The Kingdom of Guhya

CHAPTER 7

"Hey, twinnie. Where were you last night? I've been calling you nonstop," she innocently asks.

Lorde did not bother to look at her, but he managed to answer, "Lost my phone."

It must have been so hard to live her life. Being away from home for seventeen years must have been so tough. Losing Matt must have felt like hell. Being constantly sabotaged by Kate must have been so draining. And now, she is starting to doubt Lorde.

I examine her face. She is gorgeous. I wonder if I ever get to look at her and not feel guilty anymore. Does she know it is hard to breathe without her? Does she know it kills me to be around her, too? It is painful to see her act so tough and hear her sobs almost every night. Unexpectedly, her head falls onto my shoulder and memories rush to flashback like thunderbolts.

#

There was me and Quinn, walking down the aisle to our classroom chairs, young and innocent. Quinn unexpectedly tripped and flung onto me, causing both of us to fall face-first. Our classmates around us burst into laughter simultaneously.

"That's what happens when two losers walk together," a big, fatty, young boy quipped. I looked at him and realized that he tripped Quinn intentionally.

"I heard from mommy that Damon is an illegitimate child," another boy remarked.

The children around whispered as if they were surprised by the news they heard.

"I also heard that Quinn has a heart disease, and he will die soon," the big, fatty boy remarked and laughed his heart out.

"That's what you get when you don't get enough love from your parents," a skinny girl remarked. I joined Quinn as he slowly massaged his knee, which had quickly bruised.

A young girl in a tight ponytail quickly ran into the classroom and shouted, "Lorde is here!"

Our classmates quickly sat down in an instant, leaving only Quinn and me, nursing our bruises. After a while, two children with contrasting personalities entered: the cheerful Ethan and the quiet Lorde. They glanced at us curiously and walked closer, giving us goosebumps. They scanned our bruises. To our surprise, Lorde offered his hand to Quinn and Ethan did the same to me. Although hesitant, we accepted their hands and stood up.

"Who did it?" Lorde asked.

Quinn, with trembling hands, pointed to the fat boy. Without further questioning, Lorde turned his back on us to face the boy, who was taken aback. The whole class watched, almost holding our breaths, as Lorde stepped forward and stood a foot away in front of the fat boy.

"Do you want me to be your enemy?" Lorde asked.

The boy reflexively blinked multiple times before he managed to reply.

"N…no…Of course not," the boy stuttered.

"Then, stop bullying my friends," Lorde unhesitatingly responded. The whole class gasped and started murmuring. Quinn and I looked at each other, both surprised that Lorde delivered those words. We have known him for a long time, but he never talked to us. For all we know, Ethan is his only friend.

I do not know where we got the confidence but since then, we followed Lorde around. He was always silent, but he also never complained. Eventually, we were introduced to Matt and the five of us had been best of friends since then. Matt became a big brother to the rest of us.

#

One sunny day, I caught Matt staring at his phone while we were playing in the school playground. I sneaked at it from behind and saw a picture of a young, pretty girl. I felt my entire blood draining off. At that moment, I confirmed I had a crush on the girl.

I could not stop myself from saying, "Woah! She's pretty. Who is she?"

Matt was surprised by my hasty appearance and responded, "Hey."

I sat beside him and took a closer view of the picture on his phone. He showed it willingly.

"She's Beauty," Matt said with a smile.

"Is she an angel?" I bantered.

"She's my little sister," Matt explained.

"What? I didn't know you had a little sister."

I was quite surprised because, in our four years of friendship, I had never heard about Matt and Lorde having a sister. I have been in and out of their mansion hundreds of times but never saw a trace of her either.

"She is Lorde's twin sister."

Matt's response surprised me even more. I took his phone and stared at the photo for a few seconds.

"They don't look the same," I declared and handed him back the phone.

"Because they are fraternal twins," Matt reasoned.

"Introduce me to her, Matt."

"She's living abroad."

"Do you visit her?" I inquired.

"Yes, I promised to visit her every summer."

Matt smiled beautifully as we talked about her.

"Can I court her?" I persisted. Matt chuckled and patted my head like a big brother to me.

"No. You are still both so young."

"When I grow up, can we go there? I will make her my wife," I said imaginatively.

"No," Matt responded with conviction.

I pouted my lips, causing him to burst out in laughter.

"Maybe when you grow to be a good man," Matt said to comfort me. I was sure I could do it, and it made me hopeful and happy.

I stood up and gave Matt a snappy salute, "Aye, Aye, Captain!"

Years passed by and the five of us had been inseparable.

Also, since then, I never forgot about Beauty. Matt and the boys would laugh at me, but I was serious. I was so serious about her even though she did not know I existed. I want to introduce myself, but I respect Matt and Lorde so much. I want to win their trust first before I make a move.