C L (First Version-Complete)

46: The Imperfect Twin

You're not a failure. You are never your brother."

These were the words that my pappa had always imprinted in my mind. With every failure of my twin it came with my arrant triumph. I was the golden boy who would win every battle. Failure will never become my end of the line.

It pressured me. It caused me to always plan things ahead. Anxiety of being a letdown kept me awake every night. I was raised to become competitive. Apparently, failing was not an option when it came to me.

Father had always taught me that if I were to end being the busted flush, it was better for me to end my life in a dignified way rather than dying in the hands of a person who was not as great as me.

It was ridiculous.

I envied my twin for being the unfavorable one. I wanted to be him so bad. I just desired to let go of everything placed on me because it was getting too heavy for a 10 year old child to bear.

Children were forced to become adults at an early age. In this point of time, there was no place for being a child.

Pappa looked at me with pride while he thought of my twin as a no-hoper.

Let me fail for once!

I was so tired of being on top.

Let me step down!

I was dizzy from being forced to look down on people from this pedestal that you had put me on.

Why was it that even in your death you still harass me in continuing your legacy? I had enough. I want to get out of this responsibility.

Let me out!

"Let's avenge pappa and mamma," I told my twin in front of pappa's grave. I detest myself for not being able to cut the ropes that you control me with.

You're dead pappa. Why was I still afraid of you? I didn't want to deal with catastrophes so why did I make this promise with Slade?

"I'll go wherever you go Sevor. We're brothers till the end."

I was honestly traumatized when the Queen of that rotten species held the corpse of mamma in her grayish and decayed hand. Unlike her underlings, she was able to speak. She walked through the chaos of our village with much elegance despite the body odor that she emitted due to her...state. Her dark greasy hair was tied into two oval shapes on top of hair head. Her lips were coal-black which matched her cold gaze. She walked so slow that even a slug can keep up. She was hideously terrifying.

I didn't want to face her again but it was pappa's dying words.

"Avenge the fallen...Give glory to the dragons. Make me proud."

Pappa thought that he had raised me good when I did not shed a tear for mamma when even he was mourning for her death. Slade was torn when she passed and he was blamed for it all. I envied Slade because he was allowed to cry when I wasn't. He was able to become weak for once and I was required to maintain my composure because I was the ideal twin.

No one knew how it affected me...

No one asked...

Everyone thought that I was being strong through it all...

I didn't cry when she was being buried.

But that was because I already released all the tears I had the night before. My eyes were already dry. I had no more to give.

I held my twin's hand and then looked back when a bigger hand fell on both of our shoulders. A man with grayish white hair with the name of "Oak" visited our newly established village in an island surrounded by the vast blue-green ocean. He was wise. No one knew what he was. There were rumors that he was an ancient.