Sounds and Visions
Wednesday, 2nd September 1970
Lots of screaming, people crying desperately, explosions that never seemed to be over, something that sounded like falling, and then…
He opened his eyes, in the middle of the dark. He could feel the tears on his eyelashes, and slowly running down his bronzed cheeks, while he was still laying down on his bed. His breath quickened a bit, breaking the perfect silence.
“Evan, are you fine?” Pandora asked from the top bunk bed.
When she didn’t get an answer, she bent over the edge of her bed, and she leaned out her head. Because of the little ray of sunlight that was entering through the window, she could see that her twin was crying.
“Oh, Evan, don’t cry.” The little girl said, with pity on her voice.
Evan just stared back at her sister. All her blond hair looked like a wavy waterfall, due to the fact that she was upside down. She was frowning, concerned.
“I’m fine.” He muttered.
“No, you’re clearly not. Hold on.” She disappeared, and jumped to the floor barefoot, ignoring the three-step staircase that she had on the left. “What happened?” She asked again, sitting on the edge of his mattress.
“You know what happened.” He groaned, without changing his position.
Pandora, silently, moved her hand slowly towards his shoulder, and squeezed it.
“What have you heard?” The girl whispered, choosing deliberately the words.
“I’ve heard…” He paused for a moment, blinking hard, trying to hold back the tears. “I’ve heard people screaming, and crying, and… explosions that kept going on and on and....” His voice broke, and the tears were falling again from his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Evan.” Her sister said, looking at him with watery eyes.
He just sat up, and hugged her, burying his head on her shoulder. He felt her warm skin, and her hand tracing little circles on his back, reassuringly.
“It’s ok.” Pandora whispered. “It’s over, now. You’re safe.”
They separated after a few minutes. Then, they glanced at each other, both looking at their dark brown eyes, which were identical.
“And… what did you see?” Evan asked, with a tremble on his voice.
Pandora’s mind went back to the flashing images of a narrow, charming street with little houses at each side, made of bricks and red rooftops. It was like a perfect fairy tale.
Then, a silhouette appeared, and with a quick movement of his wand, the explosions began. Smoke invaded the air, fire was everywhere, rooftops began to fall and people were on the street. Pandora couldn’t hear them, but their opened mouths and their eyes full of fear and tears, she knew that they were screaming and crying.
Just as Evan had described.
“It was a small street.” Pandora began, with a tiny voice. She started fidgeting with her hands. “And then, a silhouette appeared out of blue, and… it was all chaos.”
Her brother said nothing. He pulled her again in a tight hug. Now it was him who was trying to reassure her sister. Tears started running down Pandora’s cheeks without her permission.
“It’s fine, now.” She said, with a bitter laugh. “I’m fine.”
“But why does this keep happening?” Evan wondered, still hugging her.
“I don’t know.”
“We’ll have to figure it out. Together.”
“Yep. Together.” She agreed, hugging him stronger.
When they parted, they wiped their eyes at the same time. This made the little boys laugh a bit. That felt so good for them: laughing.
“Wanna go for breakfast?” Pandora suggested, with a little smile.
“Yeah, let’s go.” Evan nodded, mirroring her expression.
They put on their slippers. Evan’s were grey, and Pandora’s were light blue. With that, they headed to the kitchen, passing through the corridor. The green walls were mostly empty, except for a couple of ancestor’s portraits that were always sleeping, or screaming orders to everyone who passed in front of them.
“Backs straight, guys!” An old, bearded man yelled at the twins. They ignored him.
When they entered the kitchen, their dad was there, with a mug of coffee, reading the prophet. The front page said: ATTACKS ARE STILL HAPPENING. THE MINISTRY SAYS EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL.
When he heard the footsteps, the stocky man glanced at them, coldly.
“What happened, guys?” He asked, coldly.
“What do you mean?” Evan replied, barely above a whisper. His hands started shaking.
“I’ve heard you. Both of you, in your dorm.” He said, tightening his jaw. He fixed his eyes into Evan’s. “Merlin, Evan, have you really been crying?”
“No he hasn’t.” Pandora intervened, fidgeting with her hands at her back.
“Don’t lie, Pandora.” The man exclaimed.
The kitchen remained silent. Then, slowly, the stocky bald man stood up, and walked slowly towards his two sons. It looked like he occupied the whole room, from the white wooden floor to the brown ceiling. The little light bulb created a dark shadow on the floor, which was even scarier.
