He enjoyed life's simple pleasures. Volunteering at the Kadoatery, clothes from the Second Hand Shoppe, meals at the Soup Kitchen; the Soup Kitchen called him "Modest Manuel." He was not ostentatious in any way whatsoever.

Returning to his small home just outside Neopia Central, the red Korbat was surprised to find a letter sitting on the mat beneath the mail-slot. He picked it up and searched the envelope to clues as to its whereabouts; there was no return address. This letter was self-delivered.

Withdrawing the blunt butter knife from his kitchen drawer, which doubled as a penknife in these situations, he sliced open the letter and read its contents.

Hello Manuel,

You may not know me... I don't expect you to. My name is Lyle, and I am a Korbat just like you. In fact, I am just like you.

I am your twin brother.

Manuel stopped reading and gazed dazedly at the crack in his wall. The crack had appeared there after an especially tumultuous rainstorm, but--

No. This letter was more important.

It was true he had a brother -- his parents had told him, but they'd always said he was older and left home before Manuel was even born. Still, he had never actually met him...

Don't ask me how I came to find you. Just know it was an incredibly difficult journey.

Also, you must be skeptical... Fearful, perhaps, of introducing someone new into your life. But I want to be part of it.

If you wish to meet me, I'll be in the Catacombs at 5:30pm today. We can go for tea. I'll pay.

I am incredibly rich.

Signed your brother,
Lyle

Manuel stared at the letter, and then at his clock. It was 5:00 now...

But no. Shady letter, invitation to the catacombs, and an unnecessary inclusion of wealthy status. Things weren't adding up. Plus, twin brother? What kind of twin ditches home before the other twin is born? Unless there's a time machine involved, Manuel was pretty sure there were some biological hurdles to jump over.

Whoever this 'Lyle' character was, he's definitely not the long lost brother that Manuel always wondered about. So this begs the question...

"Do I stay - or do I go?"

Manuel looked up at the clock again: 5:10.

Despite every intuitive fiber in his tiny little Korbat body screaming 'NO' and you know, that self-protecting conscious chiming in as well with its own blistering warnings, Manuel decided to take one last honest look at how his life had gone so far.

Besides the occasional free pizza that the Soup Faerie offered every other Friday, nothing exciting had happened up until now, and admittedly, Manuel had done nothing outlandishly stupid either. So this spontaneous occasion might be his chance of checking those two things off his bucket list!

Manuel thought and thought while the clock ticked and ticked. At last he gave in to his curiosity, hastily grabbed a few provisions for his backpack, and flew out the door to make it to the Catacombs in time.

But scarcely had he started his adventure than Manuel had found himself standing face-to-face with ANOTHER parcel, which appeared out of nowhere, staring up at him from his doorstep with a letter attached. The parcel was a small red box, dented and weather-torn, but looking at the letter Manuel saw...

What in Neopia was going on? What could this mean? M. could stand for Manuel of course, and L. for Lyle, especially since they were both Korbats (though of course, Manuel could hardly be sure Lyle was who he said he was, let alone if he was a Korbat or not). But no…there was no way that could be…What sort of conspiracy would the two of them even be involved in?

After a long moment of deliberation Manuel decided he would put the package and letter in his bag for now and open it later—perhaps in Lyle’s company since this package evidently involved the both of them—lest he be late for his rendezvous with his supposed twin brother. He rushed through the streets of Neopia Central, though he couldn’t help looking furtively around him as if he expected some shady character to be tailing him. He made it to the Catacombs right on time. 5:30 on the dot.

Now where was this mysterious Lyle character? He looked around for a Korbat near the coffee shop, but he could only find a group of aspiring poets debating the merits of the haiku as opposed to the sonnet. A Kougra, an Aisha, an Acara. No Korbat.

Perhaps he should buy something to drink and sit and wait. Sure, Lyle had said he would pay, but his so-called-brother was nowhere to be found. However, right as he crossed the threshold of the little stone shop, he felt a hand roughly grip his shoulder. Yet before he could even turn around, Manuel heard an extremely large crash coming from the back of the coffee shop…

Through the panic of the coffee shop and the three thieves, who seemed to be abnormally large Grarrls, Manuel nearly forgot about the hand on his shoulder. Glancing back he saw that it was, indeed, a Korbat but even if it was his twin he was hardly a twin at all. This Korbat was like none he had ever seen; He had a gnarled countenance, gigantic ears, and pale green fur. Manuel settled on the notion that he was a Mutant Korbat, but stuck with him nonetheless. No words were spoken as Manuel and the mystery Korbat fled from the shop, weaving in and out of customers.

