📌 Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
As the cold devoured the remaining heat from home in my body, I took the opportunity to locate where my brother was in a field full of strangers.
I was hoping that he was still the same when it comes to talking with him; he would always be outgoing, imaginative, and enthusiastic just talking about his normal, everyday stuff, which made them more interesting than how he narrated them. I was never bored with him to the point that silences between us were always comfortable, and we could tease each other in a way that we knew we were just being pathetic.
However, when our parents had their divorce, Oslo had to move away with Dad, who was his biological father. We talked everyday since the day he left, but after a few months, we had little to no words exchanged between the two of us, making us grow up in two completely separate worlds without knowing each other's whereabouts. At this point, if he were already waiting for me at the airport, I wouldn't be surprised if I mistake him for a stranger, however, I would be disappointed at myself.
I checked my phone and connected to the airport's WiFi so I could see if he sent me a message on any of my social media accounts. When I found none, I decided to make the first move and sent him a message on Snapchat.
Egypt: I'm at the airport
now. Dad said you'll
pick me up?
After a few moments, I had an incoming call from Oslo.
"Norwaaaay! Where are you?" I asked Oslo, who softly chuckled with the nickname I used.
"I'm here at the airport, too, but I can't find you. Also, your flight number isn't here for some reason," Oslo said, then I widened my eyes.
"What? Are you sure you got the correct one?"
"Yes. Dad forwarded me the message you sent hi—fuck. What airport are you in?"
"Edinburgh."
"Oh, no. I'm at the wrong airport. I can get there in an hour, though?" Oslo said, then I sighed.
"Well, there's nothing I can do to make you come here faster, right? But, it's okay; I can wait."
"Actually, you can do something. Turn around," Oslo said, and when I turned around, I saw my younger brother, who was at least two inches taller than I am and about seven meters away from where I stood, then I ran to him and gave him a hug.
"I missed you so much!" I said, then he laughed as he hugged me back.
"I missed you, too. How's Papa?" Oslo asked, and it was only then that I noticed that he had a slightly different accent compared to mine whenever he talked.
"He's doing great, but, honestly, he would've been so proud to see Witchtoria get married, so he's upset about not coming. Had to comfort him a little before I left," I said, then Oslo nodded his head.
"People in school are such big fans of his work. They would often ask me about him, and I would answer, but I would leave out details about the divorce. They're just too much for me to handle."
"Same here. By the way, do you know what time are we going out to do the rest of the wedding preparations?" I asked Oslo, who looked at his watch.
"After lunchtime. I should probably start taking you home, then. Will you be okay with just getting take away?"
"Sure. I can't wait to be with my 'sister' again," I said with a hint of sarcasm in my tone, making Oslo laugh as we walked to his car, which was a Range Rover.
"This is yours?" I asked, then he nodded his head as he put my suitcase at the back.
"Yeah. I finished my A-levels with straight A's, then Dad said that I might need a car for uni, so he bought me this," Oslo said casually. It was no surprise that our dad's wine business was a moneymaker, and that he can afford to buy expensive gifts for his biological children with no sweat.
At this point, some may be thinking: if Dad makes a lot of money, why didn't he provide me and Papa anything when we were kicked out of our house? In fact, he did offer some money to us, but with the condition that I will stay with him and prove that Papa couldn't take care of his own child. Papa was devastated after that phone call, then my teenage self gathered the courage to call Dad about his unfair offer, and told him to never bother sending financial support, even if it's for me. Since it was Dad who proposed that each parent will take full custody of their biological child during the divorce, which separated Oslo and I, I made it clear that I was still mad at him and that I don't want anything to do with his money.
"So, how are things looking for you so far? Any great stories?" I asked, then Oslo shook his head as he drove out of the parking lot.
"Just the normal. Uni stuff, working part-time in Dad's business, trying my best to stay out of Witchtoria's way," Oslo said, then I nodded my head.
"Nothing else I should know?" I asked, removing the coat I had on because it was hot inside the car, then Oslo shook his head, which was sweating a little because of the thick fabric of his sweatshirt, which he didn't remove.
After getting takeout for ourselves, we had a casual chat along the way to his home, with long moments of comfortable silences. Oslo wasn't as chatty as he used to be, which concerned me, but when I brought it up, he said that it was because, as he grew older, he had become more introverted. However, he reassured me that he didn't feel awkward around me, which gave me a slight feeling of relief, but the feeling in my gut persisted. I decided not to ask him further about it, however, because I was scared that he might think of it as an invasive move.
