Repeater

"Hey Em," Jake called affectionately to his sister Emily, "do you ever wonder if we are destined for something greater than this?"

"Destiny is a farce," Emily quipped instantly, "A human construct."

"We're humans, Em."

"Not entirely."

Jake and Emily lay flat backed on the side of a grassy hill. It was the ending part of their tradition. They would cap off the night, talking, listening, staring at the stars. It was their 13th birthday.

"I don't want it to happen again," Emily said as she turned to face her brother.

"Don't say that. It's all we have."

They laid there until midnight showed it's face and then Jake hopped up swiftly. He stood at Emily's feet and held out his arms. She reached out for them and laid limp as he heaved her to her feet. He pulled her up on his back and she piggy-backed all the way to her front steps. He dropped her off, they hugged, and she went inside. His hands found his pockets and he trudged home and met his warm bed.

Jake hated dreaming but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Trapped in his head were lifetimes of memories, waiting until his brain was no longer preoccupied before they all flooded forth. The dam of forgetfulness is broken by slumber, and waves of recall crash into Jake's head. A junked up mess of resurgence.  Emily didn't dream at all. It was a deep black from pillow to pillow.

Time passed swiftly for the twins, and before they could blink they were 33 again.  Jake was at Emily's bedside, as he had done time and time again. They were both prepared for what would happen, so they sat silently, hand in hand, looking into each other's eyes. Jake looked at the clock and watched the second hand tick through a few numbers. His gaze shifted back to Emily and her eyes met his. He nodded at her and she responded by gripping his hand tighter. Action descended upon the silent room in a quick fury. Jake's brain rebeled against him turning him from a sat straight human to a lump of flesh in an instant. In the same instance Emily succumbed to her disease. They lay, hands locked, Jake collapsed atop his sister, dead in the hospital.

*************

Sunlight blasted through the clouds, escaping the cold reaches of space for a cozy little picnic area on a grassy hill. Shoes were discarded in favor of the pleasant feeling of cool grass on hot skin. Two shadows lined up to match their makers, only stretched out and darkened, like reflections in a fun house mirror. The shadows belonged to two children, twin brother and sister, aged 13. The boy spoke to the girl.

"This is always the best time, you know? Playing in the wilderness without anything to worry about. Getting to see you after so long. You think we'd have grown out of it by now."

The girl replied.

"I... want to hate it. I want to be an adult. I want to grow old and retire and travel. But I find myself only caring about my 13th birthday. I want to be normal."

"You are normal, Em."

"No I'm not. Neither are you. Can you even remember how many times we've died? I can't. I love being a kid. I love living with no responsibilities and REALLY getting to live. But I'm tired of it. There is more to life than being carefree and childish. Than running around in the woods and skipping rocks and eating cake. So we don't have to pay bills or save for retirement. We're missing out! We could be evolving and growing. I want responsibility. "

"Why? Most people don't get this. We could be kids forever. "

"I don't want to be anything forever."

"There is nothing we can do. That's how it is. That's how it always will be. Sometimes things just happen and you have to live with it."

"Not to me. Not anymore."

And Emily ran off.

Normally, or rather, completely not normally, every 13 years the twins find each other on that hill and regain their memories of all their past lives. It's as much tradition as it is predetermination. This time, a cursed little girl with infinite wisdom was determined to control her own fate. She didn't live her life as normal. She wouldn't see her brother Jake. A recluse, but also an ambitious thinker. Entropy personified. Time marches on, and Emily finds herself 33 and laid up in a hospital bed. Jake stepped into the room and Emily was surprised by her chagrin. A ritual of silence had begun as he crossed the space between them and she allowed her hand to be scooped up into his. Emily motioned for Jake to bend closer. He leaned in and Emily held him there for a while, her weak wrist and hand clinging to the back of his head. After a few moments like this, she whispered at Jake with a melancholy tone.

"I dreamt last night that we shared a bed on clouds... Mom was there. Our mom. She walked me to the edge of the cloud. We held hands as we leapt off. It was beautiful. "

Emily began sobbing gently.

"Jake. I'm not coming back. I love you. Goodbye."

As soon as the last syllable bounced off her tongue and into the air, she submitted to her illness. Jake was spared seeing his sister die by suffering a brain aneurysm at the same moment. His body slumped over on top of hers and over her knees. Even in this weird position, their hands remained interlocked. 

Thirteen years passed by before the hill was graced with a visitor again. A young boy sat lonely on it's slope.