Mated to My Twin Brother

were on me, a constant reminder of the pressure that she placed upon my shoulders. It had become an obsession for her this search for my sister and I knew all too well the weight of

my sister after so many disappointments, yet a part of me still ached with desires for that lost bond. "Yeah, just like the last girl who came here and you thought was Hannah? How many times are you going to get our hopes up only to be wrong again?" I let my bitterness seep into my words. The cycle of hope and disappointment had become all too familiar. Maxine flinched at my words; it was almost palpable, her pain, reminding me of how far apart we had grown. I knew the sting of memory from a past failure still burned, but to me, it was hard to look past an obsession that had overshadowed it all. "I need to rest, Mom," I said all of a sudden, cutting her off. "I've been training hard for the final exams; I have no time for this now." Her expression changed from sadness to frustration. "You don't care about your sister, do you?" Her voice choked in hurt. I shrugged, indifferent-sounding. "I'll see her later, Mom. Right now, I need to rest." Maxine's shoulders sagged, then turned to go. Her heart was heavy with her concern, and I knew from her desire for this reunion, it would bridge the gap between us. It felt as if it were pushing us farther away from each other instead. Her parting words were a last wish, a request wrapped in finality. She spoke softly, "Don't let the day end without seeing her. She needs to remember her childhood to confirm that it's her. Hadzen, she's different from the rest. This is a time for us to celebrate." "Alright, Mom, I will see her later," I said with a voice empty of conviction, only because I'd had to say something. As Maxine went out, I was standing in the hall, battling a perfect storm of contradictory feelings. Unending searches for my sister, the false leads, all that had finally reduced me to an afterthought. In some ways, it was as if I had been made invisible, backgrounded by the increasing obsession in my mother's head. Hours passed, and long after the sun had gone down, I made my way out of the room. I'd thought a few times about diving off the balcony, but a guard on the ground below had stayed that urge. The more subversive option