Scrap Inheritance

I stretch my arms up as I walk through the house’s front gate. It closes behind me once I stand on the sidewalk.

Alec’s home is across the street in front of me. It’s half the size of mine, while the lot is a sixth of the extent, just like the rest in the block.

That remains the same despite how long it has been.

Although I should visit him and his mom, I want to say hello to Mr. Don, the owner of the junkyard and a third grandpa to me.

The mountains of scrap look the same behind the fence and stay visible even after I cross the street toward them.

My hand reaches for the gate’s handle but stops before touching it. Even though I used to have permission to go in and play whenever I wanted, it would be rude to do it after so many years… but I also want to surprise him.

I use my weight along with my strength to push it down and to the side at the same time. It slides easier than I remember.

Knowing it’ll get stuck after a certain point and will need to be lifted, I squeeze my way in instead and close it again.

Rusty chassis hundreds of years old remain at the base of the piles to the right of the entrance. The wrecked cars at the top look more modern in both condition and design.

Along with Mr. Don’s house, they delimit the path deeper into the jungle of scrap. Even the rail track segments at the peak of some of the piles look the—

Something hits me from behind and throws me down to the dirt. The weight on my back restrains my movements. I can only see a knee and a leg in dark jeans beside my arm.

“I got her, Sis!”

“Nice job.”

I turn my head to the other side and see a pair of legs in black leggings approaching. Once close enough, the dark-haired woman crouches.

“Pretty bold of you to try and rob us in broad daylight.”

My eyebrows raise. “Rob?! It’s nothing like that, I just wanna say hi to Mr. Don!”

Her expression freezes.

After a silent stare, her eyes deviate down.

Something metallic clicks behind me.

The feminine voice restraining me asks, “Am I cuffing her?”

“You have handcuffs?!” I exclaim, still unable to see them.

“What are you two doing?!”

A man in an apron approaches the woman beside me from behind.

The person on top of me answers, “Restraining a thief.”

“I’m not—!”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re not a thief, we heard you.”

The woman beside me scoffs and stands up.

“Ney, get off her,” the man requests.

“Oww,” the person above me utters.

“You’re sad about it?!”

I feel some of the weight lift when the standing woman says.

“Ney, don’t move.”

“What—?”

She interrupts the man. “Thief or not, she got in unallowed and without triggering the alarm.”

Holding her exposed waist, she scowls down at me. The sunlight scatters through her bangs from the side, forcing me to look away to save my eyes from burning.

“Who are you?” she questions.

“I’m Aveline, nice to meet—”

“How can you introduce yourself while pinned down like that?! I meant why are you here? How did you get in?”

“Oh. I just wanna say hi to Mr. Don. Turns out I still have permission to open the gate after sixteen years,” I laugh nervously.

She and the man glance at each other.

Looking at the ground, she murmurs, “That explains some of it. Ney, stand down for now.”

“For now?!” I exclaim.

I’m finally set free.

As I get on my knees, the woman offers me a hand. I grab it and stand up like a feather.

“Thanks,” I grin.

She raises an eyebrow at me.

The person who restrained me approaches her, making my jaw drop.

“Sis, did I do something wrong?” she pouts.

Her sister pats her head, and a smile finally overrides her stern gaze.

“You did a great job protecting us. I just made a tiny mistake,” she says while pinching the air and squinting with one eye.

“Yay! But Sis, you never make mistakes.”

The sister doesn’t reply. Instead, her deadpan returns when she looks back at me.

“Flies are gonna fly into your mouth if you don’t close it.”

“I just…! You’re clones?!”

Save for their clothes and different hairstyles, they are identical.

“Precisely,” the woman smirks. “One of us was on the brink of death, and the only chance of survival was being cloned. However, the doctors didn’t know that would—”

The man from before smacks the back of her head with a cloth, his baggy, tucked-in shirt now exposed by the lack of an apron.

“Stop teasing her, Ms. Never-Makes-Mistakes.” He smiles and offers me the cloth. “Clean yourself with this. They are twins. Please forgive—”

The woman snatches the cloth away before I grab it and twirls it around to sling it at his cheek.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that, Mr. Nobody-Cares-About-Me!”

Without looking at me, she offers me the cloth. I grab it as they argue, but it’s too clean and smooth to get it dirty. I merely brush the dirt off my sweatpants and sweater with my hands.

