Chapter 1 - Gifts

The beginning

This world can be full of strange and mysterious things; it takes very little effort to find them. This story reveals the world that is hidden from our own, and to find it, all you have to do is look…

The sun was bright as it shone through the open crack of the curtain. That thin beam of light floated through the room, from that small slit in between the fabric. This sliver of sunlight caressed the face of a sleeping figure, which groaned in annoyance and made to turn away from the sunlight filtering into the room.

The stray beam of sunlight that was caressing the woman’s pale skin now landed on the back of her head. The ultraviolet rays illuminating the fire that seemed to frame her face. Her fiery red hair shone in hues of gold and red.

Deep azure eyes framed by a bushel of long, darkly dyed eyelashes, fluttered open as the girl rolled in the bed. At first, she just stared at the white ceiling, her face surrounded by her flaming locks.

She blew a strand of red hair out of her eyes as she raised her pale hands to rub the sleep from her face. Thin fingers made their way to run through the waves of flames atop her scalp. Stretching thin, slightly toned arms in a Y-shaped pattern.

She turned her head when she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening and watched as three silhouettes walked in. Her deep oceanic orbs watched on in confusion as they recognized each of the people who entered her domain.

“What’s going on?” The girl asked after seeing the wide, happy smiles on her family’s faces as they stepped up to her bed.

A small girl with long, dark brown curls and shocking crystal blue eyes jumped up onto the dark blue covers, with a grin on her rounded face. Her tiny body was barely able to contain the excitement she felt at knowing a secret her big sister did not.

“Happy birthday dear,” the soothing sound of her mother’s sweet voice drifted through the room. No matter how old the girl in the bed got, she believed the sweet melodic tunes of her mother’s voice would forever wash a sense of calmness and love over her entire being.

Even though the older woman did not believe herself to be gifted with such a power, nothing could deter her daughter’s thoughts. To the daughter, when her mother sang, it was like angels were whispering down from the heavens. Even if her mother didn’t believe it was so.

“Thanks.” came the unsure reply.

“Come on, get up, get dressed, and come down to breakfast,” her mother smiled, warm emerald, green eyes sharing a secretive look with the male in the room. The exchange further confused the redhead, but she decided not to pursue her curiosity in favor of listening to the man standing beside her bed.

“Happy birthday squirt.” The girl’s brother said cheerfully, handing a sparkly purple bag to the chocolate-haired little girl, who was still sitting on the bed. The girl in return handed it to the confused redhead, who only now sat up from her horizontal position.

“Happy Birthday to you too moron,” the redhead replied to her fraternal twin. “That’s for you by the way.” She nodded toward the large, brightly wrapped gift sitting on her vanity.

“Cool, Thanks Squirt!” The older twin shouted much to the irritation of his twin, as he made his way to grab his gift.

“Stop calling me that, we’re the same age,” she said sourly.

“Yeah, but I’m older,” came the expected reply from the man. His tanned skin glistened as he crossed the room and into the slight stream of sunlight. The redhead studied her brother’s features and marveled at how different they truly were.

Even though they were indeed twins, they looked nothing alike. In fact, it was as if they were made to be polar opposites to each other, in both looks and personality. While he was darkly colored, with his very own mess of chocolate curls, tanned skin, and a mix of brown and green eyes, she was lightly colored with her flaming red hair, pale skin, and dark blue eyes.

Where he was outgoing, outspoken, and so full of energy he literally was unable to sit still for more than five minutes, she was sometimes soft-spoken, calm, and mostly kept to herself. But even with a soft personality resulting in her being an introvert, she had one hell of a temper in her repertoire.

It was only in this aspect that were they similar. They were both fiercely loyal and could blow up quicker than a short, fused firecracker. But even with such fire behind their backs, they were both very warm and kind towards others as their mother had raised them.

“Only by 11 and a half minutes.” The redhead replied digitally. They both shared a look, a mix of brown and green forests, that sometimes in her opinion looked gold, met the dark waves of the ocean. Matching grins spread across their faces bringing happiness to a mother’s heart as she watched her two children.

The two older people in the room left, one holding his very own gift, but before they did, they each placed a kiss on top of the girl’s flaming head. The smaller child stayed where she was on the covers. The redhead sat up and leaned against her dark wooden headboard, pulling out the articles of clothing from the gift bag.

She had gotten a brand-new outfit, just like she did every year. And just like every year she knew that her brother had been the one to choose what she would wear that day. The girl laughed, the sound was light and filled with joy. Although her brother was not gay, he did happen to have a much better fashion sense than she herself did.

“Do you like them? I helped?” The little girl’s bell-like voice asked hopefully, drawing the redhead’s attention away from the clothes before her.

“I love them,” with those long pale arms she reached forward and wrapped them around the smaller girl’s tiny frame, pulling her into a tight hug. The brunette giggled and squealed with glee.

After that, the birthday girl made her way lazily toward her bathroom to enjoy a hot shower to start her day. Once she was done with her shower, she went through her morning routine of brushing her teeth, washing her face, and rinsing the conditioner out of her short hair.

She then got dressed in the brand-new clothes that she had received, which consisted of a black spaghetti-strap t-shirt, a dark blue long-sleeve button-up shirt, black jeans, a silver belt, and black sneakers. She walked out of her bathroom, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a brush in her hand running through her short-wet hair.

A gasp resonated through the room as she caught sight of a woman sitting in the middle of her bed, her legs crossed and a large grin on her tanned face. A similar grin appeared on the redhead’s face, forgetting about her dripping hair she dropped the brush that she was holding, let out an excited squeal, and ran across the room toward the girl on the bed.

Said girl, sprung off the bed just in time for them to embrace one another. A collection of overjoyed screams and laughter filled the once silent room. The others in the house smiled at the sound of the two girls shrieking.

“Jayden! I can’t believe you’re here!” the redhead exclaimed, leaning back to look at the other girl.

“Me too! It was all your mother’s idea, she put this whole plan into play,” Jayden explained.

“I missed you so much, Alexa.” She said to the redhead fondly.

Jayden was slightly taller than Alexa, being five-foot-six whilst Alexa was five-foot-three. Her chocolate brown hair curled in loose attractive rings that fell past her shoulder blades, chocolate bangs framed her beautiful face wonderfully, and honey-colored eyes stared back at deep blue. Her lightly tanned complexion contrasted with the paleness that Alexa bore.

The two girls were opposites to each other, much like the girl and her twin, both in looks and in personality. Jayden the dark beauty had a personality that shone like the sun, warm and bright. Alexa, with her bright exterior, was the night personified, beautiful, and soft but not as trusting as her opposite.

Jayden wore a dark Irish green loose-fitting shirt, tight blue jeans, and silver pumps. Light makeup adorned her face, with light purple eye shadow, and a pink lip gloss. In her ears were two golden studs that each bore light green gems, around her neck lay a matching golden necklace. A golden wristwatch dangled from her left wrist; a matching bracelet lay beside it. She wore a gold ring with an aquamarine gem in the center, meant to resemble youth, health, and hope.

Some believed that an aquamarine gem could cure cancer if a person drank water that the gem had soaked in. It was also believed to protect sailors from danger whilst they were in the ocean. It was a gem that meant well and made for a great birthday to give a person.

The two girls embraced for what seemed like forever, each one unwilling to let the other go. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, having been living far apart for a while now, but the saying ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder ' proved to be true in their case. Even their age gap of three years proved to be no match for their close familial bond.

The two cousins finally separated after what felt like hours and yet it was only a few minutes, to size the other up and see what had changed.