by Nancy Gaskin
The Twins
For some time after that they sat in silence just looking at each other, but their father knew they were not silent at all, they were doing what only twins could do and that was mind speak. He went and sat on one of the lounges and made himself comfortable for the wait, resting his head against a soft feather filled pillow. The twins sat facing each other ‘so we can speak to each other and others can’t hear us?’ asked Dagmar incredulously ‘not from what I have been told because of my grandmother Lillianna. Oh no let me correct that my foster grandmother. That just does NOT sound right!’ replied Ragnar, drowning deeply. The girl reached out and touched his hand, he opened his fingers and they sat with their fingers entwined ‘Niamh has been like a mother to you and Lillianna has been your grandmother and THAT will never change Ragnar. The ONLY thing that has changed is that we have found our other half!’ said the girl ‘this feels very strange I must say, to talk to you and not move my lips and to feel complete for the first time in my life’ the boy nodded ‘I know! It does feel strange BUT in a good way and yes you are right they have been there and they WILL be there. Our mother is in the Summerlands and I am sure this is what she would have wanted. I was surprised when I was introduced to our father and I did have a hard time accepting that he was not in the Summerlands with mother BUT it is nice to have a blood father.’ Both stopped and turned around. On the lounge resting on an ornate pillow was their father, fast asleep and snoring slightly. They nearly burst out laughing, clamping their hands over their mouths to stop any of it from escaping. The twins decided that they should go somewhere one of their rooms so that Titania and Oberon could have their room back.
The children walked into the garden and bade the adult’s good night, warning them that their father was asleep on one of the lounges. Titania and Oberon gave the twins hugs and kisses and reminded them not to stay up too late, then turned and went to their room. Ragnar suggested his room, as it was a little closer. He took his twins hand and led the way, they arrived at large double doors shortly afterwards. Ragnar reached for both handles and threw the doors open. “Welcome to my quarters, sister” the boy said shyly.
As Dagmar looked around the room from where she stood at the doors she could see several colourful privacy screens strategically placed to separate the room into sections. To her left she saw a large table that reminded her of the reading cavern tables with all the large books on it because this one also had books piled on one side with writing implements and sheaves of bleached leaves stacked neatly to the side. Three of the four chairs were pushed in neatly but the one nearest to the books was at an angle which indicated that the occupant left it in a hurry. Behind two brightly coloured screens were set at angles separating the two areas was a space that had a beautiful floor rug with small tables and large soft looking cushions scattered around the tables. At another angle to her right was a third screen and it had the most beautiful exotic flowers with four distinctive, very large petals that were painted in very vibrant reds and blues. The leaves of these flowers were also very large and of the deepest green. She could not see what was behind that screen but she did see a large what looked like a wardrobe and so assumed that it was her twins’ bedroom section. As she looked ahead she saw a large fire place with a wide mantle over the top and on it were many small objects which the girl could not recognize from where she stood.
The boy headed for the area with the cushions and only saw as he reached for it a tray laden with dishes that had solid covers over them and jugs with lacy covers that had fringes with beads to weigh them down over the top of the jugs tops. He brought the tray to the largest of the small tables scattered around and put it down. The boy indicated to his twin to join him on one of the large cushions on the floor. She sat down and accepted a small plate with the boy indicating that she should help herself. They had a small feast during which they used their mind speak skills ‘so, how do you feel about all this?’ asked Ragnar looking directly at his twin. ‘I honestly don’t know. It does make sense but only the things that have happened since I got here. At home everything was smooth and simple.’ She replied glad she did not have to use her mouth to speak, just nibble. Ragnar nodded ‘Yes things were a bit simpler here too but nothing to what has changed in your life though! How do you feel about US?’ she smiled at him and replied ‘I am not sure. Yes it answers one thing and that is the hollow inside me is now gone. The fact of how it actually happened is very sad and I am still trying to get my head around THAT’. They sat in total silence for a while, wrapped in their own thoughts.
After they had finished eating and cleaned up they spent time together just getting to know each other. The twins found that they had much in common and spend a long time talking about their experiences thus far growing up with their respective guardians. Dagmar began to yawn heartily and they decided that they should continue when they both had a good night’s sleep. They hugged and kissed each other on the cheek and the girl went to her room to find her bed. She lay awake a long time thinking about all that had occurred finally falling asleep as dawn was making its presence felt.