Diamesa

Chapter Two: The Gift

"What's up with you?" asked Irene, raising her eyebrows as Lynn staggered into the kitchen the next morning. "Did you not get enough sleep?"

Lynn sat down at the dining table across from Irene, who was reading a magazine. Yuni placed a bowl of warm Miso soup in front of Lynn.

Lynn swallowed hard and said cheerfully, "I'm totally fine." It sounded unconvincing even to Lynn's ears.

Yuni was not the type to question, however. She smiled and teased, "You were too excited thinking about Ryan to sleep, huh?" teased Yuni.

"What were you doing awake at four thirty last night?" asked Irene, not bothering to look up from her magazine.

Lynn stiffened slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"You were screaming," said Irene, giving Lynn a scathing look, "I could hardly sleep after that."

"I didn't hear a single thing," said Yuni cheerfully.

Lynn laughed nervously, "No one expects you to. Only weirdos like Irene would."

"You were screaming in your sleep and I'm the weirdo? Sounds logical," deadpanned Irene. She closed her magazine. "So what happened anyway?"

Lynn rolled her eyes and smiled, "I dreamed that I saw a truck-sized tarantula crawling up my wall, okay? Any more questions, Sherlock?"

Irene stared at Lynn for a moment, her face expressionless. "Nope," she said, returning to her magazine.

Lynn sipped her Miso soup, pretending not to notice the tension between her and her sister. Ever since she remembered, Irene had always kept up a cool exterior, preferring to hide her emotions and thoughts. Lynn was the complete opposite; she could never do that. She preferred to share with others, especially her sisters.

But last night's dream was too disturbing to share with anyone. The more she tried to remember what had happened, the less she recalled. The only thing that was imprinted permanently in her mind was the black-haired woman's face, her expression right before the soldiers killed her.

Who was that girl? Why would she even dream of something like this in the first place?

Lynn suddenly realized Irene was staring at her again. She quickly picked up her spoon and started digging into her breakfast. She couldn't afford to think about this kind of stuff around Irene. That girl was too observant for her own good.

"So," said Lynn nonchalantly, feeling the need to divert Irene's attention, "I was thinking Ryan can show up around three pm? It would give us time to clean up and get ready."

"Count me out" said Irene immediately.

"Oh come on, Irene!" said Yuni, joining them at the table, "We already agreed to welcome him. We should at least keep up our manners and clean too."

"Yeah, you're our sister," Lynn elbowed her sister playfully. "We have to stick together."

Irene looked up and gave Lynn a glare. "I hope it really was a tarantula you dreamed about," she said coldly.

Irene got up and left the table. Lynn stared glumly after Irene's retreating figure as Irene ascended the stairs.

The day passed uneventfully as the Amadore sisters cleaned up the house. Yuni oversaw and delegated chores to Lynn and, whenever she was persuaded, Irene as well. The girls scrubbed, vacuumed, and polished the small apartment as well as they could. Lynn stepped out to pick up some groceries from the nearby grocery store, and Yuni prepared some snacks for Ryan's arrival. When Lynn bounded down the stairs wearing a skirt, Irene clamped her mouth shut to prevent any insults from escaping.