Chet Flash wuz here Circulation: 81,826,882 Issue: 157 | 10th day of Gathering, Y6
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A Sister’s Embrace


by erileen

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A Sister's Embrace "Sunjat, are you sure this is safe?" the white Aisha asked, placing her paw daintily on the seemingly thick ice.

"Muhan, relax! You needn't worry so!" the Faerie Aisha said. She was obviously the elder of the two, thus being decided by the prominent length of her ears. She walked onto the ice and adapted a prima ballerina stance. "See? I'm fine!"

Muhan shook her head and sat down on the icy banks. "Sunjat, you are a-"

Suddenly, a sharp crack was heard. Muhan whipped her head around. She saw only a gaping hole in the ice. "Sunjat!" she screamed, rising in fear. Terror tore her from going to help her sister or going to find her owner. She chose the latter.

"Mallie!

Mallie…

Mallie…"

* * *

"Muhan, why won't you play with me?" the juvenile sighed as she propped her thin brown body up against an old sofa. She tittered with her brown antlers, something she did obsessively.

"Gatia," the white Aisha said to the Christmas, annoyed. "I don't want to play with you, okay?" Gati rolled her eyes.

"Muhan, you're no fun," the Christmas Aisha retorted. She frowned and picked at the fraying thread on the beaten sofa. She had a light brown coat with a white stomach and her red nose brought a cheery air wherever she went…and the suggestion that she had a cold. Her antlers looked brittle, but were tougher than expected. The young Aisha liked to show people how tough her antlers were, preferably in the stomach.

"Alright you two, that's enough," said a tall girl as she entered the room. She had long, blonde hair and a lanky frame. She carried a silver tea tray, which bore cookies and all sorts of sweets, not to mention three steaming cups of Borovan. "Drop it. Who wants a cookie?" she sipped her Borovan.

"Oh…me!" Gati said, jumping from her spot, easily distracted. The white Aisha slammed her book on the table. In the mind's eye, she was so different than her sister, yet not only by age and markings. She was quiet, a dreamer in spite of herself. She didn't like to show and present her feelings like an open book, and often hid things like a hated present in the back of a messy closet. Her eyes showed something else too…a pain. The kind of pain that shows all through ones life, even after the event of causing had happened. It was an indescribable pain, inflicted by sorrow and mourning, but you could tell it was horrible, nonetheless.

"Muhan," the girl said, "that's quite enough." Exasperated, Muhan let out a sigh and stormed away.

Mallie rolled her eyes, set down her cup, and followed her pet. "Muhan," she said, sharply grabbing the Aisha by the shoulder. "Muhan, are you going to put Gati and I through this sullen, snobby attitude every winter? Because it's a drag and a pain. And I'm sick and tired of it, Muhan!"

Muhan frowned at Mallie. "Can you not forget what happened to me? To Sunjat? To us all?"

"Muhan, I don't want to talk about it," Mallie said. "No," Muhan said. "You don't want to talk about it, do you? You just want to pretend it never happened, don't you?"

Mallie looked distraught, then embarrassed, than mad. "Muhan, I never said that!" she said, tears in her eyes, anger in her face.

"Maybe you didn't," Muhan said. "Maybe not verbally. But you didn't even look that hard for Sunjat! You searched a week and then gave up, didn't you?"

"We both agreed the chance of Sunjat's still being in the wood was slim, and some good-hearted soul had probably taken her. There was nothing else possible to do, Muhan!" Mallie said tension in her body, a tremor in her voice.

"But then," Muhan said, anger rising. "You just go out and get another pet. Like nothing ever happened. And you never even told her!" Muhan said hysterically, gesturing towards Gati who was enjoying the cookies. "You never told her there had been someone before!"

Mallie sighed; defeated. "You're right, Muhan. We haven't told her." She reached into a closet, took out a warm winter's jacket and handed it to the Aisha. "Maybe it's time for you and Gati to talk."

* * *

The Christmas Aisha laughed and caught a snowflake on her tongue as they proceeded to the brook. Two Aisha walked the path, which was covered in a light dusting of snow, but only one knew where they were going.

