Hiromi's words kept swirling through my head and I couldn't help but feel it was my responsibility to get us out. Looking through my bag, I saw the men had been kind enough to leave me with nothing but my school books and pencil case. Hiromi was sleeping silently on the sofa so I snuck into her room and gathered her sketch pad then collected the scrapbook and a couple of books that I knew were her favourites before waking her and whispering my plan. She gave a tired mumble in response but I knew that was just an act.
Every day at five one brave man would come through to the basement to drop off our dinner. For Hiromi this was normal as she had grown up with it that way. For me...not so normal. Shrouded in shadows, we waited for the poor sod that would be dropping off our meal today. We were stood on either side of the basement stairs with bags packed and hair and makeup done.
A bright light came from the trap door as it opened slowly. The guy was a couple of steps down and hadn't seen us or our legs when he tripped over them and landed at the bottom of the stairs with food over his face.
"Have a nice trip..." I said while skipping up the stairs.
"...See you next fall!" Hiromi finished as she followed. Luckily we made it out of the house before any of the goons caught up. We'd thought a lot about where we should go and decided that Uncle Mori and Honey's house would be best. Home was out of the question as it is too predictable and they would easily catch us. And Uncle Honey would understand why we couldn't tell mum and dad about this and even if Uncle Mori wanted to tell he wouldn't if Uncle Honey didn't want him to.
Hiromi stood nervously behind me as I rang the doorbell. The open space was scaring her a bit and the bright light hurt her eyes. Her cold hands were pressed against my shoulder blades and her forehead was on the back of my neck.
"Kei?" Uncle Honey's eyes went wide as he opened the door and saw me. Ushering me inside quickly he didn't seem to notice my twin behind me. "Where have you been? We've all been worried sick! Takashi! Kei's here!" He hurried round making tea and getting out cake. As he was setting out three cake plates Uncle Mori walked in and grabbed a fourth. Uncle Honey was staring at him in confusion until I stepped to one side and put an arm around Hiromi. She was shaking. I guess experiencing the outside world and new people for the first time in your life is scary. I felt sorry for her as I led her to a seat and pulled another close so I could keep an eye on her.
"Please don't tell mum and dad you found me. I was locked in a basement and these guys have had Hiromi locked in there since the day she was born. Or should I say the day we were born."