A Country Divided : Through Blood United

The Beginning: Life With Evan

The welcoming sun woke me by heating up my cheeks with soft, comforting warmth. I slowly blinked awake until my eyelids were no longer heavy. I sat up, the only noise in my bedroom being my heavy comforter as it shifted with my rising body. I yawned and admired the sun's rays crawling in through the window, the many small specks of dust dancing happily in the sun's light.

I stepped out of bed and headed toward my twin brother's bedroom. A loose ringlet of dark, curly hair fell over my forehead and onto my nose, obstructing my view. I blew a puff of air toward the stray strand of hair and smiled in satisfaction and opened the door to my brother's bedroom. A quiet creak from the old, wooden door echoed in the upstairs hallway, but to me, it sounded like an extremely loud explosion. I giggled at the thought.

I rushed to my brother's bed, my uncomfortable nightgown flowing behind me. Man, do I hate that stupid nightgown. Instead of wearing ladylike clothes, I typically tend to sneak into my brother's room and wear his clothes since men's garments were far more comfortable. I pushed my hands onto my brother's chest and began to violently shake him out of his deep slumber.

"Wakey-wakey sleepy-doo, Evan!" I shouted in his face.

Evan always said that that was my motto. I usually disagreed with him because I think that my motto is more like "Eat, sleep, repeat."

Evan yawned in utter defeat, sat upright, and rubbed his temples, his long, golden hair spilling over his tan fingers. He turned over and grabbed his violet headband and secured it onto his head, his hair covering all of it except for the part on his forehead.

"Hey," I said playfully, punching his bicep. "Your headband compliments your eyes and freckles really well."

My twin brother rolled his radiant purple eyes in annoyance and sighed dramatically. "Well, my headband and my eyes are the exact same color. And yours are too-well, one of 'em at least." He laughed and stretched his tired arms. "Actually, it's kinda cool how you have two different colored eyeballs."

I chuckled and then rolled my eyes in a dramatic way to mimic Evan's recent actions. "I know, I know. It's cool how my eyes are two completely different colors. At least my eyes aren't ugly like yours."

My brother crossed his arms. "Our eyes are the same shade of purple, you dummy."

Evan stood up and handed me a small, handheld mirror from his nightstand. "Seriously, sis. Take a look at your eyes. It's cool."

I held the mirror in front of my face and gazed upon my facial features. One of my irises was a deep, sparkly lavender while my left eye was a brilliant shade of bright white. Everyone I knew always admired my eyes like they're a rare treasure on display in a museum. To me, on the other hand, I completely think that my eyes are normal.

When I'm in town, the citizens always stop to compliment my beauty-hundreds of freckles that peppered my face, my shoulder-length curly tawny hair tied in a perfect half ponytail, and my lovely tan skin. Also, they love how graceful and beautiful my name sounds. Evangeline. To me, it sounds too girly, so I prefer to go by Evan, which is also my twin brother's name. Lastly but not leastly, don't forget about my peculiar eyes.

I shrugged, which was my usual response when anyone talked about my unique appearance. I couldn't really change the way I looked, so I couldn't necessarily change how others thought of the way I looked.

"I guess it's cool," I remarked. "But even though I have two different colored eyes, it doesn't change how I see."

My brother stayed quiet, quieter than normal. All of a sudden, he burst out of the room.

"Race 'ya to breakfast!" he shouted as he sailed away.

"No fair!" I yelled back at him as I raced out of his room.