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Bron-Yr-Aur

She was raised in a crowded family of 16. Every sibling looked different here. Some have straight blonde hair, some has curly black hair, some has blue eyes, some has hazel brown eyes and the list goes on. That doesn't stop Brooklyn from having fun with her brothers and sisters. They play tag in the afternoon, in the evening when Mom calls them for meal they rush and fight for a spot closest to the best dish on the table. Kids being kids.

Brooklyn would ask Nana who her parents are. Sometimes she asks Mom. Other time she asks Adeline but Adeline would ask her the same question in return.

Adeline said they might be twins, they loved being with each other and they knew each other very well.

During their free time, they will randomly pick a cassette from the library shelf and listened to it with an old grey boxy Walkman while they read a big blue book about twins. They always ended up flipping through pages examining the pictures instead. Perhaps the amount of words was a little too much for the 5-years-olds.

Sometimes they would stare at each other in the mirror of the dorm to check their similarities. Adeline had silky blonde hair, Brooklyn had brunette wavy hair. Adeline was slightly fairer. Here eyes were pale blue, not much depth but intriguing enough. While Brooklyn has deep brown set of eyes, her eyes are deep enough for one to dive into oblivion. They sighed at the mirror and walked away.

When they got bored of the indoors, they would run to the backyard to play on the swing. The wind brushed passes their hair as if it whispered something funny in their ears. They laughed and giggled with their eyes closed when the swings lifted them high up in the air.

During sunny evenings, they lie prone on the grass facing each other with their chins in palms. Brooklyn studied Adeline's eyes assuming someday she would find an adult with that set of eyes like Adeline's which she will call MAMA. Every night before they slept they lie down in bed imagine how their parents would look like. Most of the kids knew at least half of their parents. They heard them talking about their parents so frequently and how someday their parent would drop by and take them 'home' to where they once belong.

"Our father must have brown hair like yours." Adeline stated from her upper bunk bed.

"Then our mom would have beautiful blue eyes like yours," She replied from the lower bunk.

"Yeah..." Adeline mumbled with a long sigh.

She could tell that Adeline missed mom and dad. She could hear the agitating pain in Adeline's heart seeping through her voice. She kept quiet as a small stream of tears disembogued from her stinging eyes. She wiped it away before it reached her pillow. She doesn't like sleeping on wet pillow. How could someone miss people who doesn't exist at all.

It doesn't makes sense to her. She tap on her own head and call herself 'silly child.'

That night she sneaked out of her dorm to the library alone, she couldn't sleep. She took her favourite cassette from the shelf and jammed it in the walkman.

The moon shined shyly through the library window as she sat quietly on the floor with a torch light in her hand, she stumbled upon the word 'Fraternal twins' with a picture of a pair of twins with different features. She grinned.

Full of hope and joy, she folded the corner of page 325 and held the book close to her heart as she ran back to the dorm.

Well if the sun shines so bright

She rose with the blazing sun when she came out from the library. It was as if the weather knew her jam, the sun shined brightly behind the huge shady trees, printing bright yellow spots of different sizes on the cemented walkway connecting the library and the interior of the dorm.

Or our way is darkest night

The prints swayed gently every time the wind blew. If this was a recital, the sun and the wind would be the performer, the trees would be the audience and Little Brooke would be the melody. She would be the vibe.

The road we chose is always right, so fine

She hopped on the yellow spots. Her right foot patted on one of the spots and it propelled her in the air to the next spot as her left foot met her shadow again when she landed.

Ah can a love be so strong when so many loves go wrong

She rushed her way to the stairs humming Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp by Led Zepplin. She didn't care if she ran out of breath. On and on and on, she sang it relentlessly. She was on cloud nine.

She flung the door open when she finally reached the dorm.

"Adeline! We are fraternal twins!" She exclaimed in triumph.

She held the book up like it was a trophy. Her eyes shut she enjoyed her victory.

As we walk down the country lane I'll be singing a song, she continued singing the song in her head.

"Errhem!"someone cleared his throat and her song was interrupted.

She was shocked to see a crowd of lavish-looking adults in her room. Leather purse, exquisite loafers, tailored-fit suit - they look extravagantly clothed from head to toe. 

Every confusion, every piece of happiness and fear was shown on Adeline's face when she squeezed out from the crowd of adults.

Adeline charged towards her direction, "Brooke!", she screamed.

Adeline hugged Brooklyn, she hugged her so tightly as if letting go of that grip would make Brooklyn disappear. 

She choked in her own tears while she sang the lyrics of  Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp in a tremulous voice, "Hear.. me calling your.. name."

Everything was a blur after Adeline let go of her grip. She stood there paused in time as everything else happen. 

She only came back to consciousness when the door shut behind her. Tears were rolling down her face without her noticing. She looked down and the book was lying on the floor. Page 325 wide open, the picture of two Fraternal Twin were staring coldly at her. She clenched her fists. She felt a small piece of paper on her palm with the unmistakable Adeline's writing on it.

Hear the wind whisper in the trees, telling mother nature bout you and me. 

With love, 

Adeline.

Adeline is gone. 

Brooklyn told herself repeatedly that day, that week, that month, that year.

She zoned out since then.

She zoned out when she ate.

Zoned out when she played.

Zoned out when she read page 325.

Zoned out when she cried.

The only time she didn't zone out was when she sat under the shady trees as the wind blew from time to time. She would listen attentively. She cried every time the wind was gone. She cried because she didn't understand what it said. She cried because it kept secret. She cried because all she could hear was the sound of the leaves rattling on the tree branches.

Not a day went by that she didn't miss Adeline.