Finding Ourselves.

The room was bathed in a pale, deceptive calm. Moonlight filtered through the high glass windows, casting long, peaceful shadows across the hardwood floor. ​Underneath that silence, something was horribly wrong. ​Deep below the floorboards, a quiet vibration hummed. Plumes of thick gray smoke began to curl through the floor vents, followed by the muffled chaos of shouting voices, heavy thuds, and the unmistakable, terrifying crackle of hungry flames. ​Elaine was the first to wake. ​She shifted on her mattress, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Then, in an instant, her eyes shot wide open. ​Crack. ​The sound was too close. The air in the bedroom was turning thick, heavy with the scent of burning wood and ozone. Elaine sat up and looked across the room. There, in the opposite bed, lay her identical twin sister, Eleanor, sleeping blissfully with her favorite worn teddy bear tucked under her arm. ​Outside the window, the night sky was dark, but the ground below glowed a fierce, flickering orange. ​Panic surged through six-year-old Elaine, but she forced her little feet to hit the floor. She rushed across the cool floorboards and grabbed Eleanor by the shoulders, shaking her awake. ​Eleanor rubbed her eyes with a fist, clutching her teddy bear tightly. "What's going on, Elaine?" she asked, her voice small and heavy with sleep. ​"Hold on. I don't know yet," Elaine whispered, her heart hammering against her ribs. ​Elaine threw open the window, and a wave of intense heat and noise slammed into her face. The courtyard below was pure chaos. Guards in dark suits were yelling, some holding handguns, others frantically trying to drag water hoses toward the lower level of the mansion. The fire was roaring, devouring the ground floor and blocking all the main exits. ​Someone in the courtyard looked up and caught sight of the small face in the second-story window. ​"Oh my god! The young mistresses!" a maid screamed, her voice cracking with terror. "They’re still upstairs! The fire has cut off the staircase!" ​Panicked shouting erupted below. Guards rushed toward the building, but the heat was too intense, driving them back. ​Elaine didn't freeze. She swept her eyes across the perimeter. A massive oak tree stood a few yards away, its thick branches extending toward the balcony, but it was too far for a six-year-old to jump safely. Looking down, she saw the panicked crowd below. ​"Bring a pad!" Elaine yelled down at the top of her lungs, her voice cutting through the noise. "Bring a mattress! A floater! Under the window, now!" ​Her authority startled the frantic guards below. Recognizing the danger, two guards sprinted toward the pool deck, grabbing a heavy, thick safety floater cushion and dragging it directly under the window ledge, as close to the flames as they could stand. ​Elaine turned to her twin. Eleanor’s eyes were wide with terror as she looked at the roaring drop below. ​"Eleanor, listen to me," Elaine said, her hands grasping Eleanor’s arms tightly. "Don't open your eyes. You're going to jump, okay? Just close your eyes and jump." ​Eleanor trembled, squeezing her teddy bear to her chest. She closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and started to count under her breath. ​"One... two... three—" ​Eleanor leaped into the open air. But as she launched off the ledge, Elaine saw her sister's trajectory—she was falling short. She wasn't going to make the floater; she was going to hit the burning concrete. ​Without thinking, Elaine reached out and gave Eleanor a sharp, desperate push from behind, giving her the extra momentum she needed. ​Eleanor sailed through the air and landed with a heavy thud right in the center of the padded floater below. ​From the window, Elaine closed her eyes, letting out a single breath of relief. She’s safe. ​CRACK-BOOM. ​The floor beneath Elaine jolted violently. She spun around just in time to see her bed collapse into the fiery abyss of the room directly below. Thick embers shot into the air, singing her skin. ​There was no time left. ​Elaine took one final, deep breath, stepped onto the window sill, and threw her body toward the nearest oak branch. Her small fingers brushed the rough bark, but the angle was wrong—the branch slipped from her grip. ​She was falling. ​The wind rushed past her ears, and for a terrifying second, six-year-old Elaine thought her life was over. ​THUMP. ​She hit the very edge of the safety pad, nearly rolling off onto the hard ground, but the impact broke her fall. Gasping for air, bruised and scraped, Elaine scrambled to her feet instantly. She didn't check herself for injuries. She sprinted straight to Eleanor, throwing her arms around her twin and pulling her close. ​"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Elaine asked breathlessly. Then she grabbed the nearest guard by his suit jacket, her small eyes fierce. "Where are my parents? Where’s Mom and Dad? Are they inside? Please tell me they aren't inside!" ​"They’re not here, Miss Elaine!" the guard stammered, wiping ash from his face. "They went out for dinner! We called them as soon as the ambush started—they’re on their way back right now! They’ll be here soon!" ​Before Elaine could ask anything else, a muffled vibration hummed in her pajamas pocket. ​She reached in and pulled out her tiny cell phone. The screen lit up with her mother’s caller ID. Elaine pressed accept and shoved the phone to her ear. ​"Mom? Mom!" ​Over the speaker came the sound of ragged, heavy breathing, accompanied by the muffled roar of an engine and distant gunfire. ​"Elaine... oh god, Elaine, I'm so sorry," her mother’s voice sobbed, trembling with raw horror. ​"Mom, what's happening? Where are you?" ​"We got ambushed..." Her mother let out a choked cry. "Your dad... your dad is gone, Elaine. He’s gone. I don't know what to do... they're still behind me—" ​"Who are they, Mom?!" Elaine screamed, tears blurring her vision. "Who is after you?!" ​"You can't know... you're too young to know, baby. When you grow older... find—" ​BANG. ​Static hissed over the receiver. The call went dead. ​"Mom? Mom!" Elaine shrieked, pressing the phone harder against her ear as if she could pull her mother back through the signal. "Where are you?! Just drop your location! Someone will find you! Mom, please answer me! Mom, please! I'm begging you!" ​Her hysterical screams echoed off the burning walls of the estate. ​Behind her, Eleanor stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Elaine’s trembling waist, burying her face in her twin’s back as the flames roared higher into the night sky, swallowing their home—and their childhood—whole.