A Girl with a Dream, and the Boy Without.

Elias lounged beneath the tree that overlooked his hometown of Sanfran. The sweltering summer heat tried to push him to go back to the cool family manor. But if he returned, surely he would have to do his duty. He was the twin brother of the woman that secured an office manager position in the capital city at the tender age of nineteen.

At his side lay a small collection of red and blue ornaments in a cardboard box. A small act of protest, perhaps, not putting them in their proper place as his mother had requested.

A smell meow of a cat reached his ears, and he turned his head. One of the two family cats, Leo, stared up at him.

“You came all the way here to see me?” Elias mused. “Shouldn’t you be with Tibby?”

But Leo did not return to the home where Tibby was. The yellow cat instead sidled up against Elias with a purr. His gaze fell to the cat’s muddied paws, and he scooped the cat into his lap.

“You’ll miss Tibby too, won’t you?” He ran his hands through Leo’s long fur. “She’ll probably take your sister away when she goes to the capital. Shouldn’t you be playing with her?” A weight filled his voice as he spoke. Still Leo did not move from that spot in Elias’ lap.

Elias looked down at the cat. Was he really going to keep up this small act of petty defiance, and not see Tibby off? Even if he didn’t want to see her leave, this world would turn without him. Tibby would still end up going to the capital city. And he would be the one that did not support her ambition of going to the capital and seizing that high paying office job. He stood up with a sigh, brushed the leaves from his blonde hair, his jeans, and his collared buttondown shirt, before making his way back toward the manor. He carried Leo in his arms, savoring the cat’s warmth against his skin.

The last person to secure such a position in the capital was their father’s father, a man that Elias had never met. But he’d heard the stories that his grandfather had been grouchy. Hopefully Tibby wouldn’t become like that. A pang struck Elias’ chest as he turned that over in his head yet again. His twin sister, the person he cherished above all else, would leave for what may as well have been a different world with all its cutthroat finances, corporate business meetings, and stock portfolios. A world that Elias would probably never see.

He arrived home to find his mother issuing orders to many cooks and even a performer. Looking at her jaw set into a scowl and her eyes filled with a determined fire, Elias found it hard to believe his mother had been ill with the flu only a week ago. Then his mother’s sharp blue eyes found him, and Elias backed away. She stood a full foot shorter than him, but mum was mum.

“Where have you been Elias?” she seethed. Her gaze lingered on his hands. “And are those the ornaments for the dining hall? Why have they not been set up yet? Are you being lazy again? How can you be lazy today of all…”

“Mum, I’m sorry for being late. I’ll get these set up now, and then I’ll go see Tibby,” Elias said. His voice was firm and his red eyes, like those of his father, bore into hers. “Mind telling me where she is please?”

“She’s practicing her fencing,” his mother said. “Must be wanting to keep her techniques sharp. A sharp body houses a sharp mind, or however that goes.” She jittered in place, and she squealed. “Can you imagine it, my daughter ending up in the capital! Your father would be overjoyed if he was here to see this.”

“Sure mum.” Elias strode past his mother before she could start the inevitable comparisons between Tibby and himself. Giftwrapped parcels, much like the one in his hand, littered the halls. Everyone in town wanted to impress the future chief executive officer in case they wanted to call in a favor later, probably. Elias shook his head. That sounded like something his father would think.

He walked past the gifts, and decorated the dining room with the ornaments like he should have done several hours ago.

“Mind fetching your sister,” one of the guests called out to him.

“I will,” Elias said.

Eventually he descended into the house’s basement. As he stepped down the stairs, he heard Tibby’s grunts of exertion and pants. She must have been practicing for a while. He reached the bottom step. His sister wore a sharp black pantsuit. She swung at and pierced an imaginary enemy with a fencing sword she’d kept since high school. Her platinum blonde hair practically glowed in the basement light.

“Hey there, Ms. Future CEO,” Elias called out to her.

Tibby turned around to face him. She smiled. Her eyes shone blue like their mother’s.

“Hey.” She walked over and embraced him. Elias returned the hug. He lingered it longer than their usual hugs, seeing as they would be numbered soon enough. “I thought you were planning on shirking the party.”

“And miss your big day?” Elias snorted. “Wouldn’t dream of it, little sis.”

“I beg your pardon? As I recall, I’m the eldest,” Tibby said.

“Oho, ‘as you recall’? You remember coming out of our mum’s belly? That’s quite some memory.”

The two of them looked at each other before falling into laughter. Eventually this subsided.

Elias took a deep breath, and decided to ask the question nobody had probably posed.

“You sure this is what you want?” he said. “I don’t mean to sway you. It just all happened very fast.”

There was a moment of silence before Tibby nodded.

“This is an incredible opportunity,” she said. “Anyone would be lucky to have it. We’re just fortunate we ran into one of dad’s old friends at the hospital while mum was sick. I’d have never gotten this job if he hadn’t vouched for me to his bosses.”

“You could’ve gotten it even without his help.”

Tibby rolled her eyes.

“Thank you for kind words.”

“I’m serious.” Elias’ arms folded over his chest. You’re already training even now when you should be celebrating upstairs. If you’re this devoted to fencing, you’ll be amazing during board room meetings.” Tibby maintained a skeptical smile, and he waved a hand in dismissal. “Nobody cares more than you, Tibby. And the old fusties and guards in the capital will see that. You’ll rise through the ranks, and end up as some amazing CEO known throughout the world.” Elias tried not to frown. If only he had a purpose and drive like Tibby’s. They were twins, but their lives had turned out so differently.

