Twin Flowers, Sisters
Part One
“Yuanna, Yuanna, do you think there will be a sister who will hold my hand in this world?”
“Yuanna, Yuanna, do you think there will be a sister who will protect me when I’m hurt?”
“Yuanna, Yuanna, wouldn’t you want such a sister? She could protect you too.”
Kumquat Sister, we must be best sisters for a lifetime. We are twin flowers.
Jasmine often asked while holding Yuanna’s hand, “Yuanna, do you want a sister? I kind of do, one who would protect me.” Each time, Yuanna would just smile gently and pat Jasmine’s head, saying, “Then I’ll be your sister.” And Jasmine’s joyful laughter would follow, delightful and clear.
Jasmine didn’t know that the word “sister” had become Yuanna’s deepest scar. She didn’t know when Yuanna started staring at the sky absentmindedly. She didn’t know when Yuanna began waiting at the station for her sister Kumquat.
She didn’t know when Yuanna became more and more distant. Sister, when will you return to my life? When will you protect me when I’m hurt? I’ve waited so long, why haven’t you come back? Did I make you angry?
After Yuanna snapped out of her long daze, Jasmine was staring at her blankly. “Yuanna, do you have such a sister? One who protects you when you’re hurt, comforts you, stands up for you when you’re laughed at, and stays with you always.
Not a close friend but a sister, the kind of emotional bond. I really want such a sister, but I don’t want you to be my sister, Yuanna. You’re my lifelong best friend. We must be twin flowers entwined together, from birth to death, holding hands until dawn.”
Yuanna, my dear, we must be twin flowers, from birth to death, together.
Yuanna, my dear, we must be lifelong best friends, inseparable sisters.
Yuanna, my dear, let’s not be best friends, let’s be sisters, very close sisters.
Thoughts seemed to drift back to that summer years ago, Jasmine’s words gradually becoming distant as clear memory fragments with a tinge of sadness surfaced.
Yuanna was always a cheerful and mischievous child. So, when her parents introduced her to the obedient Kumquat sister, Yuanna generously gave all her toys to Kumquat and blinked, saying, “These are the toys my parents gave me. They always buy me toys because they don’t have time to spend with me.” Yuanna felt that the words “father” and “mother” were much more distant and unfamiliar than “mom” and “dad.”
Kumquat merely smiled slightly and placed a candy in Yuanna’s hand, a butterfly-shaped candy that looked delicious. But Yuanna didn’t eat it. She just pursed her lips, looking at Kumquat with a playful and mature glint in her eyes, asking, “Do you mean I should use candy to fill the emptiness inside me?”
Kumquat removed the blue candy wrapper and placed it over Yuanna’s eyes, saying, “This way, the world you see will be colorful.” Kumquat’s voice was sweet and pleasant, and Yuanna felt the warmth of a sister for the first time.
From that day on, Yuanna began to rely on her sister Kumquat, who was two years older. Kumquat would laugh and say Yuanna was a bad kid who cried when she left the house. But even so, Kumquat liked Yuanna, this girl with a unique perspective.
Yuanna once said, “Kumquat sister is the brightest color in my life, lighting up my world.” Each time, Kumquat would just laugh and say nothing, looking into the distance.
Kumquat liked holding Yuanna’s hand, walking through the streets and alleys. She liked Yuanna’s smiling face. She liked spending dull afternoons with Yuanna. With Yuanna, the emptiness in Kumquat’s heart would be filled with vibrant colors. Kumquat once said, “Yuanna, you’re a crybaby. You cry whenever you’re hurt.” Then she added, “Yuanna, from now on, I’ll protect you so you won’t get hurt.” Yuanna clearly heard it as a statement, not a question, and she nodded without hesitation, saying, “Okay, okay.”
Maybe it was from that day that Kumquat started protecting Yuanna, not letting her get hurt. Each time, Yuanna would smile silently, but her heart would be filled with joy. The sun shone brightly, casting fragmented light on Kumquat’s hair.
