The Shadow Sisters

[E2] Chapter 6 - Marie Shadow

Marie sat in Robert's living room, watching TV with Hannah. Actually, 'watching' might have been a rather generous term, because although she knew that pictures and sounds were happening in front of her, things like plot, character, and setting all fell to the wayside as she became consumed by her own thoughts.

She wanted to forget it and internally she insisted that she could, if only she tried hard enough, but in the end, she kept returning to that place in the forest, that empty place where she could have run and run forever and never have escaped.

Her lungs tightened as she recalled how she'd tried to scream and beg for help, all to no avail.

At least the living room she sat in now was nice. A fire crackled and blazed to the side, warming them. Robert was an avid decorator. Whether he had any skill was debatable, but he certainly had enthusiasm. Numerous paintings adorned his walls. Speckled in between those were old, cut-out articles from newspapers, which had been laminated to help preserve their contents. It was hard to read the small text of the articles without approaching them, but they appeared to commemorate significant events from throughout the recent history of Willow Town.

He also had a large shag rug in the middle of the room which Marie wasn't quite sure about. It did look cosy, but in the ugliest possible way. It was jet black, like a bear had been doused by a squid or something.

"Did you have a nice time tonight?" Hannah asked.

Marie looked at her sister, almost surprised to hear her speak."Oh, you know. It was lovely. Just lovely."

"You seem upset. Did something happen?"

"No, Hannah. How many times do I have to tell you that I don't seem upset? That's just my face."

"Just thought I'd check in on you."

"Well, I don't need you to do it so constantly. It's like the question itself creates negative thoughts."

"Sorry for showing an interest," she muttered.

Robert called them in for food. He served them a large salad of mixed leaves, which included spinach, rocket, sliced beetroot, and carrot shavings. It glistened in olive oil and vinegar and was topped by walnuts and these weird yellow flakes that seemed sort of like fish food. He also made them pesto pasta with peppers, red onions, mushrooms, and these alien white chunks.

Marie and Hannah sat there, hesitantly.

"What?" Robert asked. "What is it? Is there something wrong with the food?"

"Er, what's the yellow stuff?" Marie asked.

"Oh, that's nutritional yeast. It's really good. Has a sort of cheesy, nutty flavour."

"What about the chunks in the pasta," Hannah said.

"That's tofu." He sipped his tea before going on to explain, "I'm a vegan, so there are no animal products within these four walls. These are common enough substitutes for cheese and meat."

"Are you sure there are no animal products?" Marie asked. "That rug in the living room-"

"Is entirely artificial, I can assure you. In olden times, when fur was needed to survive the winter, I can see why we took it from the animals, but now that we have the technology to create something just as cosy from synthetic materials, I don't see the point in causing unnecessary harm."

Hannah shrugged and began eating.

Robert watched her intently for a while then asked, "So what do you think?"

"It's lovely," Hannah said as she enthusiastically swapped between the pasta and the salad. "Almost makes me think that I could go vegan."

"Well, if you ever want recipes or advice, just shout loudly enough and I'll endeavour to respond."

Hannah beamed.

Marie sat there with her arms folded, wearing a deep scowl across her face.

"Not a fan, eh?" Robert asked. "I can make you some toast if you want something a bit more conventional. I've got peanut butter and jam."

"I'm not really hungry for anything right now," Marie said. She knew, deep down, that she should have been, but the idea of eating anything at all suddenly turned her stomach as her mind kept on slipping back towards that endless void.

"There's no need to be rude," Hannah said.

"I'm not being rude though, am I? I'm just being honest. And it's much better than being annoying."

Hannah glared at her, before pushing both her bowl and her plate aside, then saying, "I'm really sorry, Robert, that was really lovely, but I need to get some fresh air."

"Don't worry. I'll put them in Tupperware for you."

"Thank you."

Hannah got up and left.

"You really should be nicer to your sister, you know?" Robert said when it was just the two of them.

"What do you know about it?"

He shrugged. "Well, I used to be the little brother in a family of six. I know what it's like to look up to siblings that hate you most of the time."

"No," Marie snapped, "I mean, who do you think you are to poke your nose into the middle of our family affairs? You're just our neighbour, and that's it."

Robert gazed at her, inspecting her closely. "You do not appreciate the prying?"

"No. And frankly, nor do I appreciate all of this lurking you've been doing around our Mother. Flirting with her in the back garden? Inviting her to your bar? Escorting her to the hospital?"

"If it's making you uncomfortable, I can back off a little and give you all more space."

"I would really prefer that."

It was quiet for a while after that.

Robert didn't eat anything either. He drank tea and compulsively made another cup as soon as the last one was finished.

He was halfway through his third cup when his mobile buzzed from one of the counter-tops. He answered it, then listened to it before announcing, "It's your Mum."

Hannah returned to the kitchen like a Golden Retriever who'd heard the bouncing ball.

Robert was listening to the phone.

"Well, how is she?" Hannah asked desperately.

That was when Marie realised that she had been holding her breath.

"She's fine," Robert said. "The tests that they ran brought back nothing scary, but she might have to see a neurologist further down the line, to rule out other conditions."

"Oh," Hannah said.

Marie felt something like a punch hitting her in the gut. So their Mum could still be sick for all that they actually knew.

"No, don't be silly," Robert said. "Don't go ordering a taxi."

Mum said something.

"I'll come get you," he insisted, "It's no trouble."

Mum said something else.

"They'll be fine," he assured her. "They're almost grown women. I'm sure they won't burn the place down." After he hung up and swiftly fitted on his shoes, hat, and coat, he said, "Please try not to burn the place down while I'm gone. I'd end up looking very silly."

When he was gone and they were both alone, Marie approached Hannah.

Initially, she'd sought her sister out to apologise to her, but now that she saw her face and remembered all the prying, the anger was quick to resurface within her.

"You know, you really should stay out of my business," Marie said. "We're not six anymore. We don't have to share everything."

"Yeah," Hannah said, "Agreed."