"What will you do with them?"
"Read what's inside, obviously."
"Why? These books aren't meant for a child like you."
"Then why do you have them?" Agatha crossed her arms, her juvenile defiance accentuating Amanda's discomfort in the corner.
"U-Uhm, children," Amanda stammered. "Why not share? Little mister Takahashi, you have an extensive collection right here already, can't you let this sweet lady borrow one?"
"I question the 'sweet' part," Takumi replied, his lips thinning. "Moreover, these books are part of a series," he shoot Agatha a glare. "If she truly wishes to read them, she'll need to wait for her turn."
"How convenient," Agatha said, rolling her eyes before turning to Amanda. "It's fine, Amanda. I don't compel others, particularly those who lack consideration."
With that, she departed in search of another library. After an hour of fruitless searching, the sun began to set.
Agatha leaned against a nearby wall, gazing at the crimson sky. "I'm running out of time," she murmured.
Only two weeks remained before the fateful night when Samantha was to be offered to the devil—the night of their birthday.
"I will never allow that to happen—" Agatha gasped as she spotted Samantha across the street.
She stood in front of a clothing shop, admiring a beautiful white Victorian dress displayed behind the glass.
Agatha's lips parted to speak, but she recalled her resolution to distance herself until she formulated a plan to thwart the sacrificial rite.
So, she chose to observe her sister from afar. Samantha wore a modest dress befitting a low-ranking Russian household, her appearance a testament to her emotional and psychological neglect.
Samantha's gaze shifted upwards and downwards as she shook her head. Her lips moved, suggesting a conversation with an unseen interlocutor. Abruptly, she began to walk away, diverging from the path leading to their house which alarmed Agatha.
A thought occurred to her: perhaps Samantha had chosen to run away. Given that her twin sister no longer felt any sense of belonging within the family, this seemed plausible. If she could expedite this outcome, she undoubtedly would.
So, she decided to quietly track Samantha. Even though her backpack wasn't filled with much weight, it felt heavy from carrying it for so long, almost like it was dragging her down.
She adeptly maintained a prudent distance, ensuring that Samantha remained oblivious to her presence while also avoiding the risk of losing her amidst the throng of people.
In an inexplicable turn of events, Samantha seemingly evaporated from Agatha's view, obscured by the fleeting obstruction of another individual, as if she dissipated into the very atmosphere itself.
Agatha twisted and turned, desperately seeking for her sister, yielding no result.
"That's weird—"
"What's weird?"
Agatha recoiled in terror as a hand suddenly gripped her shoulder. Trembling, she turned to confront the source, only to be confronted by the ghostly visage of Samantha.
Her image appeared pallid and worn, features drawn and weary, visibly burdened by what has been happening.
"H-How d-did you—" Agatha's words trembled as fear grasped on her voice. She glanced back to the spot where Samantha had vanished. "But you were there—"
"Why are you following me?" Samantha's voice pierced the air with an icy edge, a stark departure from her usual warmth towards Agatha.
Though unsettling, Agatha understood. She had made Samantha feel abandoned, invoking a natural response.
"P-Perhaps," Agatha swilled, carefully pulling away from Samantha's grip. "I saw you, I was just going to ask where you're heading to?"
"Why'd you care?"
Agatha found herself struggling to formulate a response, her throat tight with apprehension. She coughed awkwardly before managing to speak. "You're still my sister, and you matter to me no matter what."
Samantha's response was inscrutable, her expression unchanged.
In the ensuing silence, Agatha reached out, gently taking her sister's arm. "Let's go home."
Samantha stayed still, leaving Agatha considering guiding her home; however, Samantha's unmoving presence felt almost like she was rooted to the spot, resembling a statue fixed in place.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Agatha inquired, sensing her sister's sigh before she spoke.
"You need to be straight with me, Agatha," Samantha whispered, turning towards her. "What have you been up to lately?"
Agatha felt a lump form in her throat. She hadn't anticipated Samantha's sudden probing, leaving her momentarily stunned.
