woke. | II

danny

I couldn't believe my eyes.

She says she can't remember the details but she kept telling me 'trees'. Has anyone experienced something like this before?

"Danny, Danny." I could hear her now, she sounded so pitiful and I knew she had night terrors. I got out of bed and went to her room, which was connected by a large bathroom we shared and the scene before me stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Dana!" I had cried before rushing to her side and pulled her out of bed. I half dragged and half carried her to the bathroom, my eyes never leaving the four poster she slept in. The lace was all ruined and she was drenched in something foul. I was too afraid to leave her to go look for our parents so I hoisted her into my arms and stumbled out through my room.

"Talk to me," I urged her, "Say something, hmm?" But all I could hear were her sobs against my chest.

"Mama!" I yelled, "Papa!" I saw the doors to their room open and my mother with her blond hair all rolled up, her nightie a flash of white in the dim moonlight that shone through the skylight overhead. She reached for the railing on her left and rushed towards us with father right behind her, "What is it, Daniel?"

He had such a proper way of speaking, I didn't feel it properly encompassed the situation at hand so I said with as much urgency as I could master in one inadequate four letter word.

"Help!"

They brought her to the hospital and replaced her bed. Now all I hear are the beeps at night. Such a horrendous sound, keeping me awake and taunting me with guilt. She was my twin but I never took her seriously. She had always been so whimsical, I assumed it was another one of her games.

Please share!

How long has it been? A year? More? I tapped on the poster's profile to send her a message. Dana never recovered, what could I do for this girl and her friend? But I felt bound to tell her what I know: it meant your time is near. Say your goodbyes and cherish what little time you have left. It felt too impersonal to impart over the internet so I asked her to meet me with her friend at a cafe. Dana's favorite cafe, even if it was about half an hour west from where we stayed.

In my hands I gripped a nutmeg chocolate and recounted all times I let Dana down.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" She was sitting on my bed and I had just showered. "What have you been reading, D?" I smiled, she was fond of books, mostly thrillers, but it always left her afraid of the dark.

"Nothing, I just want to stay with you tonight. I don't see you as much anymore." She huffed as she made herself comfortable. It was true, while our bond is just as strong as any pair of twins who did everything together from the moment they were born, we have begun to find ourselves and create a life without depending on the other as much. 

"No, no, no. Don't try to guilt trip me! You just have to stop scaring yourself, now shoo!" I thought I was doing her a favor. I wanted her to be brave.