“What does that have to do with you always making mistakes?!” the man yells.

“You did the same thing!”

“You just assaulted someone without…”

The fight continues, while the twin who tackled me taps my shoulder.

“Hey, hey.”

Unlike the more… energetic twin who wears a black sports top and a ponytail, her braid runs down her shoulder over the white denim jacket. And her smile feels… friendlier?

“Nice to meet you, Aveline. I’m Ney. Did you really meet Uncie Don?”

“Ohh, so he’s your uncle. Yes, I know him. He’s very kind and helpful. He always let me play here and asked the others to help me build the stuff I wanted. Where’s everyone, by the way? Are they in the house?”

The arguing twin and man exchange glances before she lets go of his shirt’s neck.

He says, “The junkyard has been out of service for more than ten years.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

The woman answers, “He means that Uncle disappeared.”

“Frey!” the man scolds.

“There’s no need to sweeten it.”

“He… disappeared?” I ask.

The man smiles. “Why don’t we eat while we discuss it? I just made lunch. It’s the least we can offer after what these… sane and kind women did to you.”

“Aww!” Ney grins.

Frey scowls. “You’re really asking for it, but I agree.”

He smirks. “Do—?”

She flicks his forehead and leaves toward the house. Ney follows her.

He caresses the spot. “Why does it hurt so much?” He looks at me and extends his hand. “Sorry, none of us introduced ourselves properly. I’m Kade. The…” —he peeks behind him before continuing—”…feisty woman is Frey, and Ney is Ney. We’re siblings.”

I shake his hand. “Aveline.”

After that, he tilts his head toward the house. I give him the cloth back as we walk.

The house is a third the size of mine, which is more than enough for one person. The design style is the same, except for the several scrap patches. However, the cramped hallway and dining room make it cozier even without decoration, all laid out with a functional purpose.

It looks and feels the same as it did sixteen years ago.

The three of us sit at the table while Frey pours soup from a huge pot onto bowls. She places them in front of each of us and then joins.

“We know it’s not much—”

My slurping interrupts Kade.

I gulp the rice grains and soup. “Sorry. This is perfect for the weather.”

“It’s not like we have many more options,” Frey says.

The table shakes and she groans at Kade.

“Anyway,” he smiles. “You’re here to see Uncle Don, but what brought you back to the neighborhood after so long?”

“Some funny things happened,” I laugh nervously. “Long story short, I’ll be your new neighbor.”

“Yay!” Ney utters and claps. “I didn’t know there was a house for sale or rooms for rent, but I’m happy regardless.”

Frey says, “I didn’t know either. The only place available was…. You moved into the abandoned lot next to ours? Didn’t that use to be a mining company HQ that exploded?”

I nod. “It was my parents’. I inherited it, but now that I’ve graduated, I decided to… do something with it. I still need to think about the details.”

“You’re in the same position as us, then,” says Kade. “When Uncle Don disappeared fourteen years ago, he left a note stating that the three of us would inherit this junkyard. I was four at the time, while Ney and Frey were five, so we couldn’t claim it until recently.”

“Did he really just disappear? Didn’t he explain why in the note?”

Frey answers, “He literally just wrote that we’d inherit all this scrap, nothing else.”

“Uncie’s only immediate family was Father, but they didn’t get along,” Ney says. “He and Mother never brought us here because it was dirty, dangerous, and ugly. They also said Uncie was a bad example. But you said he was kind and helpful, and I believe you more.”

Not knowing what to say, I take another spoonful of soup.

“Mom and Dad lied?” Frey rolls her eyes. “Who would’ve thought?”

“Enough,” Kade scolds. “That’s everything we know about Uncle Don. I’m sorry it isn’t much.”

I shake my head. “It’s okay. Thanks for telling me all of that. I just hope he’s doing well.”

“We hope so too. Now we’re also thinking about what to do with the place, but we don’t have many ideas.”

“I actually….” Frey stares at the center of the table. “Never mind.”

Kade sighs. “You really get on my nerves sometimes. Stop being all shy about it and spit it out. The worst that could happen is us chuckling, but I doubt it’ll be that bad.”

“Shut up.”

I don’t know where to look or what to do amid the long silence. I fill the spoon with more soup, rice, and veggies.

Just as the heat touches my lips, Frey says.

“What about an amusement park?”

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Edited by RedPandaChick