The Plan

A family affair

Calling the ungodly group -a family- was a far stretch.

Rosalyn Marlow. Or rather Dr. Rosalyn Marlow -a rare artifacts collector with a PhD in Archaeology- who had met her husband, Frank Marlow -the landscape arts enthusiast- in chilled Moscow back in the eighties. And the two were on a mission to score their own scavengers for a household.

They had Jolene, the eldest. Russian roots along with the looks. Then came Simone. Younger than him were Marc and Twain, Bavarian twins. Apart form being hyperactive and bald, they're unforgiving. Nara is still residing on their bad side after one unfortunate encounter. Then came the miracle child. A mid forties first time pregnancy. Little Clara; for all she cares the kid could be a lab instrument or some other emotionless drone. She's both eleven and gruesome. Everyone's seen them pictures.

Rosalyn works for the darkest of the bunch. Nara knew about her way before Ralph and knowing Simone. Her reputation preceded her and not in a passing conversation. No, her name only came in whispers and hushed voices. She belonged with the darkest of the bunch.

After their father has been announced dead just recently; a private ceremony was organized. With an unprecedent guests list such as this one and an insider, the hit was bound to happen. It's the rare chance they'd meet. All of 'em; together. At once. Because if you haven't heard; those family members never stayed in the same room at the same time. Ever.

Their hearts weren't of gold from the start. For awhile intact but as the spell wore out from being apart Simone's angle had sloped.

His affection had to be fueled by interpretations, always reasoned and most definitely warranted. So seeing him glower as he talks about going in full force only proves how they were anything but on familial grounds.

Arriving only yesterday, Rosalyn had been in the country for about 16 hours and it already feels like it's too risky to breathe.

Nara had a premonition of an unbidden dawn yesterday when she was sipping on a slushy while listening to Jacob as he elucidated Cymatics to her. Dark clouds had moved passed them careless to their conversation or even concealed fate yet they were able to somehow insinuate how unintelligent she sounded to even humor those thoughts.

And they were right, as Jacob narrated the equations of life with long sequences she only find helpful in counterattacks Nara realized how she has been single minded and overly paranoid.

She had assumed to have outgrown this paranoia of hers just recently; so maybe she shouldn't go back to that rabbit hole so soon. Especially with not fully processed conspiracies and not to mention creepy eleven
-year-olds.

Clara accompanied her mother; still all comfortable and cozy under her wings. The two live in South of France. Jolene lives in the country. And the twins' location isn't really confirmed yet. But surely hours from now Nara will be fighting the urge to throw up her guts from the eerie atmosphere of a funeral and squeezing those same guts dry from the apprehension of meeting the few.

If life had been preparing them for something, this day might as well be it. The funeral home would be its stage while they; the actors will come stumbling. All rehearsed but not well enough.