Bonded

Bonded (Haro's Story)

Some tree leaves fell from the passing breeze, the birds chirped loudly as they flew away; the garden was soaked from the rain earlier, damp grass and plants. The backdoor of the house opened, and Haro entered the garden; the box-head wearing artist carried a small pouch of sweets and a bottle of juice. He went to the outdoor hut, and sat down on the porch; since it was covered by a roof, it wasn't wet, so Haro wouldn't feel uncomfortable. It was still early in the morning, so he still felt a bit groggy; yawning, he took out a sweet and ate one, helping him feel a bit more energized.

He looked at the tree leaves falling onto the grass, the breeze kept changing in strength; the place was quite peaceful at the moment, nothing to disturb the calm atmosphere. After some time, Haro stood up, and headed back into his house, placing his sweets and drink onto the table for later; he went into the bathroom and removed his box-head, it was just an accessory he loved to wear, but he felt that something was off about it, every time. He looked into the mirror, his brown, messy hair, black eyes; after all, he had to keep her in check, every time.

"How do I get rid of this..." he wanted to permanently get rid of that box, that one being taking over him occasionally when he would wear it, it was like a curse he could never get rid of.

Looking at the mirror, he was dumbfounded to find it had changed into that little girl, wearing his box, and having red and yellow eyes; he shook his head and closed his eyes, opening them gave him relief, as his reflection was now back to normal.

"Fuck...I...need to get rid of that," Haro grabbed the box and went outside, throwing the box into a dumpster in the nearby alley; he returned home, hoping that it would never finally bother him.

Lying down, Haro was called on the phone by one of his co-workers, "Oh, hey. What is it?"

"Hey there, so there's no work tomorrow, there'll be a scheduled meeting by the managers and we're told not to attend," his co-worker told him.

"Oh, that's...nice..." he responded, a bit relieved for that, but nervous since he usually had nothing to do during those days, work was usually his way of releasing stress; but he tried to look into the bright side, at least he didn't have to wake up early in the morning.

"So, how's it been? Are you feeling down right now?" His co-worker was curious, the two were good friends ever since they met at work, and was the only one who was aware of whatever the box kept doing to Haro.

"Yeah, I'm alright..." Haro looked at the door, and his eyes widened; he could see a little girl standing there, the same girl he saw as his reflection; it was her, Haro-chan. Staring only at that girl, he decided to ask her, "Wha...what do you want from me..?"

Haro-chan didn't answer, and just giggled, standing there; Haro moved back from his bed, he wasn't sure why she was here. After a long minute of silence, Haro-chan finally responded, "You can't escape me, Haroichi-kun...I'll always be with you."

"Why?! Why me?!" Haro was asking for an explanation, he didn't know why she stayed with him when he got that box, there has got to be a reason why.

Haro-chan approached and sat down onto the bed, causing Haro to get off the bed and back away; though Haro-chan pouted, "I won't tell you if you don't get close."

Despite his reluctance, Haro sat beside her, eager to learn the reason why she was close with him. "We're siblings, Haro. Twins to be exact."

"What?" Haro couldn't believe it, the one he was trying to get rid of was none other than his sibling, his twin; but his parents never said anything about her, it was like a lie. "You're joking, right?"

Haro-chan shook her head, "They just never told you, told you...what happened," tears fell from her eyes; it was clearly something tragic, "I died at birth, I never had the life you had, I never was able to grow up, and experience what you had. Isn't that unfair? Right?"

Silent, Haro could only stare, unable to utter a response to what she said; mad, she pinned him to the bed. "Why did you have to live?! Why did I have to be the one to die?!" She was angry at him, their family, and fate; Haro eventually just wiped the tears from her eyes, and she fell onto his chest, longing for comfort. "I wanted...to experience what you had. I wanted to be with you as your sister..."

Understanding how she felt, he placed his hand behind and embraced; maybe the box was important to him. He closed his eyes, and soon, everything was back to reality; Haro-chan was no longer there, and the phone showed that the call had ended earlier. It was all a dream, or some sort of hallucination, that Haro-chan was there; shaking his head, he went outside and opened the dumpster, still finding the box inside. He grabbed it, and returned inside, holding onto it.

"I'll never, ever, let you go."