Inseparable

Damien

"Damien! Get up or you’re going to be late!” My younger brother, Jason, called out from downstairs. I was startled which, to my dismay, awoken me from my sleep.

“Fine. God, you’re so annoying.” I grumbled as I got out of the bed and got ready for school. I stared at the alarm clock. 7 in the morning, an hour before the bell rang, asshole! I internally groaned. I seriously thought I was going to be late! I was in senior year of high school and that happened to be on my eighteenth birthday - April 16. I dragged my feet to the bathroom and killed time in the shower. Then, I put on my school’s official navy blue blazer over my white dress shirt tucked in a pair of khaki trousers with a black belt. I brushed my shoulder - removing any specks of dust while my eyes momentarily lay stuck on the school’s logo; Labore et virtute. “Hard work and moral excellence.” I scoffed knowing that I’ll graduate in a few weeks time and evaluating whether I fulfilled it or not - 50/50 I supposed. Just before I left my room, I grabbed my black leather satchel bag and my red tie.

When I finally went downstairs to the dining room, Jason threw something at me. I caught a small box in a silver gift wrap which I can already assumed it was a birthday present. “Happy birthday, Damien. You can open it now by the way,” he spoke nonchalantly when he busied himself preparing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I replied a thank you while I unwrapped the gift. It was a silver Cartier watch. “Damn, since when did he get the money to buy this watch?”

“It’s from mom, not me,” he suddenly answered, as if he heard my unspoken question. “Oh...her.” I thought.

My parents got a divorce when I was fifteen and Jason was thirteen. Mom was a workaholic so the court decided to let our dad take full custody of us. Since then, we spent our remaining youth with our dad instead and our mom moved to Paris. She worked as a fashion designer for some high end fashion brand and dad worked as a real estate agent. We rarely meet up with her since she lived in another continent but we still keep in touch through letters and calls.

I tried on the watch and it fitted perfectly. “Thanks, mom,” I thought. I put the box beside the family picture frames on the table in the hallway. I decided wearing it for school but I made sure I pulled my sleeve a bit, covering the watch from anyone’s sight.

I took a seat in a very spacious dining room with two big windows draped with red curtains. I scanned the variations of food served - Lucky Charms, eggs Benedict, bacon, toast and jams, mango juice and milk. I thought for a moment, then poured myself some milk in a bowlful of Lucky Charms and grabbed two slices of toast- spread with strawberry jam.

“Dad and Nina are planning to take us to dinner at Serendipity tonight,” Jason informed, breaking the silence. Nina’s our stepmom and she’s a few years younger than dad. He married her last year. She worked as a corporate lawyer but she planned to resign by the time Jason graduated high school. According to her, she wanted to take a break.

“Cool,” I mumbled.

“Dad can’t send us to school today. He left early to meet his client in Long Island and Nina’s had a fever since last night,” he added.

“Okay. Guess we have to take a cab.”

.....

“Happy birthday!” Nina passed me a birthday present. I unwrapped it and it was an old edition of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. I wasn’t surprised at all but I maintained my smile, not wanting to offend them.

I blew out the candles and wished for a scholarship. I was going to graduate in a few weeks and I already applied for several universities such as Yale, UCLA, Penn State as well as Princeton. I thought of majoring in Business, and the thought of having a scholarship would ease my dad’s financial burden - when then I realized he’s not in any trouble as a matter of fact.

Our family dinner went pleasant which comprised with salmon soaked in lemon and herbs as entree and a birthday cake with edible gold. We then went straight home because we’re too full that we ended up being sleepy. By the time we reached home, everyone started changing their outfits into their nightwear and went to sleep, including me.

...

That night, I had a dream but it was a blur. I couldn’t get a clear vision of what was going on except for a silhouette of a girl. She was sitting in a field of tulips. I heard her voice. It was soft but a little bit raspy like a soft cold Autumn breeze in the evening at a park. I couldn’t comprehend exactly what she said until this one clear sentence that she uttered.

“I want to meet you one day.”

And then I woke up.