Yuanna shook her head, looking at Kumquat, smiling, “Sister, what flower am I? They all say I’m a poison rose.” Kumquat looked up at the clear blue sky and said without thinking, “Twin flower.” Her eyes were clear, with Yuanna’s sorrowful face reflected in her brown-black pupils.
“Why?” Yuanna pouted, looking at Kumquat, her voice faint and distant, as if coming from the other shore. Kumquat’s eyes darkened, and she slowly spoke, “Because we are twin flowers, born together, dying together. So beautiful, so sad.”
Yuanna looked up, carefully observing the beautiful and sorrowful woman before her, her eyes clear and stubborn, like the blue sky. She let out a pleasant laugh, “Haha, then we must be twin flowers for life.” Kumquat said nothing, just shook her head as usual, her smile both blurred and clear, her laughter echoing in Yuanna’s ears. Yuanna smiled softly, unwilling to break the brief tranquility.
Part Two
“Sister, is our lifetime just a distant moment?”
Kumquat haughtily flicked her hair, the scent of jasmine flowers filling the air. Her smile became clearer, yet more mature and warm. Yuanna looked at Kumquat pleadingly, biting her lip hard, her voice becoming distant and unfamiliar, no longer innocent and naive, but gradually replaced by a hint of allure, “Are you leaving? When will you come back?”
“Soon.”
Yuanna wanted to ask how soon, but she didn’t. She kept her lips tightly shut, thinking there was nothing more to say as the ending was already like this. So, when Kumquat finally left, Yuanna didn’t shed a single tear. She knew Kumquat would come back, would return with that familiar smile, telling her, “Yuanna, I missed you so much.” She would, she would come back.
“But my sister, I’ve waited for you for five years.”
“Sister, come back and protect me, please? I miss you.”
“But Kumquat sister, I really miss you. Why haven’t you come back?”
The memories ended. Yuanna slowly opened her eyes, large swathes of sunlight pouring in, so dazzling. Jasmine’s voice echoed faintly in her ears, empty, “Actually, I really want such a sister. But I’ve waited so long, and she hasn’t come. Hey, Yuanna, do you have such a sister? Yuanna…”
“Sister, I’ve always missed you.”
Yuanna smiled faintly, saying nothing, but the tears at the corner of her eyes were so evident, so lonely. Jasmine stared blankly, gently wiping away Yuanna’s tears, “Yuanna, you’re crying.” Yuanna said nothing, just wiped away the tears, her eyes as stubborn as ever, though they had lost some of their innocence and pride, “Jasmine, I’m not crying.”
Yes, Jasmine, I’m not crying. Sister, I won’t cry for you, because it would make your heart ache too.
“Yuanna…” Jasmine complained, looking at Yuanna with a smile as clear as a kitten’s eyes, like the old Yuanna, “Did you hear me? I said, I want a sister, a very nice, refreshing sister, beautiful and kind, who can protect me…”
“Yuanna, I’ll protect you from now on.”
“Yuanna, be good. I’ll love you when you’re hurt.”
“Yuanna, remember, we are twin flowers, blooming together, dying together.”
Part Three
Yuanna started looking up at the sky, finally understanding why Kumquat said the sky was the smile of an angel from the other shore. The sky could hold many of our lost dreams, including you, my Kumquat sister.
Yuanna smiled faintly, as if her old innocence had returned to her. Sister, if possible, let me see your face once more, okay? Sister, I miss you…
Sister, what we thought was forever is actually just cherishing the present.
Postscript: I don’t know if you like this story. I’ve always wanted a sister who could protect me and give me warmth when I’m hurt. I guess I’ll fulfill this wish in my writing. That’s why I started writing this piece. I still don’t know what to call it, so let’s call it “Twin Flowers, Sisters.” Twin flowers, sister flowers, so beautiful. Blooming so beautifully and sadly.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