The skepticism disappeared from Tibby’s smile.

“I’ll find a nice girl for you,” she said. “Someone to look after you if something happens to mum.”

Elias’ gaze steeled over. Shame that she felt the need to do that made him look away.

“Why don’t you worry about that after you’ve settled in?” said Elias. “But thanks Tibby.” A moment of silence stretched between them. His smile slipped and his voice softened. “You’ll visit, yeah? Even if it’s just once a year, that’d make mum really happy. And Leo too.”

Tibby’s smile also slipped.

“I’ll try,” she said. “I’ll call you both about everything there. By the time you visit, you’ll feel as though you’ve lived there your whole lives.” She tried to recover her smile, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“Anyway, you ought to come upstairs.” Elias forced some energy into his voice. “But before that…” He held a conspiratorial finger to his lips. “I know there’s a time for gifts, but I got you something.”

“Oh, you did?” Tibby’s eyebrow cocked. Her smile turned playful. “It’s not a mudpie, right?”

“I’m not five anymore,” Elias retorted, before pressing the small giftwrapped package into her hand. “Now I understand a CEO is supposed to be all about obeying the rules, or at least finding loopholes so you don’t have to, but you could always toe the line a little and open this one early. One last bit of derring do before you go.”

Tibby rolled her eyes.

“If I end up arrested for the unforgivable crime of opening a present early, then I’ll just blame you.” She untied the ribbon and tugged away at the paper until she beheld a square box. She popped it open and beheld a fine silver necklace ending in a white quartz stone.

She gasped.

“It’s beautiful Elias,” she said.

“Of course it is, I picked out the stone.” He puffed out his chest. “You remember the rocks on the path to dad’s grave when we were kids? Like you’d turn them over and see the shiny pale bits inside?”

“I remember.” Tibby nodded.

“Grabbed one of those. I figured dad wouldn’t mind, and then I took it to Jules.” As Tibby held the necklace up to the faint basement light, Elias beamed. “Jules isn’t a jeweler, but from how starstruck you look, I’d say he got the job done.”

The mention of their father made Tibby’s eyes grow heavy, though her smile remained.

“I think he’d be happy with how we turned out.”

“You’d probably have gotten a smile out of him if he was here now,” Elias said, nodding. Tibby put the necklace on. “And now you’ve got a piece of him, of us, with you when you’re off making deals that’ll net you millions of dollars.”

Tibby held it in her hand. She leaned in and playfully bunted her forehead against Elias’, like the siblings had done when they were children.

“I’ll send you and mum gifts from the capital,” she said. “What would you want?”

“A long and fruitful career in the capital,” challenged Elias with a smirk. “And when you’ve made a name for yourself, I’ll write down your whole story from beginning to end. ‘The Tiberion Tales’. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Tibby laughed.

“There’s nobody else I’d let handle my biography. Thank you Elias.”

The twins then ascended the stairs, and then arrived in the dining room. Everyone clapped as Tibby came into view, and Elias jostled her shoulder.

“Now presenting the newest future CEO, Tibby Jund!” he proclaimed.

“May her stock bonuses be big,” said old Barnes, their neighbor, and he laughed. A chorus of similar comments followed from the twenty or so townsfolk present, and they all sat down to a hearty meal. Elias didn’t get much time to chat with Tibby after that, as his sister went from person to person for some last minute chats.

Their mother embraced Tibby for a long time, as if committing to memory her daughter’s smell. Tears began to drip down her cheeks.

“Stay safe,” she said. “You’d better not get hurt, okay? There are some cutthroat people out there.” Tibby hesitated, but her mother pressed. “No job is worth your life. You can always quit and come back home if things don’t work out. You can look after your father’s money like Elias.”

His mother didn’t even bother trying to hide her disappointment in her voice when she spoke of Elias, and he winced. But he forced a smile back on his face, and stepped forward.

“She’ll do great mum,” he said. “Have a little faith in the better twin here.” He laughed. Even as he put on a coy tone, he couldn’t hide the weight. If only he had an opportunity to do something different.

“Thank you mum,” Tibby said. “I’ll be safe, I promise.”

Later that evening, after everyone’s bellies were full and presents had been opened, Tibby took a rental car to the airport. The other family cat, Reila, was tucked away in a carrier. The trunk couldn’t fit all the gifts, so some had to remain behind.

“I’ll come back for them,” assured Tibby as the carriage drew her down the street. “Stay safe. Look after each other.” She waved, and Elias waved back until the rental car rounded the corner.

He couldn’t help but feel as though a piece of his heart had gone with Tibby. Leo must’ve felt the same way, as he meowed after the car even after it’d rounded the corner.

He retired to his bedroom for a nap and climbed into his bed. There was no need to change into his pajamas, he would be awake in just an hour. A small part of him wanted to sleep at his mother’s side, but he pushed away the thought with a firm shake of his head. He was nineteen. He didn’t need something like that. But with his sister’s absence hanging over him, it took a long time for Elias to sleep. Eventually, however, he managed to find refuge in his dreams. Dreams of when life had been simpler. When he had a purpose, a dream of being a writer, and he wasn’t the twin that had languished in obscurity.

But the memory of his mother’s disappointment stained his dreams like a dash of black on a spotless white sheet.

Elias wished with all his heart to go on an adventure. One that would put Tibby’s duties as a hotshot manager in the capital to shame. Eventually he felt Leo climb into his bed. The cat’s long hair would be a pain to clean up the next day, but he didn’t care. He gathered Leo into his arms and slept. He could feel the cat’s heartbeat against his chest.