The Cruel Sister

Hello peoples! This is a very dark piece I wrote that's loosley based on an old folk legend. I'd love to hear what you all think about it!

Luna and Estrella were born three hours apart, but somehow as close as if they had emerged into sight at the very same second. For a while, Luna and Estrella didn’t know their names, or themselves. They had been as one creature for six months, huddling together in their small universe. They were like frightened horses when they were first separated, crying in fear and anguish. Estrella was taken away first, sucked out of the small universe to leave Luna all alone. After only a small eternity later, Luna also felt the relentless pull, and left her universe with only a little struggle. The new universe treated her roughly, shoving her about and swinging her every which way, until she was finally sat down in something soft. But even with the softness, Luna was frightened of the new world, and thought longingly of her old home, where things rarely moved, and when they did, they did so for a reason. She began to cry, and suddenly, she was swept about again like a ship in a storm. She wailed and wailed, and even when everything was still, she cried out until she was forced to breathe. Only then did she notice the smell. It smelled like the old universe, the good one. She reached out her hand and touched the smell, which was warm and rather wet. But even as her eyes began to close, the smell shifted. Luna withdrew her hand in fear, but the smell crept nearer to her, until they were pressed together. She sighed happily, decided this universe was all right after all, and fell asleep against her sister.

That’s how we began. It was only later that I became Luna, and she Estrella. Even when we were separate entities, we were somehow still always together, connected by some untouchable thread. Our separation was like gradual and subtle, like a small crescendo that spans several measures, but that you can only truly hear on the last note. Our crescendo took fifteen years to truly part us, but in the end, it was so loud that it shattered us both. But I’m getting ahead of myself, as I always do. So let me try to rearrange the broken shards of our lives so you can see where they began to splinter.

The first time I remember realizing that Estrella and I were truly different people was the summer we were both five. We were outside in the front yard, playing together as we did every afternoon.

“Let’s be white kitties!” I announced, starting our usual game. But Estrella was in an odd mood that day, and decided she wanted something different.

“You can’t be a white kitty,” she snapped. “Your hair’s black, and you’re to old to be a kitty. You’re an mama black cat.” I stared at her a minute, then let my anger take control.

“Well you don’t get to be a white kitty either!” I retorted. “You have yellow hair, and you’re even older than me, you’re a grandma yellow cat.” We glared at each other for a few seconds, and then began to hit. We had play-fought before, but never actually made contact purposely. Our parents separated us, and the next day, we were back to playing white kitties. But something had changed that day, and both of us knew it; we were no longer one.

From that point on, we had our fights, but were usually still very friendly. Then kindergarten started and everything changed. On my first day of school, I was nervous, but in an excited sort of way. It was a change, but nothing bad could happen while Estrella was there with me. We arrived at the school at seven ‘o clock sharp, and were herded into a room with ten other kids while our parents signed various forms. I had never been shy in my life, but suddenly felt scared. I latched onto Estrella’s arm and silently and stubbornly refused to move. Estrella, on the other hand, saw friends where I had seen threats. She shook me off, and ran over to a boy standing near us. He proved as talkative as she, and they were soon laughing together. In a few minutes though, Estrella remembered me and ran over to tug at my arm.

“Come on, Luna!” she begged. “Benny’s nice, play with us!” I tried with all my might to lift my foot, just one foot, but I was rooted firmly to the ground. She tugged my arm again, but all I could do was shake my head mutely. She gave up, exasperated, and ran off to play with her new friend. When they had drifted out of sight, I found I could move again. I ached for Estrella, but couldn’t bring myself to approach the crowd of children shrouding her form. Still, though, I thought to myself, if I can just get there, just get to her, everything will be all right… I stepped forward, but the noises overwhelmed me. I turned my back on Estrella and ran from my nightmare.

Looking back, that moment would have defined our characters for a complete stranger. Estrella was the one who made friends and laughed with them, the one who looked a challenge straight in the eyes and triumphed. And I was the one who ran away.

I did make friends in the end, but we were all a group of quiet, reserved people who didn’t quite fit together, but had nowhere else to go. Estrella and her friends were the ones who made all the noise and all the trouble, but everyone loved them in spite of it or maybe for it. No one in school would’ve known we were sisters if it weren’t for our last names. How could the bold, beautiful Estrella be related to that girl who sits in the corner and reads? But if they had seen us at home, they would’ve had no doubt. Even if is she was her own at school, when the day was over, Estrella belonged to me. We still played together after that horrible first day in school, and though our games changed as we grew older, we were still together as we began our first year as freshmen in high school.

