VARSITY 9 | BL

TWENTY-FIVE | WREN

The sound of the sirens wailing into the night was forever burned into Wen's memory. The flashing lights that surrounded the body on the ground would never leave his mind. It was a full moon that night. The city was as busy as ever, and Wen had just finished his homework when his mom received the call that would forever change their lives. 

His mother's holophone dropping to the floor caused Wen to whip his head to the kitchen where his mom had been cleaning. Wen immediately stood from the table and hurried to his mom who had sunk to the floor.

"Wren...Wren..." Tears poured from Lisa's eyes as she cried out her daughter's name.

"What happened? Mom??" Wen grew worried when his mother continued to cry and call out his sister's name. Taking his mother's holophone from where it had fallen, Wen quickly read the announcement that followed the quick phone call.

We regret to inform you that your daughter, Yywren Kaihan, was the victim of a traffic accident and has since passed at 22:14 at 1456th Street and Dunaway Avenue. Details to follow in an official report from the Police Department.

The moment Wen read the message, he sprinted out of his family's apartment and began running to where the accident had happened, to where his sister was lying on the ground all alone in the cold of the night. The sounds of the sirens steered Wen to where a large crowd had gathered. Several police vehicles had sectioned off part of the road and were keeping people from nearing the scene of the accident.

"Let me through! That's my sister! Let me through, please!!" Wen called out for the police to let him reach his sister, but strong arms holding him back were his only response.

The commotion Wen was making drew the attention of a police officer overseeing the accident, and he promptly came over to where Wen was crying out for his sister. A white cloth had been laid over the small body on the ground, but Wen knew it was his sister's by the hand that stretched out from beneath the cloth. And on the hand's wrist was his sister's bracelet. The bracelet he had given her for their 15th birthday. 

Wren was Wen's twin sister, and the two were closer than life. They did everything together. They had the same friends, attended the same study group, and laughed at the same jokes. Wen's world came crashing down as he sunk to his knees, his gaze glued to the silver bracelet around his sister's wrist.

Why did this have to happen? Why did his sister have to die? Why did the bus not sense her? Was its sensor broken? Why did the maintenance sensor not detect the defect? So many questions raced through Wen's mind as he cried for his sister.

"What's going on here?" The voice of the police officer brought Wen's wet eyes up to the man standing over him. The man's eyes were tired, but they were kind. He had seen many an accident like this happen. The buses that still ran on the lower streets of the city were old, and their sensors were failing. Since the buses only ran in the less fortunate districts, there was no rush to fix their broken sensors. 

Wen could only cry and point to the cloth-covered form on the ground as he said, "My...my sister..."

The officer's eyes softened and he motioned for the police in front of Wen to step aside. The scene had already been documented and searched, so there would be no harm in allowing the boy to go to his sister. Wen stood to his feet as the police stepped aside and allowed him to enter the scene.

The bus that had hit his sister was standing behind her idly. It had been emptied, and its lifeless form stood over Wren with a cold, unfeeling presence. Dropping to his knees beside his sister, Wen shakily reached down and took her hand. It was cold and unmoving. All the warmth and life had already seeped away from Yywren Kaihan, and they would never return.