A Country Divided : Through Blood United

The Surrender at Appomattox: The Unexpected Letter

The sun cheerfully greeted me awake on the horizon, it's unusual soft rays seeping through my eyelids. I smiled and rolled over in the new bed in the guest room at my mother's house.

I glanced to the side to see Johnathan sleeping lazily next to me, his chest rising and falling slowly. The sweet smell of orchids clouded the room, and I decided to rise out of bed.

I stretched lazily, and I shoved my arms into the air. I yawned happily with a bright smile strapped to my face, and I walked over to the closet on the other side of the room.

I dug through each of the drawers until I finally found my trademark cardigan that I stole from my twin brother years ago.

After Evan's death, I always felt the need to wear the cardigan. Evan's scent of fresh mint on the cardigan still lingered, and it somehow still manages to give me comfort.

Once I finished getting dressed for the day, I heard the covers on the guest bed shifting. I whirled around toward the origin of the sound, and I saw Johnathan slowly gaining consciousness.

The room was still quite dark since the sun was barely over the horizon. While we were soldiers, Johnathan and I always had to get up before dawn, so our version of "sleeping in" was either waking up directly before dawn, waking up at the crack of dawn, or waking up just after dawn.

Nonetheless, we both still hate waking up that early.

"I hate getting up this early," Johnathan groaned as he sat upright as scratched his head.

I smiled and placed my hand on my hip. "Actually, getting up early is a good thing, since we have more time to do our daily chores and stuff. And, we can also have more time to go out to town and do fun things like shopping and just goofing around."

Johnathan sighed and rolled out of the bed. "Yeah, but that means less time spent sleeping."

"Hm." I turned my head in thought. "I guess you do have a point," I pointed my finger at groggy Johnathan in agreement.

Johnathan sighed again since he was extremely sad about getting up so early. He trudged his way over to the closet, and I pivoted my head around the room to follow him.

Still in his pajamas, he lazily slipped on a cotton robe and turned to me. "C'mon, let's go get breakfast."

I rolled my eyes, a twinge of annoyance rising within me. "Are you going to eat dressed like that?"

Johnathan glanced at his pajamas and then back at me, and he shrugged. "We're at your mother's house. Would anyone in here judge me since I'm wearing pajamas?"

"No," I said, defeated as I rested my hand on my head.

Johnathan slowly walked toward the guest room door and opened it. He leaned against the now ajar door, his gaze landing on mine. "You ready?"

I simply nodded and joined Johnathan at the bedroom door, who happily led me downstairs so we could get our breakfast.

***

Before I sat down at the kitchen table with Johnathan and my mother, I took a quick glance at the calendar on the wall. The date read July 2, 1864. It's been exactly a year since I killed Evan.

Keep your cool, I told myself as I approached the kitchen table, plates of fresh baked food decorating its surface. My mother probably doesn't even know that Evan's dead yet. It would be horrible if I had to break the news to her. I should wait until it's the right time.

I sighed, trying to release the anxiety out of my system. I took a seat in the wooden chair and scooted into the table, eyeing the mountains of food that lay before me.