She is fully cognizant of her sister's intelligence; nevertheless, she did not anticipate her sister's probing nature. Samantha is a person of her word, and during their last conversation, she promised to respect Agatha's desire for personal space. However, the issue now troubling Agatha is not what she had initially anticipated, but the way Samantha stared at her screams horror as though she's a different person.
"A-Aw," Agatha winced when Samantha grabbed her by arm, pulling her close for intimidation.
Samantha's gaze burned with a tumult of emotions—pain, confusion, fear, and anger—each flickering in her eyes like restless embers. Her intense stare implored and accused, laden with unspoken questions and the weight of silent tension.
"S-Sam, you're hurting me," Agatha groaned, struggling to free herself from her sister's grip. Finally, Samantha released her. Agatha glanced at her arm, surprised to see it already bruising.
"What's wrong with you?" Her voice broke. She didn't expect Samantha would hurt her. Nothing changed from her sister's expression; she didn't even look apologetic. She only stared at her like a broken device.
"Sam—"
"Hey!"
A familiar voice halted Agatha's intent to confront her sister. She turned to her right and observed Takumi approaching them. Dusk had fallen, and the streetlights had yet to illuminate the gathering gloom.
Agatha instinctively grasped Samantha's hand once more without diverting her gaze to her. Her intention to depart before Takumi's approach was thwarted, as he drew near, looming approximately two meters away.
"It's dusk already; what prompts a child of your stature to venture alone in these dim streets? The peril of abduction looms, just so you know," Takumi's voice bore genuine concern, yet it elicited an unsettling sensation within Agatha—an ick.
"It's of no concern to you!" She retorted sharply. "Moreover, I am accompanied by my sister, rendering your apprehensions baseless—"
"Sister?" Takumi interjected, stopping Agatha's statement—his brow furrowing in confusion, seemingly looking around. "Where?"
"Have you gone blinf this time? Can't you see she's right he—re," Agatha's retort faltered mid-sentence, her eyes widening in bewilderment as she scanned the vicinity, failing to find Samantha by her side.
Immobilized, Agatha sensed an inexplicable weight anchoring her to the ground. While her head remained stationary, her eyes darted to the spot where she had clasped Samantha's hand moments earlier.
Her eyes wobbled. She felt like she's still holding onto Samantha—no! Something! But nothing's there but an open air.
Agatha trembled, her resolve shaken as she turned towards Takumi. Though her lips parted in an attempt to articulate her thoughts, her voice remained elusive, as if her words dissipated into thin air before they could materialize.
"Agatha..."
She cringed in fear when someone whispered directly into her ears and she knows someone's truly there when she caught a glance of Takumi visibly terrified.
Agatha didn't dare to turn to confirm if it's Samantha as it's clearly not. What? How the hell knows?
Agatha, consumed by fear and uncertainty, opted to close her eyes and brace herself for the impending threat from whatever entity had breached the realm of mortals.
The terror coursing through her veins was evident—she felt as though it electricuted her entire body to go numb—a stark reminder of her vulnerable state as a mere child.
Amidst the screeching of voices assaulting her mind, akin to sinister hallucinations, she teetered on the brink of sanity.
Just as the abyss threatened to engulf her consciousness, a pair of hands intervened, pulling her from the paralyzing grip of terror.
Takumi, though oblivious to the full extent of the otherworldly encounter, had glimpsed something ominous lurking in the shadows surrounding Agatha which had somehow explained the unsettling feeling he had felt earlier when she saw her eyes for the first time.
As they ran across the streets, feeling no people around, Takumi couldn't shake the feeling that they had just narrowly escaped something truly sinister. He still couldn't grasp what had happened as the memory of what he had seen would linger for who knows 'til when, a reminder of that darkness which dwells in their realm.
"W-What was that?" Agatha finally had her words escaped.
Takumi, still reeling from the encounter, couldn't find the words to explain. Instead, he chose to prioritize their safety, guiding Agatha towards the nearest sanctuary he knew, a place where evil spirits dare not tread.