Splicing of Changes

Chapter 2

Running. Small feet moving. The sound of feet is echoing through the house.

Where am I? I sit up instantly and realize I am not on my bed; this is not my room. It is too bare to be my room. It literally lacks all my personal touches in fact it is way too colorful to be my room. I try to remember, where am I? I put my hand over my forehead when I hear a voice. That is unmistakably my sister's voice. Am I in an alternate reality where Tori was not absent from my life? What is going on?

I get up and walk to the bathroom. To freshen up. I take a shower and then by some miracle all that had happened rushes to my brain. And once again I am hit with a wave of shock along with the now too hot water hitting my skin. I adjust the temperature of my shower, before my thoughts consume me. I remember what happened, the accident, coming here everything. Only thing is those sounded like small feet. I did not see any other human besides me and Tori yesterday. After I rested, I got up for dinner which only included me and Tori. Hence awkwardness was oozing out of the house. I do remember noticing few rooms in the house. And the fact that the house is huge in general. I mean what does she do?

I finally get ready for a day. I have no idea what I would be doing. But I figured anything is better besides sitting cooped up in a room, which is clearly not mine. Also, if I am going to stay here. I need to color the room to make it more mine and less of a what...a cheerful 5-year-old? I never was cheerful even when I was 5 anyway. How could I? I was busy missing my sister, whose reason for absence is something I have yet to figure out. I make a mental note to walking around just to figure out the area. Then probably calling Aaron. I have no idea what will happen to my relationship now that I am here. Probably we will break up, which makes sense. Only neither of us have actually voiced it. And for some reason, I feel like calling him and just saying that before I start my day. Why do suddenly feel like doing this first thing in the morning is beyond me. But thank goodness I do not do it.

Instead, I gather as much courage I have and venture outside this godforsaken cheerful looking room. It is too cheery to be my taste and does not match my current mood. Then I find the small feet, or should I say two little humans running around. One looks a little older than the other. But they could easily be of the same age. Only difference is one of them is blonde like me and Tori and the other has shiny black hair. I am yet to discover their gender as they are both in their greyish onesies. It's an odd color for a child to be wearing. I slowly perch myself at the breakfast table and help myself to a toast and some scrambled eggs waiting there. The little humans soon come to stand beside me.

"Who are you?" One of them asks.

"Why are you here?" Another one asks.

They both ask me almost at the same time. It is then that I notice that the younger one is a guy who looks way too similar to me and Tori, with his dark brownish blond hair, like ours and light sky-blue eyes. While the older one of them is a girl, who is currently glaring at me almost. She has shiny jet-black hair and dark green eyes. Their difference is striking. Yet they both look absolutely adorable in their weird greyish onesies. I cock my head to a side to look at them, weirdly they do the same. I turn my head back and they copy me. Okay. I get it. They are copying my movements. I lift my hand and they both narrows their eyes at me. What is going on? Who are they? Also, where were they last night?

Before I could react or hear someone come in, I hear the small feet take off. I follow my eyes to them because of the single word they uttered, "Mommy." Who is their mommy? And to my utter surprise it is Tori. Wow. So, I am their aunt. And my sister never bothered telling me, much less mom and dad that they are grandparents. How heartless can she be? Why did she not though? Or did she tell them only they never told me. Of course, that is not possible because they told me everything. I mean we changed as a family after Tori left. Which always begs me to question why though? Was it from the shock of their elder daughter leaving home at 16 or was it that they didn't like her at all? That cannot be the case, because as much as it pains me, I remember Tori being the best daughter. She was and still is the sweetest human, even though she left me. I cannot hear or say bad things about her.