You Better Bring an Umbrella, Vol. 1

Chapter 8: Spinning Dizzy

        I tried my best to remain invisible as I snuck into the little bookstore in the middle of the strip, hoping my sister wouldn't spot me. I hadn't told her I was coming, and I'm sure if she caught me, she'd stop and think I was here to yell at her, or plead my own case, or something. That wasn't the case. I wanted to support her, in fact, just like she had done for me for so many years of our childhood.

"We were never a real family. We were our father's creation; family in name, but not in fact."

I smiled as she read out loud. Sure, some of the things she had said shocked and hurt me for a bit, but I really couldn't blame her. Dad had forced her out of our lives for so long, she had every right to feel unimportant.

"Of course, the only real family between any of us were my sister Mina and brother Five. We were told very early on that they were blood related, and my father made sure we always knew that, especially after he disappeared. Even then, he'd discourage them from normal sibling quarrels. In the end, after our brother Ben died, there was nothing really connecting us. Understandably, Mina had distanced herself when Five disappeared, no longer expected to appear at family dinners or attend normal training sessions. We were just strangers living under the same roof, destined to be alone, starved for attention, damaged by our upbringing, locked in our own mental prisons where we blamed ourselves for everything that went wrong..." I grimaced, knowing that line was about me. "...and haunted by what might have been. We all wanted to be loved by a man incapable of giving love. Our father never missed an opportunity to remind me that I was ordinary-- a hard thing for a little girl to hear. If you're raised to believe nothing about you is special, if the benchmark is extraordinary, what do you do if you're not?"

She looked up from reading, expression shifting to shock when she spotted me leaning against the door frame. The few people sitting and listening to her read applauded, then got up and began to mill about. I watched Vanya move quickly, clearly attempting to get out before having to speak to me, but I wanted to address everything. I moved past people staring at me, recognizing me either for ballet or because of this, and came to stand next to our sister.

"Mina." She tried her best to sound surprised, as though we hadn't met eyes just a moment ago.

"Hey, Vanya." Vanya sighed, slapping her arms against her side.

"Look, if you're gonna chew me out, can you at least do it outside?" I raised my eyebrows, sticking one hand out to assure her.

"Oh, no, I'm not here because I'm mad!" She eyed me suspiciously. "I promise. I'm actually was here to congratulate you. After everything you were told, still having the balls to release that... I really think Dad underestimated you."

"Thanks..." Vanya looked down, scuffing her feet as her cheeks turned red. She almost seemed ashamed for receiving congratulations, but I wasn't finished.

"And... I wanted to thank you. You put some really good memories in there." I pointed to the book, silently asking if I could borrow it. She quickly passed it off into my hands, and I flipped to a page that, in my copy at home, had been dog eared, and the spine worn thin from constantly opening to that section. "'Things weren't always bad, despite how I've made it sound. Time off was spent having about as much fun as our father would let us. No one ever really spent time together during those hours... with the exception of Mina and Five. I could always find them playing card games in the kitchen or one of their rooms, sneaking peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches and hiding them on the off chance Dad ever came around. If I happened to walk by, they'd invite me to play. Sometimes, they'd remind me I was still part of the family.'"