All that could be heard was the screaming from the shop and the heavy breathing of the two confused Korbats. They eventually reached a tucked away alley that they could hide out in. Out of Manuel's bag, he pulled out a bottle of water to share with the stranger, who he could only assume was Lyle. Minutes went by and the two finally caught their breath.

"Manuel..." the Mutant Korbat spoke quietly. His voice was light and slightly raspy. "Don't you recognize me?"

Manuel eyed the Korbat intently. It made no sense that this - this monster - could be his twin brother. "I'm sorry, I can't say that I do," the shaky voiced Manuel stammered out, "this was a terrible idea I must be goin-"

"NO! You must listen to me!" Manuel was interrupted by the strange Korbat. "I am indeed your brother Lyle. Please don't judge me on my looks, I promise you. There is a lot to explain to you. If you don't believe that I am your brother, so-be-it, but how would you explain this?" Lyle pulled a dogtag necklace out of his shirt and pressed into the metal were the letters M. and L.

Wait...Manuel thought for a moment. He had seen these letters before but where.

The package! It had slipped Manuel's mind entirely. Without a word he pulled out the red package from his bag, showing it to Lyle...

“How… how did you get that?” he stammered.

Manuel explained to Lyle how the package mysteriously showed up right before he left for the Catacombs.

Lyle was clearly shaken. “We must seek out a better place to hide. Hurry! Follow me and I will explain.” The mutant Korbat spread his wings and prepared to take off.

“NO!” shouted Manuel. “I didn’t ask to be a part of any of this mess. I just want to go home and pretend like none of this ever happened.” He took a deep breath. “I am just an average Korbat, I keep to myself and have never burned a bridge with ant Neopet. My face has never been in the Pet Spotlight!” Manuel threw the package into a nearby dumpster in the alleyway. “Now, I am going home. Please do not follow me. Good-bye!”

At that exact moment, a loud noise echoed throughout the alleyway. In fact, it was so loud that certainly all of Neopia could hear it. A shrill, high-pitched screech. The soundwaves reverberated off of every surface and both Korbats dropped to the ground covering their ears, writhing in discomfort from the sound. After an agonizing thirty seconds or so, the noise stopped just as abruptly as it had started.

“What was THAT?!” Manuel shouted, ears still ringing…

"That thing you just heard was a shadow beast come searching for me."

"Why would it want you?"

"Because I belong to the Thieves Guild. It was a while ago but me and my partners acquired a treasure map of Mystery Island, and when we got there we didn't know the place was guarded by the beast. It's been tracking down my partners and one by one they all have died. Now I'm next."

Manuel didn't know what to say except "Why did you want to see me if you knew you could put me in danger too!"

"Because Manuel I need you. Only you have what I need to defeat it."

"Huh, what do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about."

"You said before you lost your memory, you kept it hidden somewhere safe"

"My memory was taken from me? How?"

"I don't have time... Where would you keep it? Where do you go everyday?"

"The Soup Kitchen!"

"Then that's where we will go!"

As air churned under his wings, though, he finally had a moment to process the events of the day. He’d known about the Thieves Guild for a little while, but shadow beasts and lost memories? Amnesia? Him? Sure, sometimes Manuel didn’t really remember the events of a day too steeped in routine, but he was pretty sure he’d never been involved in things like this. He liked the simple things in life – not treasure hunting, not thieves, and most certainly not flying for his life.

And if it was a shadow after him, and all of Lyle's partners had been... hurt... then why had thieves been after them earlier? What was the tie-in there?

He was no sleuth, but he knew he was missing something. Maybe a lot of somethings.

“What do you mean, I lost my memory?” he asked aloud, skeptical. “I don’t remember that.”

Then he felt rather foolish.

Thankfully, the other Korbat didn’t scoff at him. “It was for your own good that you didn’t remember any of it,” Lyle said, without looking back. His words were nearly lost in the wind. “Safer that way. You never wanted that life, and I hoped you could finally be free of it.”

Manuel’s eyes narrowed. “Then why did you bring it back to me?”

This time, Lyle did turn; he looked at him mournfully, then winged into a descent. Manuel followed; touching down upon the ground, he found that they were only a few buildings away from the Soup Kitchen. The familiar bustle of activity was easily visible from here.

Once settled on the ground, the Mutant Korbat sighed.

