The Long Way Back | ✓

01 | ONE

For several moments of silence, Vivian did not say anything, letting the silence stretch between them. Honestly, surprise stroke Sophie when her sister chose to let the moments waste into silence. Vivian was a wildcard, the type of person who hated to waste every moment in her life with something as meaningless as silence, always constantly in motion. Sophie thrived in silence while Vivian abhorred it. Sophie suspected that her twin was terrified of silence, despite how Vivian claimed nothing could render her into the realm of fear. Vivian's inability to fill the void of silence with brash words and reckless schemes hated stagnancy more than anything.

"Soph, have you been roaming around the internet lately?" For the first time in her life, Vivian asked Sophie heard unsteadiness brimming underneath Vivian's self-assured composure. "I am in deep, deep trouble."

"Should we walk outside the church so we can talk without Mother Mary's statue staring us down?" Sophie retorted, inducing a burst of humorless laughter from Vivian. "I can tell that this will be...an interesting talk."

"I can guarantee that."

The two sisters separated by merely minutes in age, stood up from their seats, and walked out of the church. Usually, Sophie noticed Pastor George's presence that often graced the church, given he was the caretaker. Maybe he noticed that Vivian was back in town and opted to give Sophie some space to reconnect with her twin. The Pastor was their mother's close friend, always an understanding figure in Sophie's life despite her faded faith.

"Hey, Sophie!" as soon as Sophie stepped out of the church, a chirpy voice greeted her. The sun was blazing in the sky, and Sophie hoped the sun's hot rays could blast away this girl who always seemed to be too friendly for her own good. Sophie could sense that Vivian froze as soon as someone greeted them. Before Sophie could let the gears inside her head to process why her sister was suddenly petrified, she was dragged into a small talk by none other than Miriam Blake, an old classmate of hers.

"Hey, Miriam," Sophie replied, eerie politeness laced in her voice. "Is there anything you need to talk to me about?" She certainly did not have the time to engage in meaningless small talks with one of the nicest people in her grade (too nice, even).

"Well, I thought that I could say hello, given that you will not be in the same class as I am later on this fall," Miriam replied with a bright smile on her face. Frustration coursed through Sophie's vein, not understanding why Miriam was not in the least bit intimidated by her emotionless disposition as so many were. "You graduated two years early, Soph, as valedictorian no less! I am sure that you already have colleges begging you to accept their admission. Oh, and who is it here? You look really familiar, by the way, and really pretty." Miriam turned her head to take a good look at Vivian, who was still frozen in the place.

"Uh, we need to go now, Mir," Sophie hurriedly said as she pulled Vivian and walked away from Miriam, who looked befuddled. Maybe Sophie had not been living with Vivian for a long time after their parents' divorce tore them apart from each other. That certainly did not mean Sophie's innate instincts about her sister had faded along with their parents' marriage.

"Where are we going?" Vivian asked; the boldness in her voice had returned after it was petrified away by silence.

"Well, we are definitely not going to public places, given that you seem to be terrified just now when someone took a good look at you. Be grateful that I am used to brushing people off, or else we would be stuck in a circle of hell, which is small talk with Miriam Blake. Oh, and the way you seem to back away when she started to give you a once over indicated that somehow you are not supposed to be in a public place, Viv. Somehow, you asked me to meet you in the church through a text after years of empty inboxes from you. I take that this is very urgent, and you should not be in public."