When we arrived at our dad's mansion, I barely spoke a word. There were people attending to us left and right, and Oslo introduced me to everyone and gave them instructions on what to do. A butler carried my suitcase all the way to the room where I was staying, then he also gave me a tour of the place afterwards. When we got to the living room, my sister bursted in.
"There you are! You're late. We have an emergency situation," Victoria said as she yanked on my arm to one of the cars outside, specifically the purple BMW convertible, where her friend, Sofia, who I knew from my sister's daily Instagram posts, was already sitting.
The emergency, as it turned out, was that the lighting in the venue looked absolutely horrid at the time of the wedding reception. Victoria had an extreme meltdown in front of the staff, and even Sofia was complaining about the entire situation to the staff, as if they could control the direction of the sunlight.
"Well? Why are you not doing anything? You're the maid of honor; you should be the one helping!" Sofia hissed at me, much to my surprise since I barely knew the woman, then I stepped up.
"Well, unfortunately, the staff really can't do anything about the direction of the sun; they're not God to follow your wishes," I said, making Victoria and Sofia glare at me.
"But, maybe if we all close the curtains of the venue and just use the lights to light up the room, the lighting will be more distributed? And there won't be much obstruction to pictures?" I immediately suggested, then Victoria shook her head.
"No, no! Absolutely not! The reason why we have the curtains open is because the theme of my wedding, in case your dumb ass can't remember, is nature. The point of the open windows is that it's natural!" Victoria said, then the wedding planner closed her book.
"To be fair, Victoria, your sister has a point, and that's the only way we can push through with the wedding without moving any set-up that we have, considering that this is how you wanted things to be set-up," the wedding planner, who I believe is named Tiana based on her nametag, said.
"For the last time, Tiana, she is not my sister. She is not biologically related to me and our parents have been divorced years ago. If it means anything to you, my maid of honor should be Sofia, who has done nothing but help me organize this wedding since day one," Victoria said, then we heard the door open.
"Sorry I'm late. The wedding singer got lost along the way and I had to lead him here," my sister's groom said, then a guy wearing a gray sweatshirt, black pants, overworn Vans, and a maroon beanie followed after him. He timidly clutched his guitar case, which was covered in stickers and autographs.
"Okay, why don't we practice the dance for one last time before the rehearsal dinner?" The wedding planner said, then my sister and her groom went into position. The wedding singer also positioned himself on stage, then he brought his guitar out and talked to the sound guy so he could connect his guitar to the sound system.
"Wait a second; I thought he was going to play the piano? Why does he have a guitar?" Victoria commented, then her groom soothed her.
"It's just temporary. The piano is still being used across the hall."
After checking if the sound was okay, the couple got ready in the middle of the dance floor, then the wedding singer started to sing As The World Caves In by Matt Maltese.
An apocalypse song for the end of Victoria's groom's freedom. I won't be surprised if it is a foreshadowing.
What made things funnier was that Victoria failed to dance the simplified waltz choreography with the beat; she was either too fast or too slow, and she would always accidently step on her groom's foot. I covered my mouth as I tried stifling my chuckles in, earning me looks of disgust from no one but Sofia herself.
"What's so humorous? This is majorly catastrophic!" Sofia asked, then I cleared my throat and turned away from the couple, focusing on the diamond earring Sofia wore so I could stop laughing.
"Nothing, nothing. I just thought that she was a good dancer. Also, really? A song about a couple during an apocalypse for a wedding? Doesn't really sound right to me, in my opinion," I said, then Sofia rolled her eyes and guffawed.
"It's not about the lyrics; it's about the emotional approach. Upon deep analysis, it is a song about a couple who mutually preferred to be united as the capricious end of the world came to a close. Only people with refined taste will understand, which means your opinion is wrong," Sofia said, then I shut my mouth since I didn't want to argue further; her use of jargon hinted that my opinion, despite its validity, was irrelevant to her. Her jealousy towards me, caused by the fact that she was not granted my role in the wedding, didn't help her rage.
When the song was over, Victoria furiously looked at the wedding singer, who was smiling.
"You better get your act fixed tomorrow. See how you messed up the entire dance with your guitar? At least the piano has a metronome," Victoria said before walking out, then her groom and Sofia followed after her.
"Don't worry, lad; she's been bad at dancing from the start. Amazing job, you're good to go," Tiana said, then the boy smiled as his eyes landed on me, making me smile back.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day.
● - last edited - ☆ - 12.03.22 - ●