So Long, Astoria

So Long, Astoria

At least it was warm that night...Of course it was; if it had been cold, my sister wouldn't have left then. Far too impractical. There was always the possibility of having to sleep outside.

I sighed, shaking the hair from my eyes and staring up into the cloudless, starry night. I was leaning against our gutter, just outside the range of the motion sensing light. It had been something like an hour since I first went outside. Waiting. Always. It seems even now that waiting is all I do. That's alright though; someone's got to do it.

After what seemed like forever I heard the soft click of the front door being shut. Sneakers shuffling across thick green grass. My thick green grass. I love taking care of the lawn, one of the few things I love anymore. Ask any of the old ladies on our street and they'll tell you that the Deccas have the best lawn in the whole neighborhood. No one else seems to care about it much. Thinking these thoughts, I almost smiled in spite of myself before remembering what was happening. I watched her habitually sidestep the security light and stop on the sidewalk, checking for cars. At this time of night? Come on Eilene.

She was tense in the orange glow of the lamplight; so unlike herself. That scared me more than anything.

"Astoria."

She didn't jump at the sound of my voice. Had she known I was there? Astoria turned slowly to face me, and I was sure I would see some form of agitation on her face. All I could find was weariness.

"Hey," she smiled a three-in-the-morning smile. "come into the light, Brother." The term rolled so naturally off her tounge, and my love for her punched my throat, laughing.

Astoria even looked like some kind of hippie. A carefully faded gray Mickey Mouse hoodie, old baggy jeans, ancient shoes
("My shoes and my feet are old lovers." she laughed, slipping them on and lacing them carefully.)
that gave in to the odd shape of her feet. Her eyes were alert and tired. A hippie ready to move. Ready to get the hell out of here. I obeyed her, stepped away from the house as she floated towards me. We met in the darkness between us, all smiles gone.

"What's going on?" I demanded, keeping my tone even. She thought for a minute, although I could tell she already knew what she was going to say.
"Olivander," she started. "I..."
"Well?"

I was losing it. She was leaving me. y twin sister Astoria was running away and had no intention of taking me with her. What had I done to make her so upset?
"Something's happening." she said finally. "It's got something to do with us. All of us. You and me, Molly, Morty.." She shook her head and waved her hands, reaching for more names. "Uncle Fred, everyone. I want answers and I can't find them here... I have to go Olivander, but-"
"And you weren't even going to tell me goodbye?!" Hated tears burned my eyes and I instinctively lowered my head, my hair covering my face. I could hear her breath catch and knew I was hurting her. Good. I wanted to hurt her.
"You decide to completely abandon me in this hellhole in the middle of the night to go in search of 'answers'?!"
Now I could hear her sniffing in the shadows and hated myself.

"Olivander I-!"
"Where are you even going to go?" I ran a hand through my hair, looking up and trying in vain to catch my breath. A cool Octobet breeze teased the sunbleached pinwheels stuck in the lawn and shivered through leaves on bushed and trees. How could such earthly noises occour during such an event? Didn't they understand what was happening? There was no other noise until Astoria replied sometime later.

"I..I don't know." her voice was high and thin, and I felt like dying. As far as I know I'm one of perhaps three people in the whole world who could make my sister cry. One of the three who would kill to make sure she didn't. I wanted so much to embrace her, make her feel better. But what could I do? "Like I said, there are a lot of people involved in this....Someone will help me.." We both knew how convincing that sounded. The thought of my Astoria miles from home, at the mercy of complete strangers almost made me sick.
"So you're going to demand room and board from possible ax murderers?" She shook her head at me, and for some reason I was reminded of how late it was. Checking one of my watches confirmed the time to be two-thirty.

"Please. Olivander, just trust me. You know I don't do things like this without a good reason." I felt more tears slide shamefully down my face as I realized there was absolutely nothing I could do. Astoria was stubborn, and she'd made up her mind.
"B-But you promised.." I whined. A feeble last resort, holding up my left arm. I felt like such a child standing there, sobbing to my sister like I was three. She was only older by five minutes, but she had always been the stronger one. Always in control. Always covering for her stupid obsessive-compulsive screw up of a brother.

She hiccuped as she drew back the sleeve around her right hand. On the back of her wrist, just next to a round knob of bone ws a neat circle scarred into the skin. I had a messier A etched on my left wrist, covered by a watchband.

"I know I did. And I meant it." Exasperated, I shook myself.
"Obviously not, since you're leaving. Do you not get that I can't function correctly without you taking care of me?"
Astoria looked at me sterny, swiping at her face. She had a hold on herself now.
"Listen to me. I'm coming back, Olivander. This is hard for me too-"
"Enough for you to stay?"
"but it needs to be done. This is bigger than we are, and I can't let something as silly and selfish as missing you and the guys hold me from my job."
"Job?" I crossed my arms. "What job?" She sighed and put her hands on my shoulders and I knew I wouldn't get an answer.
"I have to go." she said again. "I'll send you messages when I can, you'll know them when you see them." She hugged me suddenly and we both started snivelling again. Not as much as before though. I held her tightly and listened to her watch tick at me until she let me go.
"Love you." she said. I wondered if I'd ever see her again.
"Love you too, Astoria." My sister turned away quickly, walking briskly into the road. "Please be careful."
She didn't turn.

"I will."
After crossing to the other side she started running. I watched her until she turned a corner, then turned back and walked into the house.