Even though it had been years since the accident, Muhan still recoiled at the sight of the brook. Ice had silenced its babbling…cold ice, clear ice-seemingly thick ice.

Gati's eyes widened at the sight of the wonderful river. "Ooh, Muhan look! It's beautiful!" she said, smiling. She ran towards the center and twirled poetically. "Muhan, look at me!" she giggled as she spun. She looked up to see a white sky, and snow fell on her face. She laughed, clearly enjoying the moment.

Muhan's eyes widened with fear. Her muscles clenched and jaw tightened. "Gati!" she rasped in a cold, scared voice. "Gati, please come back here!"

Gati shook her head. "No Muhan! You come here!" she smiled as she whisked around the ice, spinning and leaping.

"Gati!" Muhan said, trying to sound stern and not scared. "Gati, get back here this instant."

"Oh Muhan!" Gati laughed. "Don't be such a spoil-" Suddenly, the ice cracked from beneath the Aisha, and with a quiet plunk she disappeared beneath the ice.

"Gati!" Muhan screamed. "Gati!" But she didn't see her sister rise. Vivid memories crashed through her mind and pained her chest. She tried to push them off. "Gati!" she screamed. "No…No! I won't let it happen again! I won't be a coward this time!" she said to herself. She raced towards the hole and reached in, grabbing aimlessly. The icy water tightened her muscles and seemed to eat away at her…it hurt. She held back tears and continued trying to fish out her lost sister. Suddenly, she felt something-Gati. She reached down and yanked her out of the water, dragging her back to the banks. "Gati," she gasped. "Gati, are you okay?"

"C-c-cold," was Gati's response. Muhan hurried to break several branches off one of the trees that lines the brook and started a fire. She sat down on one side, her sister on the other, with the flames warming them both.

"Gati," she said quietly, "are you alright?"

"Yes," Gati said, her voice shaking only a little. "Yes, I'm alright…cold but not hurt." Muhan let out a sigh of relief.

"Gati," she said quietly, looking over the flames. "Do you know why I was so scared?"

Gati shook her head. "N-n-no Muhan…I don't." Muhan took a deep breath…it was time to tell the story that should have been told many moons previously.

"Well," she said. "When I was younger than you, I was here at this creek with Sunjat." Gati looked puzzled. "Sunjat was…is…my older sister. She was a beautiful Faerie Aisha, and she was smart and…wonderful. We were the best of friends. We didn't fight often, like most sisters. We clicked somehow. We were perfect for each other.

"It was a day, just like today, and Sunjat and I went out to this very brook. It was wonderful…covered in ice and snow, glistening in the feeble rays of the sun. It was like a picture on a holiday greeting card…you couldn't have thought something so terrible would happen.

"But anyway…Sunjat and I went over to the brook. Sunjat was always braver than I, so she went and started playing on the ice. I don't know what happened-it was all so quick-but suddenly, Sunjat wasn't there…she had gone through the ice.

"I screamed and yelled frantically, but I was too much of a coward to go onto the ice with her. So I ran for Mallie." Tears came to her eyes as she remembered. "We searched and we searched, all over the woods but we couldn't find her. We don't think she drowned though…we hoped that some kind person found her and took her home." Muhan wiped her nose, trying to remain in control. She didn't want to break down now, and loose it. She wouldn't.

"Muhan…I…I'm so sorry. But," she looked at her sister intensely, "why didn't you tell me before?"

Muhan thought about this question for a long time. It puzzled her like nothing ever had before. "I…I really don't know, Gati. Maybe because…because I didn't want to remember. I was scared. Scared of something nonexistent. Scared of something I had no reason to fear. Scared of something that I know I am not afraid of now."

Gati stood up and walked over to her sister. She hugged her sister tightly. Tears rolled down Muhan's cheeks as she hugged her sister close to her heart.

"I-I think," Muhan said, wiping her eyes. "I think that wherever Sunjat is, she's happy."

It might've just been Muhan's imagination running wild like a Lupe on the Endless Plains, but Muhan was almost certain she heard a low, laughing voice say, "She is."

The End

Author's Note: I would like to thank larenbeka for taking the time to help me out with editing. You rock my socks, Beka!

 
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