Prologue
1003 Words
Val’s P.O.V.
We were three siblings, raised by our mother alone. Our father had abandoned us when our youngest sibling was still an infant, leaving my twin sister, Ava, and me to grow up far too quickly. Life had never been kind to us. We had to drop out of school, sacrificing our futures to help our mother survive. While she worked long hours, it was up to us to care for our two-year-old sister, Devi.
Some nights, I lay awake, staring at the cracked ceiling of our small house, wondering if there was any way out of this endless struggle. Was there a way to break free from the crushing weight on my shoulders? I felt like I was drowning, suffocating in a life that offered no escape.
But what weighed on me most was Ava. My twin sister, my other half—or at least, she should have been. Instead, she felt like a prison warden, keeping me locked inside a life I never asked for. She controlled everything I did, dictating where I could go, who I could talk to, and what I was allowed to think. She never let me out of her sight, and worst of all, she refused to explain why.
"Where do you think you're going this time?" Ava's voice was sharp, cutting through my thoughts like a blade. She blocked the doorway, arms crossed over her chest, eyes dark with something I couldn’t understand.
I exhaled sharply, throwing my bag onto the rattan chair. "Ava, it’s the middle of the day. The sun is shining. I just want to go outside, breathe some fresh air. I am not a prisoner!" My voice cracked, betraying the frustration and exhaustion I had bottled up for too long.
"You don’t understand! It’s not safe out there!" she snapped, stepping closer as if to physically stop me.
I clenched my fists. "I am not a child, Ava! You can’t keep me locked up forever! Why do you do this?! Why do you treat me like I'm some fragile thing that needs protecting?!"
Her grip tightened around my wrist. "Because you don’t see what I see. You don’t know what’s waiting for you out there. I am trying to keep you alive, Val!"
I wrenched my arm free, my breath coming in short, angry bursts. "You're suffocating me! Can’t you see that?! This isn’t protection! This is control!"
Ava's face twisted with hurt, but just as quickly, she masked it with cold indifference. "Fine. Go. But don’t come crawling back when things fall apart. When everything we’ve been running from finally catches up to you."
Her words sent a chill down my spine, but I ignored it. "Tell me the truth, Ava. Who are you really? Because you’re not just my sister. You act like… like you know something I don’t. Something you refuse to tell me."
For a brief moment, something flickered in her eyes. Fear. But just as quickly, it was gone. "You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you."
"Try me."
She hesitated. And then, she said the words that made my stomach twist into knots.
"I am you, and you are me."
I stepped back as my breath hitched. "That doesn’t make sense."
"It will, one day." She turned away from me, staring out the window where the thin, tattered curtain barely shielded us from the outside world. "But I just hope, by then, it won’t be too late."
Before I could respond, a small voice interrupted us.
"Ate? Are you and Ate Ava fighting again?" Devi stood in the doorway, her tiny hands clutching the hem of her oversized shirt. Her eyes, wide and innocent, darted between us.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and forced a smile. "No, Devi. We’re just talking, that’s all. Go eat and then take a nap, okay?"
Ava didn't say another word. She just grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward our room.
"Let go of me!" I hissed. "You’re hurting me!"
She released me immediately, but her expression was unreadable. "Do you see that?" she asked, pointing toward the window.
"See what? The prison you made for me?" I said bitterly.
"No," she whispered. "The prison I made for myself."
I froze. "Ava—"
"I did everything to keep you safe, Val. And yet, you hate me for it." She let out a shaky breath. "I wish you would believe me. But you won’t, not until you see it with your own eyes."
A sudden loud knock on the door made us both tense. Our mother entered, looking exhausted, her eyes filled with worry.
"Are you two fighting again? I just got home from work, and this is what I come home to? When will you stop this?"
"We’re not fighting, Mom," Ava answered quickly.
I clenched my jaw. "I'm done. I can’t take this anymore."
Before anyone could stop me, I turned on my heel and ran out of the house.
"Val! Come back!" my mother called after me.
Ava’s voice was desperate. "Val, it’s dangerous! Please, don’t do this!"
But I didn’t stop. I just wanted to escape—even for a moment.
And then, out of nowhere, a man stepped in front of me.
He was short, stocky, and unfamiliar. Something about him sent an immediate chill through my body.
"Val! Stay away from him!" Ava screamed.
I barely had time to react before she pushed me aside, shielding me from the man. I hadn’t even noticed the knife in his hand until it gleamed under the streetlight.
"Run, Val!" she yelled, gripping his arm to stop him.
My mother was suddenly beside me, pulling me back. "Go inside!"
"Ava!" I sobbed as the man kicked her, sending her sprawling onto the pavement.
My mother turned to face the attacker, her voice filled with fury. "You won’t hurt my children!"
But she wasn’t fast enough.
The blade flashed again. And this time, it buried itself deep into her side.
"Mama!! NO!"
- Writer
