I pulled myself from the bed and took one last, lingering look around the room, desperate to commit to memory every detail. My mother's slippers still waited at the end of the bed ready for her feet to slip into. A novel with the bookmark jutting out lay on the nightstand awaiting my father',s eyes to continue their perusing of its pages. All around me I could feel them... and smell them...

I left the room closing the door softly and went down the hallway to my own room. I stood there, just inside and stared around. My bed was made, toys neatly stored in the toy box, nothing out of place. I sighed wearily and fetched my rather battered suitcase out from under the bed. A noise behind me made me jump and I turned around to see Uncle Howard standing in the doorway.

"Don't worry about your clothes Jay, your Aunt will sort them out and pack them up for you. We just need to get enough for next few days. Just pack up what you want to bring now and the rest we will get sent over in the next couple of days," he said softly.

I looked at him through red, swollen eyes and nodded my head, not trusting my voice. He smiled in understanding and left the room. I heard him go down the hallway to Krystal's room. Quietly I closed the door then sat on my bed, staring around the room that had been mine for as long as I could remember. I tried to swallow the lump that insisted upon forming in my throat as the thought of someone else being in *my* room entered my head. I pushed the thought away and began to rummage through my toy box and closet as I decided what to take with me now and what to leave till later. There was so much there... so many different things, each with their own special memory that it was hard to choose. The train set that I had been given on my last birthday. Dad was going to help me build a permanent track for it in the garage so we could play all the time. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I thought of my dad and the train set. Then there was my anime collection. Mom made out that she didn't understand why I liked it so much, but she always made sure I had the next dvd in the series and I had even caught her watching some of it on the odd occasion. My baseball mitt, my toy cars, the list was endless, each holding its own special place in my heart. I managed to put together a few things and then quickly raided the draws and wardrobe for clothes as I heard Aunt Jenny calling from downstairs that it was nearly time to go.

Leaving the bag and suitcase in the doorway I went down to Krystal's room to check on her. I looked at her face and there was no need for words. With that special sense we had I knew she was feeling the same raw emotions that I was, and like me, had her own way of dealing with them. She also had a couple of bags packed and I noticed with a smile that she was hugging to her the special teddy bear that she had been given the day she and I had been born. We had both received them. Krystal's was white with a yellow bow around its neck. Mine was also white, but a green bow had graced its neck. I looked at Miss Fluffy and the memories came once more to haunt me. Our father had given those bears to us. Mine had long ago reached the point where it could no longer be repaired and so with great reluctance I let him go. Krystal, however, had treasured hers and looked after it, never once playing rough with it and so Miss Fluffy, as she had been named, had lasted the years and was still to this day Krystal's most loved possession.

I glanced quickly around my sister's room making mental notes of everything before taking her hand in mine and squeezing gently, leaving the one place that we had known so much happiness in, the only place that had ever been 'home'.

As the car pulled out of the driveway and down the street I stared forlornly out of the rear window. Saying goodbye hurt so much. Knowing that I would never again walk through that door, sleep in my bedroom, eat in the kitchen, play in the garden ripped the very heart from my body. As kind as Aunt Jenny and Uncle Howard were, they could not possibly understand what Krystal and I were going through. To have your whole life suddenly taken from you, all that you held close and dear to your heart, all that is familiar wrenched away in one split second... I tried so hard to hold on to some shreds of my sanity and I thought I was succeeding... until...

Sold... all sold...

Something died in me that day...

#

Life with Uncle Howard and Aunt Jenny began to take on a routine. They tried hard to make us feel welcome and loved us as if we had been their own. It took some time for the wounds to begin to heal, but then time is a wonderful adversary. As each day passed so the pain eased that little bit more until life once more began to hold meaning and promise of better things to come. Krystal healed faster than I did, part of being a girl I suppose. Although I could now think back to our parents without the sharp pain of loss, the dull ache was still there and would remain so for years to come.

School once more dominated our lives and we settled into the routine happily, eager to have some form of stability in our lives, something familiar with which to anchor to. Days passed by and the seasons also came and went. Before we knew it a year had passed since the tragedy. I still woke at night with nightmares of that day. I could still see the eyes of that man in the car. The police had not managed to track down those responsible and now the file was all but closed, unsolved is what they said. But as long as I had my nightmares the face of one of those responsible remained. One day... one day... I vowed to myself I would track him down and make him pay. Little did I know that my chance to do so was waiting in the not too distant future. That in another bizarre twist to my life vengeance would become mine.

Just as our lives had begun to settle for us and we again began to live, set goals and have hopes and dreams, something happened to once more throw us reeling into despair.

#

Three years had now gone by since our parents' passing and while we still continued to miss them, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Howard had managed to fill the void and to a point take their place. Krystal and I had celebrated our 10th birthday with a big party and were sitting happily exhausted in the lounge room.

"That was some party," said Krystal.

I nodded my head in reply. Lots of food, fun and laughter had been had by all and while we had only invited a few friends, we had still managed to make enough noise for twice the amount!

I watched as Krystal picked herself up and began to tidy up the lounge room, fluffing and putting cushions back on the couch, relocating the remote controls to the TV back to their more familiar spot on the coffee table and picking up a couple of cups that had found their way in here.

Feeling my eyes watching her she stopped and turned, then putting her hands on her hips she cocked her head and stared right back. "So nice of you to help me, brother dear..." she said sarcastically.

"Ahh, but you were doing such a great job by yourself that I didn't want to interfere," I replied and then ducked as a cushion came flying through the air and landed just behind me. I stuck my tongue out at her. "Missed me," I retorted.

Her eyes narrowed and took on an almost feral glint.

I swallowed and looked for an escape route.

Noticing where my eyes were looking, Krystal slid across the room and blocked my only means of escape.

Damn! When it came to a wrestling match she was good, almost as strong as me and anyone that had dared to cross her in the past had found out that there was more to that lithe body than first thought. For her age and build she was extremely agile and very strong, as quite a few of the boys at school could bear testimony to. When it came to being outclassed, well that's what brothers were for...

My eyes darted around the room for another means of escape. The window.

As if reading my thoughts she looked me full on and shook her head. "Don't even think about it. Uncle Howard's prize azalea is under there."

Hmmmm, she did have a valid point. That left just her and the door. I sighed. May as well get it over with. I thrust my body from the chair and with a yell launched myself at my sister, determined that I should at least have the element of suprise on my side.

Krystal's eyes opened wide as I flew at her. Quickly gathering her wits she braced and met my lunge head on. We both crashed to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.

As we wrestled madly on the floor, neither of us heard the sound of the doorbell. I was sitting on Krystal's stomach, pinning her arms above her head and about to make her promise to clean my room for the next week when I heard Uncle Howard calling for us.

Krystal smirked up at me and poked her tongue out.

"Just think yourself lucky this time," I growled and then stood up, releasing her arms. We quickly straightened the room and went to see what Uncle Howard wanted.

As we walked into the dining room so a feeling of unease crept over me. I automatically reached for Krystal's hand and entwining my fingers in hers found the reassurance that I needed. Sitting with our Aunt and Uncle was a white haired, elderly looking man. His hair was long, thin and wiry, falling almost all the way down his back. He also sported a rather large, white moustache. The skin was wrinkled with age or worry. Which? I couldn't determine. Judging by the number of lines I would hazard a guess that both were responsible. He turned and looked at me.

tbc...