>>Eli
The Alma's have been our neighbors since I was a baby and I grew up playing with Mael. Unfortunately, though, Mael always had a frail body. He couldn't leave the house but it was no problem for me, all I had to do was cross the fence and go over to his yard where we played with our toys.
Our parents were always aware of my mischievous actions but no one minded it, Mr. and Mrs. Alma were especially happy that their son and I were especially good friends but over time, as the years progressed, Mael's health only deteriorated. He had poor lungs and a heart condition so by the time he was seven, he was banned from leaving the house that was constantly kept clean. By the time Mael's eighth year was coming to an end he started collapsing a lot.
That didn't stop me from visiting though, I'd still go over every single day till one day, the Alma's suddenly announced they were moving. Mael was nine then and I, ten. The news was devastating and I wanted to be able to meet my friend every day like usual but the Alma's said that they were moving for his health and that once he gets better, I'd be allowed to visit again.
In other words, no one was allowed to visit him after the move.
That just didn't sit right with me but my parents advised me against it as well, so even after The Alma household was gone, I didn't stop meeting Mael. Their house wasn't far from my school and I had told my parents I joined a club to use the club timings to go and meet Mael.
Although, my innocent plans didn't exactly go my way. After the move, I found out that Mael who was now ten was constantly on bed rest. There were a number of medicines he had to eat every day and some injections he got on a weekly basis.
It broke my heart seeing him like that but more than I, Mael himself was devastated. As a child, I didn't realize this, but his life was miserable and over the years it kept getting worse
I mean, how else do I describe it? He had to keep a mask on just so he could breathe and his body grew weaker and he was mostly on the bed with a huge ass machine always in the room next to his bed.
One day, near Mael's eleventh birthday, I went to visit him. As usual, I climbed the tree to reach his window which is kept open by Mael, and swiftly made my way into his room. I quietly entered the room and closed the door behind me but before I turned around he spoke.
"Dad's going to bring in his daughter." His voice was feeble.
"What?" I still stood near the window, "Daughter?" I had never been more confused in my life, "Aren't you an only child?" I turned to look at him and froze. He had a drip attached to him and he looked paler than usual.
"..." His eyes were droopy and I guess the mask he was wearing was bothering him. It was probably difficult to talk with that on, "He has two daughters."
Oh...
I had no idea. Maybe the daughters never lived with them?
"Oh... I had no idea."
"Me neither." It was hard to hear him but I focused.
"I don't get it. Why are you suddenly mentioning this? What about the daughters? I've never heard of them."
"One of them is going to take my place." He had probably overheard this.
"What!?" I didn't even know what that meant, but it made me furious, "How can someone take your place!?? Your place is yours! No one can replace you!! I'll expose her if she does something like that!!" It took me no time to get emotional and angry.
He quietly brought his finger to his lips, "Shhh."
"Ah..." I shrunk, "Sorry," I pursed my lips together after realizing my mistake.
"If you expose her," Mael whispered, "That'll bring trouble not only to her but mom and dad too."
"You're fine if you're replaced!?" My feelings were hurt. "How can a person be replaced with another person? Every person is unique."
"Eli," He let out a tattered breath, "The doctors said the chances of me actually making it are less than seven percent."
"But still!" I insisted, "It's not zero!" I was determined, "I will expose her in front of everyone!"
"But what if something bad happens to her?"
"But why are you worried about her!?"
"Because she's my sister."
!!!
"....Oh..." I looked down, "Right..."
"Dad said we looked alike." He stared at the ceiling.
"A lot of siblings look alike as kids. It changes after puberty..."
"Don't be sad Eli."
"I'm not sad."
"Then, What is it?" He turned his head to look at me again. The room was eerily silent, it had a weird vibe to it, especially because of the heart monitor that beeped after regular intervals.
"I'm getting a bad feeling." I shrugged, "That's all."
"Eli," He extended his hand that had a drip attached to it toward me, "It hurts a lot." His hand was shaking and I saw how bony it was. A chill ran down my spine and my eyes stung seeing him like that.
I ran over and grabbed his hand with both of mine, "You'll be fine Mael!" I smiled at him but at the same time, I couldn't control my tears. They fell down my eyes without any regard and I couldn't stop them. Especially not when the feeling of looming doom wasn't subsiding.
Seeing me emotional like that, a soft smile spread across his face, "My sister will only be replacing me till I'm healthy again." A tear slipped down his cheek too but he maintained a better smile than me.
"Right!" I shook his hand
"Yea," He slipped his hand away from mine which I found odd. The feeling of his hand slipping away gave me a sense of dread, "You won't be able to come here for a while. So I advise you to stay put for a while."
"What!?" I frowned, "Why!?"
"Just listen to me,"
"No!"
"Eli,"
"Give me a reason!"
"It's important for my health." He smiled, "Just a few days."
I frowned, "Fine,"
After that day even when I tried to go to his room, I couldn't. The window was always locked and the curtains were always drawn. But a few weeks later, I suddenly had the urge to try once more.
So like usual, during club time, I ran to his house, climbed the trees, balanced myself off the branch, and opened his window.
This time, it opened.
There was a sense of victory and joy blooming inside of me but it was short-lived. As I stepped inside the room, all my joy turned into fear.
The room was empty.
There was nothing there, yet I was sure I was in the right place. The walls were the same, the room size was the same, the dimensions of the place were the same and so was the wallpaper. But the bed, the machines, the awful smell of medicine, and the drugs were all gone.
And there was no sign of Mael.
Just as I was looking around the room, the door opened and a maid entered the room.
"Oh my!!" She yelled, "Who are you!!?' Her voice startled me but clearly, she had no idea who I was so I wanted to make a run for it, yet she immediately came over and grabbed my arm, "Boy! Where did you come from!?"
"What is it?" And right the next second Mr. Mike Alma made his entrance, "What are you yelling about?"
"Master, there's a boy in the room."
Shit!! Shit!!
I tried to struggle and run away but Mr. Alma recognized me immediately.
"Eli?" He frowned and I froze, "What are you doing here?" He came over and the maid let me go. I had my head down, facing the floor. I was too ashamed to face the head of the house, especially because I got caught trespassing.
But Mr. Alma was cool about it, "Are you here to meet Mael?'
I perked up and raised my head to nod at him, "Yes!"
He let out a soft chuckle, "You can't today, he's with the doctor. He's still going through treatment but you'll meet him soon."
"Really!?" I was excited. He wasn't on the bed. That meant he was recovering!
A breath of relief left my lips and a new hope kindled in.
"Yes," He extended his hand toward me, "But I'll be informing your parents of this."
Oh shit...
That is when I was finally caught by my parents and my lie about joining a club was exposed.
I never told anyone that I would regularly go visit Mael, I told everyone that the time Mr. Alma caught me was the only time I did. I didn't want to get in any more trouble than usual and my parents didn't want to be ashamed of me for lying. So they never told anyone I was lying about my extracurricular activities and forced me to join one.
I never got to go see Mael after that.
But two years later, the Mael who made a public appearance wasn't the one I knew. When I looked at the replacement that was introduced at the party, my heart shattered.
I was old enough to understand that my friend had left me for good.
Somehow he was gone and no one knew where. There was never a mention of Mr. Alma's daughters, there was just a son.
But this one was an imposter.