The Chosen Pair

She looked out over the porch while holding her morning coffee, occasionally taking a sip, but rather taking comfort in its warmth. Now her mornings always seemed to devolve into worrying in the depths of her own mind. As she sat quietly watching the early spring morning unfold in front of her with its undeniable chill yet uniquely fresh earthy scent, she couldn't help but resent the subtleties of the seasons. This time last year she had her family, whole and unbroken, but presently only grief remains in the place of the love and warmth that she could once feel in her heart. Sylvia has been living with her brother Caiden since the death of their parents. They were killed by those who have been hunting their family since Sylvia was a child, they have been running for just about twenty-years . Today is Caiden's seventeenth birthday, which is now a bittersweet affair. Sylvia and Caiden have continued to run since the death of their parents despite their despair. "Sylvia?" Caiden whispers. "Yes! What's wrong?" " You seemed, I don't know, distant. I wanted to check on you before we needed to leave. I know you like to keep things on schedule." He said. "You're right. I am a bit distracted, we should have been on the road half an hour ago. Grab your bag, we'll leave in five-minutes ." Sylvia, squeezing her hands around the, now, cold mug took one last look at the forest and begrudgingly stood up. Her body stiff, from sitting so long, protests but she forces it to move as normally as she can manage and heads inside to drop the mug in the sink and grab her bag.