Chapter 2
1667 Words
Four years later, at Farm of Love
A shop consisting of two shipping containers decorated in a farmhouse style. On the left side is a coffee shop, and a small snack counter using produce from the farm as ingredients. In the middle, there are four or five sets of matching umbrellas and chairs. On the right side, there is a shelf displaying fresh farm produce, including vegetables and fruits.
The farm and shop are run by two siblings, Adam and Amira, who have worked together to make the farm well-known, as they took over from their parents, who are getting older.
On the day Amira returned from New York after graduating, even though she had secured a job she applied for, she suddenly came back home to North Carolina, saying that the job might not be suitable for her. Just three months later, Amira started feeling faint frequently.
When they took her to the doctor, they found out that his sister was pregnant. No matter how much they pressured her, Amira wouldn't reveal who the father was. In the end, when it was clear that she intended to keep the baby, no one objected.
They knew that if she made a different decision, the one who would be most heartbroken would be the slender figure herself. And on the day they went for a prenatal check-up, the Benneth family realized they had made the right decision to let her keep the baby because there were two tiny lives inside her.
***
Returning to the present…
“Mommy Amira, please help Aiden,” the voice of her son from the front of the shop made Amira quickly put down what she was doing and turn to look at another little one sitting next to a basket of vegetables and fruits.
“Dear, stay with Uncle Adam for a moment, okay? Mommy is going to check on Aiden first.”
“Aiden, what's wrong, dear?” Amira, a sweet-faced 28-year-old woman, hurried out to the front of the shop following her son's call.
“Aiden found this elderly lady sitting in front of the shop. She looks very pale,” said Aiden, who was just over three years old, shaking his mother's hand as he spoke.
“Let mommy check on the lady first, okay?” Hearing her son, Amira quickly went to check on the elderly woman sitting pale in front of the shop, before softly asking,
“Auntie, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Dear, could you get some aromatic inhalant or smelling salts for an old woman?” asked Mrs. Benneth, turning to the voice and asking for medicine with a trembling voice.
“Sure, please come inside the shop first. It's very hot outside today,” Amira replied before assisting the elderly woman to stand and leading her into the shop.
“Adam, Adam, do we have any aromatic inhalant in the shop?” Once inside, Amira led the elderly woman to sit on a chair in the coolest part of the shop, before going to her brother who was busy arranging fruits.
"Aromatic medicine, huh? I'm not sure. Check the medicine cabinet at the back, Amira," Adam said while arranging things, with another small child handing him items.
"Thank you, Little Aiden," Adam said, accepting the item from his nephew and then reaching out to tousle the light-colored hair, which likely came from the father, as his sister's hair was jet black.
"Granny, here's a cold towel. Hold on for Mom Amira for a bit."
"And here's some water." The small hands that kept handing things over made Mrs. Benneth smile at the cuteness before she looked at the person in front of her, intrigued.
"Am I seeing things? He looks just like young Ace, with the same hair and eye color."
"What's your name, little guy?" Mrs. Benneth asked softly, reaching out to take both the cold towel and the glass of water from the child in front of her.
"I'm Aiden," he replied, smiling at the person in front of him before pointing to another small child sitting not far away.
"And that's Aaron, my younger brother," Mrs. Benneth looked up following the small finger pointing, and her eyes widened when she saw the other child look up at the same time.
"Twins?" Mrs. Benneth accidentally exclaimed loudly.
"Yes, they're twins," Amira answered, handing over a glass of aromatic medicine before turning to tell her eldest son to help his uncle with the arrangements.
"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Benneth said, reaching out to take the glass of aromatic medicine and sipping it.
"By the way, are you a tourist, ma'am?"
"No, dear. I came to see them renovating the garden house. It's right next to your farm."
"Oh, the farm next door," the slender figure murmured softly.
"The Benneth’s Farm."
"I don't come often, so I wanted to look around the farm, but I didn't expect the sun to be this strong," Mrs. Benneth said with a smile, making Amira understand that the person in front of her might not know that the midday weather here is hotter than usual.
