Soprano Sunset

THE JOSLIN TWINS

It was noon. As I walked down the street I noticed that Crimson and faint colors of orange and yellow flooded the very street. I admired the beauty of all the expressive nature around me. It filled my heart with joy to see the leaves dance off the fallen trees that have been derived from the lush green leaves they once had. They pass my face in the cold Autumn wind, to arrive at their destination of Halloween decorations left out. November was settling in but you couldn't help but see the faces of cardboard ghouls and witches strayed across the harvested gardens of neighbors. The ogres fell; the fog machines deactivated. The calming rays of sun striped the cardboard cutouts of their fearfulness.

    It was beginning to get late and all the children were getting inside their houses, rushed by their mothers and fathers to get to bed. I watch as they struggle to make the journey back to their homes, carrying everything at once. They stumble and fall every once and a while, but they eventually make it back. I smirk and giggle at the foolishness of their systems, yet the creative methods of collection amaze me. Some would pile toys into their shirts and arms and others would put smaller toys in the baskets of bicycles. As I continue my trek down the street I see a boy and his sister struggling to get their bikes back inside. I've seen them around once or twice, it was the Joslin twins with their oversize bikes. Their story was that they hated the little kid bikes so much that they begged their parents to get them these ones. I had no idea of what the reason was why they beloved such an unreasonably sized bike, but I tended to theorize that they dream to be professional bicyclists. Although that may be wrong, I like the idea of it.

   The brother of the twins was trying to force the bike up the steep driveway, whilst the sister sat there in the grass, mocking her sibling. "It's no use, idiot." The sister taunted, crossing her arms dramatically while throwing a smug, yet disappointed look on her face.
    "Just wait one sec. OK?!" The brother pleaded, at the end of his breath. From the sound of it, he must have tried to push this thing into the driveway a couple of times.
    "Ugh, you take forever! Just let me help already." 
    "No! I have this." They argued and bickered about completely unrelated topics. From topic to topic, they fought then after a bit, I decided to jump in.
    "Need help?" I offered as they slowly started to move backward. The bike toppled over and they both sprang back. 

    "Idiot!" The sister screams at the boy furiously. "Please don't be scuffed. Jeez, the third time already." She muttered. 

    Running back towards the bike he slowly attempted to push it back up. I came over and assisted him. From the initial weight and the design of the bike I could tell that it was a 2025 Humungous, it was brand new with a clean white and light blue finish. At first, they jumped back as if a monster was in their presence and they were hopeless to fight back. Then soon that fear melted into admiration. 

    "Wow, you're so incredible, mister!" They said in unison leaking with joy. "Can you help me with mine?" Said the girl.
     "Why sure," I said and grabbed hold of both bikes and propped them up against my sides. Within a few paces, I saved them hours of pushing, and with their cooperation it would have been longer. 

    "Is that it?" I asked them while wiping the sweat from my head. 

    "No, but it is best if you'd leave." The girl responded while twiddling her thumbs and looking at the ground. 

    "Why's that," I asked.

    "Well-" She was cut off by the sound of a door be thrown open. A faint light scattered out of the door like it was the gates of the underworld releasing the torment souls who've done wrong. The moment the door was flung open, I could sense the ever-increasing dread flow from the seems. I was as if I was in the presence of a true demon, that would stand for nothing to defeat me. I lost my foothold and my eyes started to water; fearing that I might get attacked for blinking. I had lost my stance in the situation, it was in his favor. 

"Why you sick bastard!" The incarnation of discrimination in human skin screamed into my hopeless eyes. He aimed a riotous instrument, capable of killing in my face as I stood in shock; it was a shotgun from what I could tell. 

    "DADDY NO!" The young girl retaliated towards her father. 

    "What do you want? Also, put that gun down." He ordered in his devilish, western accent. All I could imagine was his human body; round and unkempt. In a googlish and unthinkably evil style. His body type could match the common definition of a Division in Color Patrol supporter, and his accent links the theory together on just stereotypes. 

    "Wh- What gun?" I replied completely confused, trying to grasp the sudden escalation in drama. 

    "The one on you, all you Negros have one." He slurred confidently. His assumptions were pure racism yet, who would blame him for thinking such a commonly spread stereotypes was real. To him and his children especially. We were animals in a humanoid body, why would we be anything less than stereotypes. 

    "Sir, I don't mean any harm. I was-" I tried to explain. 

    "SHUT UP! Now listen your gonna grab your stuff and leave before I call the DCP on you." He threatens, only confirming my initial theory for fact. 

    "Yes, sir," I replied in defeat whilst gathering my things. 

    The Joslin twins were in complete shock about Mr. Joslin's cruel actions and were sitting there crying as I slowly grabbed my backpack and headphones and left. He pointed that double barrel shotgun at me until I was off in the distance about 3 houses down. I still remember seeing the symbol of the Anti-Color Committee at the front of the gun. I remember seeing the terrified faces of the poor Joslin twins as they clung to their oversized bike. I remember that day like every other since I have to deal with run-in' s  with this racist country's citizens every day. This very country is one I have to call home.

Authors Note:

Hey! So this is a short little explanation for some questions you might have. So, this story is obviously set in a parallel universe where racism, in this case, is commonplace. Aka, it's the complete norm for everyone to participate in these cruel acts. The basic gist is that the US's government was slowly turned into a dictatorship and finally in the year of 2020 (The year the book begins, November 2024) the US turned over to a dictatorship. I don't feel like trying to iron out the kinks in that logic, but good luck to anyone who wants to try to reason this lore. Have fun reading and remember to leave feedback in comments or direct messaging. :)