“Listen, Manuel. I knew, that by coming here, you’d get dragged back into this – and for that, I’m sorry, truly.”

“Are you?” Manuel crossed his arms. “I could be feeding unwanted Petpets at the Kadoatery right now, and instead I’m running for my life with somebody I don’t even know. From a monster, no less!”

Lyle shook his head miserably. “I know, Manuel. This – this wasn’t how I wanted it to be. I promise. But I need you. It’s after me, and… we’re twins. We always have each other’s backs, right?”

Manuel said nothing. Maybe he had said that, once upon a time. He’d know the answer soon enough, he supposed, though he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to.

He wasn’t entirely sure he liked the idea of a Manuel that was like his brother.

“Now come on. Let’s get inside.”

But whatever was going on, Lyle needed his help. And Manuel was used to helping Neopets in need, wasn’t he? “All right, I-“ Manuel started to follow his brother, then stopped, confused. “The line’s not that way.”

Lyle stared at him as though he was the crazy one. “We don’t have time for lines!”

“We can’t just-“ Manuel glanced left and right, making sure nobody else would hear the horrible thing he was about to utter, “cut them, can we?”

“…Manuel, there’s a raging shadow creature on our tails that’s going to be the end of me if we don’t hurry.”

“Yes, but – those poor pets have been waiting in line for hours! They’re hungry!”

Lyle gave him a look.

And Manuel looked back. This entire situation was so, so far out of his depth that he scarcely knew what to think. He was a Korbat of simple delights and a simple existence – not monsters and thieves and cutting in line.

But at the same time, there was a whisper of memories lost, a different life. Island beaches and camaraderie – was he just imagining it, or was there something more, something buried there that he’d find within the Soup Kitchen’s halls? An estranged brother, seeking his help in the throes of desperation. The letters M and L, embossed on a shining dogtag.

Manuel had a choice to make – did he follow his ‘long-lost brother’, or the nagging suspicion that none of this was right…?

But Manuel didn’t even know his brother – and if it was possible, he was starting to feel like he knew him even less than he had when they’d met each other at the Catacombs Coffee Shop.

Lyle was a thief. Cutting in line was something Manuel would never even consider, not once in a hundred years. But Lyle… probably had done a lot more than just cut in line. He scrunched his eyes shut. Worse things. Like going into other Neopets’ houses… and taking things. Or crossing the street out of turn. Or taking more than one piece of the Giant Omelette on the same day!

Thieves did bad things. Lyle was a thief. Manuel gave him a quick glance, flinching a little when he saw the raw impatience in his brother’s eyes. Thick, gnarled wings, massive ears, long talons, dull and lumpy skin. So different from himself, small and white and petite. Manuel wasn’t one to judge on first impressions – or to judge at all, really – but could color mean more than just surface looks? Could first impressions be right?

Could… could Lyle do bad things and still be a good person?

Could Manuel follow him? Could he really give up his principles, just like that?

Lyle was asking quite a lot of him. Personal qualms aside, if he got caught breaking into the Soup Kitchen – that was where he got lunch and dinner each day. The Soup Faerie was a gentle and patient being, sure, but even the thought of making her cross made his legs feel weak. And what would they even find in there? More explosions? More monsters, more ear-splitting screeches?

Manuel didn’t have any experience with brothers. If he did, he didn’t remember it. But none of this… really seemed like a very brotherly thing to do.

And Manuel wasn’t one to take debts. He did volunteer work daily – it just wasn’t his nature to expect payment for a job well done. But what was Lyle offering him for all of this? Not brotherly bonding time, if what had happened in the catacombs was any indication. Treasure? Manuel didn’t want treasure. Right now, the only thing he really wanted was to go home.

Memories of a past life? Looking at Lyle – if this hypothetical past-Manuel was like he was, even one little bit… he’d rather leave him buried where he was. If past-Manuel was there to speak, maybe he would have disagreed. Present-Manuel was quite happy with who he was, thank-you-very-much.

And furthermore… if he didn’t like the idea of a Manuel that was like his brother… maybe he didn’t like his brother very much, either.

When volunteer work ceased to be voluntary, it became exploitation. And the more thought he lent this whole situation, the more he realized he was being used.

When Manuel opened his mouth, his words were measured, slow, and much colder than usual.

“You came here asking me to meet you for tea. I accepted – I might not be the best with meeting strangers, but I had an opening in my evening schedule, and I had always wanted to meet my twin brother.”