As our first months of school started, Estrella began to change. She was never home after school anymore, and even when she was, she hid out in her room most of the time, yelling at anyone who tried to enter. Eventually, I just couldn’t take it anymore. She had ruined everything. We hadn’t seen each other as much as I would’ve liked, but it had been fine, everything had worked. And now she was gone, vanishing from my life without a trace. She can’t do it, I told myself. She has no right! But I knew that Estrella would do whatever she wished, she always had. But she wasn’t going to get away with it, I decided. I would stop her, whatever the cost.

The day I decided to confront Estrella was a nice one. The sunshine soaked through my skin, giving me courage. I want to be outside when it happens, I decided. No matter what she says, the sun will still be there.

I walked slowly down the hall to Estrella’s room, dreading what was to come. Was this really right? Could I really tell her how to live her own life? No, I scolded myself. This is my life too, now do it, do it now. Before I could have more second thoughts, I rapped my knuckles against the hard wood of her door. I heard noises of shuffling papers, and then Estrella’s door opened a fraction of an inch. She saw me, and must have been in a good mood, because she opened the door another few inches.

“What do you want?” she asked sharply.

“To talk,” I answered softly. She sneered at me and began to close the door. No, I thought. Not this time. I grabbed the edge of her door and yanked it all the way open.

“I’m serious.” I said. She looked shocked for a minute, then stepped out, sighing.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” she asked resignedly.

“Please,” I begged. “Just walk with me.” She glanced back into her room, then at me again.

“Fine,” she sighed. “Whatever.” She followed me outside, and we walked silently. I lead the way, trying to prepare what I was going to say next. I racked my brain for the right words, but nothing came. I’d just have to start and hope it ended up right.

“Man, the water’s so nice this time of year,” Estrella commented suddenly. I paused, startled, and realized we were walking by the seashore.

“Estrella,” I started. “I don’t like what you’re doing right now.” She looked at me inquisitively.

“The only time I ever see you is at home,” I continued. “And you won’t even talk to me there.” Anger flared on her face.

“Well, that’s none of your business,” she snapped. “I choose who I want to hang our with, and if I don’t want to be with you, that’s just too bad for you.”

“It is my business,” I said firmly. “This is my life too!” Estrella stared at me, then began to pace up and down the bank.

“You want to know why I don’t hang out with you anymore?,” She asked vehemently. “You really want to know? It’s because you’ve changed, Luna! You used to speak your mind, but now you’re always quiet. You just sit there in a corner, sulking. You don’t have any real friends and I can tell you’re never happy anymore. But you know what? I can’t fix this for you! All my life, I’ve been your caretaker, and I won’t do it anymore! I have my own life, have you ever thought of that? I can’t spend every second looking over my shoulder to make sure my sister is all right! I just… I just won’t. You can’t make me!” she stopped talking, chest heaving with emotion. I stared at her in shock. Was it really true? Was… was I the problem?

“Estrella,” I said, stepping forward and scrabbling desperately for something to say. “Estrella… I …I…”

“No!” she shouted. “I’m done here, I’m just…just done.” She stepped back and disappeared. I rushed forward and saw her hanging onto the sand, up to water to her neck.

“Luna!” she gasped. “Luna, please!” I could see the undertow dragging at her legs. If she let go, she would have no chance; Estrella had never learned to swim. I knelt down swiftly, began to reach out my hand, and then stopped. I’ll never know what made me hesitate like that. Maybe it was fear for our mutual safety. Or maybe, deep down, I wanted vengeance. Whatever it was, it made me pause for a split second. A split second was all the water needed. It was so fast, that I hardly saw it: first she was there, and then she wasn’t. I looked desperately out to the sea, and saw a wisp of blond hair float to the surface, then sink again. Estrella was gone.

A small boat found her body. It had drifted underneath it, and the family was horrified to discover the source of the sharp knocking noise they had been hearing. The police had been informed of the accident and we went in to identify her. They didn’t want to bring me, but I forced them. I just… I just had to see. No one knew what had really happened, that I could have saved her, but I didn’t. They all cried at what a tragic accident it was, and told me it wasn’t my fault. It was all my fault, though, everything was my fault. I’d thought that our separation was Estrella’s doing, that she was to blame. But she was never the one who was unhappy. I was the one who clung on to her and never made new friends. I had always run away from everything and relied on Estrella to catch me. But she had gotten tired of it. And the one time she needed me to catch her, I hadn’t. I was and had always been the cruel sister.