"Then sip the aromatic medicine and take a rest for a bit."
"Uh, does anyone know you came out here alone?" Amira asked out of concern, considering the distance from that farm to this one isn't short for someone of her age.
"There are kids at the house. Actually, I'm planning to move here permanently, so, uh," Mrs. Benneth looked up before speaking softly.
"I understand. Then please rest comfortably, ma'am. If anyone comes looking for you, I'll let you know," Amira said before going back to arranging things.
"Hi there," Mrs. Benneth greeted the little one who suddenly walked over and handed her an orange but said nothing.
"Is that Aaron?" Mrs. Benneth asked while reaching out to receive the orange from the little boy.
"Is this for grandma?"
"Yes," the little boy replied softly before walking back to his uncle.
"Why do I feel so strange? My heart is racing, and I feel strangely excited," Mrs. Benneth murmured softly, placing her hand on her chest, puzzled by her own feelings.
"No matter how I look at him, he resembles someone so much, it's surprising," the elderly woman thought to herself.
"Aaron, go wash your hands. Your Mom will take you to eat lunch," Adam instructed the boy, noticing that Aaron was still busy arranging the oranges and guavas. He could only shake his head because this nephew spoke very little, unlike his brother, who was chatty and easily got along with people.
The younger one, Adam described him as a true "tiger who rarely smiles." If it wasn't something he liked, you wouldn't often see a smile from this little one.
Ever since his sister brought the twins to the shop, customers who met the twins often took pictures and posted them on social media, making the shop more popular. Now that the twins are growing up and can do many things on their own, even their mother, who was initially skeptical, began to believe what she saw.
When she took them for vaccinations at two years old, the doctor recommended an IQ test for the twins because they appeared more mature than their age, and their speech was more advanced than other children their age.
The results showed that both had higher IQs than average children, but it wasn't alarming, which was a relief to their mother.
On one hand, she thought the older twin probably inherited traits from her sister, but the younger one seemed to take after their father instead. Yet, even now, Amira has never mentioned anything about the twins' father.
"Adam… Adam…"
"Huh? Oh, Amira, what's up?"
"I noticed you standing still," Amira said, looking at him curiously.
"Oh, I was just lost in thought. Do you need anything?" Adam asked, lifting an empty basket.
"I'm going to drive Auntie to the farm next door. She doesn't seem to be in good shape," Amira said, glancing at the elderly woman quietly sipping her herbal drink.
"Hmm, go ahead. It doesn't seem right to let her go back by herself," Amira, after informing her brother, walked over to the elderly woman sitting alone again.
"Auntie, I'll give you a ride to the farm," Amira said softly as she approached.
"No need, dear. I can make it back on my own. I feel better after the herbal drink," Mrs. Benneth replied with a smile.
"Let my Mom take you there, Mrs. Benneth. In this weather, I don't think you'll manage to walk there," Adam, who overheard the elderly woman, chimed in.
"Sigh, then I'll trouble you, dear," Mrs. Benneth said, giving in to the reasoning of the two siblings in front of her.
"Twins, Mommy Amira is going to take the aunt to the neighboring farm. Stay with Uncle Adam for a little while, okay?" Amira said as she grabbed the car keys from the coffee counter and turned to tell the twins who were watching cartoons on the recliner nearby.
"We want to go too," they both said in unison, making their mother raise an eyebrow in surprise because usually, if they're watching cartoons, they wouldn't ask to go out.
"Hmm?"
"We want to go too," they both said, then turned off the iPad and led their mother. Adam was surprised to see his nephews taking the lead and gave his sister a questioning glance.
Amira just shook her head, as the twins usually didn't act this way. Adam could only smile in response.
"Oh, Aiden and Aaron, where are you going?" Mrs. Benneth was surprised to see the twins standing before her.
"We're going with Mom too," Aaron replied, reaching out to take the elderly woman's wrinkled hand. Amira was speechless, especially since it was the younger one who spoke.
"Alright, alright, let's all go together," Mrs. Benneth said, feeling inexplicably happy when the twins reached out to hold her hand.
- Writer
