Twin Souls

⚘29⚘

Sanaa ☯️

"Christmas shopping is more difficult when you have a variety of options," my brother said as we walked with our mother around the mall, shopping for Christmas décor and gifts. Ama decided to remain at home with our father, who was recently discharged from the hospital. It was a relief to know that his health was gradually getting back on track.

Due to the intensity of his heart attack, our stay was prolonged until he was able to resume work. A lot of life modifications were bound to take place, which would be difficult for all of us for different reasons. He had to adopt to healthier physical habits meanwhile my mother, siblings and I had to get adjusted to living with him after being separated for several months. No one talked about what happened before he left, fearing it would "trigger" him and cause more unwanted problems. The situation made me a bit glad that there was little to no tension, which made everyone's mental health to improve.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find the perfect gift for everyone," Mom said as she rubbed his back.

"I think it would be the best if we did our shopping separately. The gifts are meant to be a surprise after all," I stated and they nodded in agreement.

"Okay then. Keep your locations on and we'll meet each other after an hour at the front of this store," she instructed, referring to the H&M store we were in.

"That's doable," Kai agreed and we hastily separated.

My mind remained glued on Abel as I strolled around the mall, discreetly groaning in annoyance due to recent events.

He recently gifted me a large oil painting set that was way out of my budget and it included paint brushes, canvases of all sizes, paint sets, regular and colored pencils, color palettes and an apron.

Why did he have to be so nice and why did we have to be so alike?

I knew that the gift was spontaneous because we talked about my art a few days ago. I told him about the supplies I couldn't bring with me and expressed buying a new set after the Christmas season so that I could slowly make my way back to painting. The thought of buying him a gift was tacky because it would seem like I was attempting to "repay" the gesture. Besides, it would be a difficult task to buy something for someone who already has the means to buy everything.

I swiftly shook my head before entering a random store, where I succeeded to buy all of the gifts ( a wrist watch for my father, a handbag for my mother, a large Make-up set for my sister and a couple of French novels for my brother.)

The hour quickly passed by and I met up with my brother and mother at the agreed location.

"What did you buy?" Kai asked my mother and me as he peeked through our bags.

"Nice try, the gifts are wrapped," my mother and I said simultaneously.

"I hate when you do that," he groaned.

"Do what?" we asked.

"Talking simultaneously. The similarities between you two are quite alarming," he explained with a slight shudder.

We ended up having lunch at the mall before heading home.

"I'm glad you are back," Ama smiled widely. "I needed an extra pair of hands to help me with the decorations but my lovely father decided to deny my plea with a two lettered word."