Why do you ask such questions Alice?" I just got in a small scuffle; it's not like the apocalypse was going to happen now.
"Nothing really just that you've been through so much and I want to know your thoughts about life and everything.... but don't mind me, I'm just a kid, but I am curious to know what you would do if you were put in real danger and you had to make hard choices. Who would you save? Would you save yourself or those you care about? *
I paused for a short moment, not knowing what to say, but I eventually replied "I'll save those I truly care about and not let them down."
Alice laughed as she gently tapped the cotton swab on my face " You're naïve, Harry... but...I think I like that."**
" You two seem chummy together!" Cecilia called from afar as she approached.
" Ah, sister Cecilia! pleasure to meet you this fine evening." Alice said cheerfully, raising herself to her feet to reach out her hand for a handshake.
"…Good evening" she said coldly, ignoring Alice's outstretched hand and walking towards me as she pulled me up from the concrete slab I was seated on.
"Jeez, sis calm down..." I muttered as i felt her fingers on my face
"What happened to your face?" she asked in an angry tone. I had to fight down the urge to roll my eyes… like calm down, girl, it's just a split lip.
" I.. got into a..." i began but Alice chipped in.
"He fell on the grass this afternoon as he played football" Alice defended, not even checking with me to see if an intervention was necessary.
"Hmmm…", It was obvious that she didn't buy that "Is that true? Did anybody try to hurt you?" she asked still looking cautiously at Alice.
"No nobody did, if anything, I emerged the strongest in our match." I said calming her fears.
"Well, let's go home" she said and we turned to leave.
" Wait, Harry!!! " Alice called as tears welled up in her eyes.
"What happened?" I ask in confusion.
" The thing... is....my...my...my…***" she sobbed in-between her words.
"See you made my friend cry with your cold attitude" I reprimanded my sister.
She immediately ran away shouting " Be careful Harrison and make the hard choice!!"
At first we were confused. We looked at each other and shrugged.
" Maybe she's on her period or something" I said shrugging.
" Don't say that", She said hand-chopping my hair playfully. I noticed that her short hair had grown a bit, now reaching her shoulders.
"Ouch! " I yelped in pain, rubbing the spot. "What was that for?"
"Well why are you dismissing what she said as something only that could be said during periods" she said giving me a stern look.
"I mean I see no sense in what she was trying to say" I said as we walked home that evening.
"Period isn't an excuse to be a weird bitch", Cecelia said sternly, giving my head another karate chop.
"What do you think mom would make for us tonight for dinner?" I asked, trying to change the subject as I rubbed the sore spot on my head.
"Stew and rice, I guess, and grilled steak?" she replied "Did you hear that Rutherford wagons has advanced in their scientific research?"
"Yeah, I heard that Raymond has bought a city and is renaming it Hub City."
"Oh really, I even heard that he's now a trillionaire in the space of 6 months after acquiring his multimillionaire company from his fraudulent uncle." Cecilia said, lowering her voice to whisper it in my ear.
"I hear that he got his riches after selling his soul to the devil and he's one of the richest people in the world right now."
"A demon, you say?" I whispered back in surprise as I stared at her, my eyes widening in disbelief. "Do you believe in demons?"
"Well I do, the devil is the father of all wickedness and evil and thus he causes us to sin" She said looking up in the sky as the evening wind blew past our faces, making her skirt lift up slightly, threatening to reveal her underwear.
"Oh no!" she shrieked as I quickly averted my eyes " You saw them didn't you?"
"No I did not" I huffed in annoyance and began walking faster down the street. I was hungry and needed to get home quickly.
"Come back here!" she said laughing and threw a slipper at me. I caught it in my hand mid-air, then I ran to safety ten feet away. I looked up at the setting sun and the bright sky, a flock of birds passed over the horizon and I admired the evening sky and the beauty of the stars.
" What are you doing, Harrison?" Cecilia asked, jolting me back to reality.
"I have a question, big sister", I said, lookin like I was in deep meditation
"Did the devil make you throw your shoe at your younger brother?" I said as I tossed the shoe towards her.
"Um, no I don't think so… why did you ask?", she picked up the shoe staring at me as she tilted her head.
"If the devil didn't make you to throw the shoe then who did?"
"I did"
" Then you did it of your own accord you were not forced to do anything"
"I never said I was forced, Harry. Why are u asking all these dumb questions?" she now asked turning on the road " We need to go home"
"Humans are worse creatures than any devil.... People do bad things and blame the devil it when it was them that take actions consciously or subconsciously.... "
"Well... the thing is, Harry…" my sister bent downwards, patting my head?"
"…I never said the devil made me throw a shoe at you, I did it cause you gave me reason to. Besides, humans are not above mistakes, it's one of the beauties in imperfections"
"What if people are the mistakes? Wouldn't it be right to remove them?"
"Nobody gets to decide who to destroy or punish, only karma decides our punishment"
" How?" As if on cue, rain suddenly started pouring down in heavy showers, and in a few seconds, we were soaked.
"Oh shit!" It was just sunshine just now, how the hell is it so rainy?!" my sister hissed as she pulled a raincoat out of her bag and gave it to me "take this!" Somehow, my ig sister is always prepared for every situation.
"I am not cold" I stubbornly refused and I turned to leave.^
"Still take it or you'll catch a cold", she insisted as she tried to put it on me. Although I struggle, she managed to forcefully put it on me.
"Our house is A stone throw from here, let's just walk." I suggested, pointing to our visible house.^^
"No let's stay under that old shed till the rain stops." she suggested, pulling me as we ran from the street into the nearby shed. We stood for minutes, not speaking as we watched the rain.
"Harry -kun?" Cecilia said cutting the silence
"Yes big sis " I drawled, scratching my wet hair