“You didn’t offer me tea. You offered me terror instead. You put me in danger, from angry thieves and now some kind of monster that’s trying to hurt you. And now you want me to break the rules for you. This –“ Manuel gestured sharply to Neopia Central around him. “I don’t know what this is to you. But to me? This is my life. And this might be a rather mean thing to say, but I think I liked it better when you weren’t in it.”

They were cruel words, crueler than he normally would ever say, but they were true. Lyle could shake off the shadow beast himself. Would it make much of a difference? The thieves, the monsters – Lyle’s life was a shadow of its own.

The Mutant Korbat’s eyes widened in concern. “Manuel, I told you, I’m sorry. But-“

“I’m sorry too, Lyle. But you lied to me, and I just can’t trust anything you’ve said since then.”

Lyle’s eyes darted from side to side. “I can offer you wealth! Jewels! Do you want the artifact? You can keep it! I just…” One look from Manuel’s eyes sent him trailing back into silence.

“About that. Your letter, the one you sent me. Maybe I do have some past with you that I put behind me – and for good reason,” he added bitingly. “Maybe I don’t. Maybe I’ve never met you at all. I’m simple, Lyle, not stupid. Whatever the truth is, you knew I wouldn’t know you. And the first thing you told me about yourself wasn’t what you liked to do, or where you’ve been, or how it felt for you to finally reach out to your long-lost brother. It was how rich you were.”

He lifted a wing. “Some Neopets, that might impress. But me? Everyone here calls me Modest Manuel. You’d have learned that if you were more interested in me than you were yourself. I might not have much. But I don’t need much, and I don’t want much. And I was having a fine day until you came here and almost got me killed.”

“You’re not interested in me. You’re interested in what I can do for you. And Lyle, I’m very sorry, but you’ve got the wrong Neopet for the job.”

A screech, hollow and furious, echoed in the distance.

Manuel pointed towards the metropolitan sprawl. “The Defenders of Neopia Headquarters are that way. If angry shadow monsters are giving you trouble, I’m sure they’d love to help.”

“Brother-“ Lyle started, something like desperation in his beady eyes. There was a beat of silence, and then he blurted out all the panic that had built since his brother first stood up for himself. “The monster! It’s going to kill me! You’re the only one who can trick it – we’re twins, it can’t tell the difference, I need you to- to-”

One step from liftoff, the perfectly ordinary Korbat turned around.

“Ah,” he said, softly. “So that’s what this was about.”

He tossed the package to his ‘brother’. Whatever was inside, it didn’t concern him any longer.

“Goodbye, Lyle.”

And then he flew away.

***

It was dark when he reached his house. The lights came on with a flick of the wrist, greeting his tired eyes like an old friend, and the interior of his Neohome stretched out before him, lit in a soft yellow glow.

It was a relief to see that nothing had changed, after the long and trying evening he’d had.

He heated up a mug of hot water and took out a cocoa packet from his sparse cupboards. Only three left. Well, he’d have to use them sparingly; he didn’t have the Neopoints for these frivolities very often.

But today? Hmm… today called for it. He stirred in the cocoa, and on second thought, took out a carton of whipped cream and put a dollop of it onto his drink.

Yes, today definitely called for a treat.

He took his mug and settled into his threadbare armchair, and let his mind wander. The crack in his wall was still there; the paint around it had begun to peel. Maybe it was time to touch up the finish. Or maybe it wasn’t. He didn’t mind it.

The crack sat there, unmoving. Unchanging. Like a scar on the wall; it would remain until he tended to it. Perhaps, if there was another storm, it would grow, splinter, spread.

Maybe there had been a different Manuel, once. Maybe there hadn’t been. Whatever the truth was, it was concealed beneath layers of paint.

On second thought, perhaps he did mind. Tomorrow. He’d fix it tomorrow.

He sat there for a while, his drink untouched. Tomorrow, he had volunteer work at the Kadoatery from eight ‘til eleven. A half hour’s stroll around the city, and then lunch at the Soup Kitchen. Maybe he’d ask the Soup Faerie about any unexpected visitors, or disappearances…

…No. It didn’t concern him. Lunch at the Soup Kitchen. Then cleanup at the Money Tree, and after that he could visit the Neohome store for some new paint. Perhaps if he was done early, he’d make it in time for the evening poetry reading at the Catacombs.

But for now… hot chocolate on a warm night. He lifted the mug, took a sip, and closed his eyes in bliss.

The simplest of pleasures.

The End.