He stood in front of Pandora, who was still fidgeting nervously.
“You’re not going to tell more lies.” And with that, he shoved her against the wooden door frame.
The hard edge hammered on her back, but she contained a scream. She was used to it, by now.
“And you.” The man turned to Evan, with a wicked expression. “You’re going to learn how to behave like a man.” He hit him hard on the left side of his face.
Evan staggered, and had to lean on the door frame for not falling on the hard floor.
The man glanced at them one last time, before saying:
“I’m going to work. Behave well.”
The twins didn’t move. They heard their dad getting the keys, the door opening and then slam.
They didn’t speak for a bit; they didn’t bare to. It all had happened so fast that it was hard to process for two nine year old kids.
It always happened: when their father suspected something had happened about what the twins called “special condition,” he would just do that. He refused to believe that his kids were different, or nuts. Pandora and him once tried to explain their weird condition, but the situation ended up with him hitting them both, calling them “nutters.” He believed that violence was the best therapy.
Of course it wasn’t.
“Are you ok?” Pandora asked, looking at Evan, who was rubbing his face.
“Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “It’s not the first time.”
He felt the pain increasing for moments, and the tears threatened to appear again.
“No.” He thought. “Not now.” His dad’s words rang in his head. “Behave like a man.”
It was stupid, he knew that. But being stupid didn’t automatically mean it didn’t hurt you. It was like… Well, what was he supposed to do if he heard other people’s suffering, and you couldn’t do anything? It was stressful, it felt like drowning in agony.
He felt a little jerk on his hair.
“What’re you doing, Pandora?” He asked, reaching with his hands to his hair.
“I’ve put you a flower.” Pandora saw his puzzled expression. “You seemed upset.” She added, as if it was normal to give a flower to someone who was feeling blue.
Pandora planted her own flowers in a white flower pot she had by the kitchen window. At that moment, she was growing red dahlias.
Evan laughed a bit, and so Pandora did.
“I may look ridiculous.”
“No you don’t.” The little girl said. “You look fine.”
“Pff. Yeah, sure.” The little boy said, blanking his eyes.
“It’s true.” She protested, raising her eyebrows.
And they laughed again, feeling a bit more at ease, just as it always happened when they were the both of them alone.
They started toasting some bread for breakfast. The familiar scent started invading the kitchen. Without his dad, now it was a cozy environment, with Pandora’s flowers growing by the window, and the chairs with colourful cushions. Their dad didn’t mind all the colourful stuff if they cleaned the kitchen.
The little boy started looking out the window, at their little garden while he was waiting for his toasts. The grass was still a bit brown because of the summer, but now, in autumn, it was going to rain cats and dogs. He couldn’t wait to see the garden all green and muddy, with little droplets falling from the tree leaves, and the scent of humidity in the morning.
“I can’t wait to go to Hogwarts.” Evan said, suddenly.
Pandora remained in silence for a couple of seconds. She was watering her dahlias with a small cup of tea.
“Me too.” She agreed, in a monotone voice.
- · · · · · · ·
13:30 pm
The twins could see a column of grey smoke in the north, at the distance.
They were sitting on the bench in front of their little house, under the sunlight. Their feet didn’t touch the ground, so they were swinging them.
“Do you think that’s…?”
“What we saw and heard?” Pandora cut him. “Yeah, I think so.”
They both trembled. They knew what was happening: an absolute chaos of explosions, people running desperately, trying to save their lives… It was terrible.
“Do you think they will get him?” Pandora asked. “I hope so.”
“I don’t think that will happen.” The little boy said.
“Why not?” She frowned, and turned to him.
“Damage is done. And the ministry says everything’s fine. You saw it in the Daily Prophet.”
“Right.” Pandora whispered.
They remained in silence. In their street, everything was perfect: the sun was shining in the blue sky, the houses looked perfect, with shining and novel cars. Someone was whistling a song, completely oblivious of what was going on a few miles away.
“Pandora, you’re smart. Why do you think this happens to us?”
“The visions and all that stuff?” She frowned again. “I’ve told you this morning that I don’t know.”
“Yeah, but…” He needed to know it, to stop all that anxiety forever.
“Evan.” Pandora looked at him with reassuring eyes. “We’ll find out, ok?”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
They interlaced their bronzed little pinkies, and smiled bitterly at each other.