"Mom, tell Oliver to mind his business" a blonde haired girl with sea blue eyes, tall, very tall and slender shouted while running down the stairs. A tall boy who looks to be a head taller than the girl, same eyes, same face, same lips, same everything sprinted after her down the stairs. The girl ran into the kitchen and hugged from behind a tall slender woman with blonde hair, who was busy cooking in the kitchen.
The woman turned and glared at the boy who stopped at the door and grinned. The girl who was hiding behind her mother stuck her tongue out to him while he grinned again, mouthing 'I will get you' "what's wrong with you Oliver, why can't you let your sister be?" The woman asked."Mom, I didn't come into this world alone so how can I let her be? Besides, as a good older brother that I am, it is my responsibility to make sure she is always smiling" the boy now identified as Oliver replied while taking a pear from the fruit basket on the table, he turned and raised his eyebrow at the girl hiding behind their mother "I'm I right baby sis?""I am not a baby, for crying out loud, you are only older than me with two minutes. Two minutes!" She showed him her two fingers to support her claim "when are you going to get that into your thick skull?"Oliver chuckled "two minutes, one minute, one second, it doesn't change the fact that I saw the doctor's face before you and breathed in the earth's air first. So you see, you will always be my baby sis" he clicked his tongue.Olivia rolled her eyes and left her mother's back which was her hideout and approached her smiling brother, she looked at him from head to toe and grinned "very soon people won't believe that anymore.""Believe what?" Oliver frowned before getting a hold of what she was hinting at "dream on, you will never be taller than me.""Haha, look! You are only a head taller now, very soon, it won't even be up to an inch" she grinned.Oliver wanted to retort but he doesn't know what to say, truthfully, his sister is really growing fast. Back when they were younger, people believed she won't be half as tall as him because she appeared to have a stunt growth but then, three years ago, she sprung up like a baby tree who has been denied water for a while and finally got a hold on some. Surprising not only him but people who saw them together again "what did you feed her when I wasn't around mom? Fertilizer?" He grinned and Olivia winced."Shut up Oliver. If I feed your sister fertilizer, won't you be the first to kill me?" Their mother asked not really paying attention in their bickering, they are always like that and she has grown immune to it. People who doesn't know better will think they hate each other to the bones but in truth, they don't joke with one another and can hardly stay without the other, they love each other so much and are hardly separable."Yea right. Maybe..." Oliver was saying when the phone rang and he left to answer it. Olivia decided to help her mother in the kitchen while she listened to the muffled sound of Oliver's reply to whoever was on the phone."When are you resuming work?" Mirabelle asked her daughter."Monday.""Why Monday, haven't you finished your exams?"Olivia chuckled "well, I told my boss I will be writing my last paper on Friday" she grinned.Mirabelle shook her head unbelievably "when are you going to stop your deception Olivia? You should be lucky you got such a nice job before graduating and they even gave you leave to finish your final papers and yet you still lied to them.""Come on mom, I just wanted to spend some more time with you before returning to my busy schedule" she smiled and kissed her mother's cheek.Mirabelle smiled, she knew her daughter did it for her. Sometimes she often wish her and her brother will return to their teens so that she could spend more time with them but sadly, they are already twenty one this year but still, she is happy for them "I just don't want you to lose your job dear.""I know" Olivia smiled, she wanted to say something more but Oliver walked back into the kitchen."I need to go meet dad. He said I should come pick him up, something is wrong with his car" he said and the two women looked at him before nodding."You guys will be back before dinner right?" Mirabelle asked."Sure mom, I'm the one driving" Oliver grinned and Olivia rolled her eyes."I will not tell you again to mind how you drive" she said."Your sister is right Oliver, you need to take it easy with the speed, you..." Mirabelle was saying when a loud thunder roared, the wind blew up the curtains and the windows rattled "looks like storm is coming.""Uh oh, gotta go ladies. Don't want the old man greeting drenched" Oliver smiled and walked out the kitchen, his gaze first settling on his sister for a while and he smiled at her.Olivia returned the smile and watched his leaving back, something pulled at her heartstring and she felt goosebumps, she shivered and looked out the window "getting cold already.""Go get a jacket then" Mirabelle said and she left for her room, she heard the sound of Oliver's truck coming to life and leaving the driveway before she made it to her room.Olivia and Mirabelle sat in the living room while waiting for the other two of their family members to return, it's been two hours already and the rain had started pouring for about an hour and thirty minutes after blowing strong wind for thirty minutes. They were getting worried, the men of the house should have been back by now unless if they are waiting for the rain to stop. Olivia was feeling extremely cold and she wondered why. She has already downed on her jacket but it seems like she was cold inside her body. She stood up from the chair and peered at the driveway through the window but there was no coming headlamp's lights. She sighed and walked back to the sofa and sat down.
Seconds ticked by turning into minutes and before long, another hour passed. Olivia was getting restless and moreover she couldn't understand the strange feelings she has been having. The image of Oliver's smiling face to her before leaving kept on popping in her mind. She was feeling cold, weak and scared. She can understand the cold, although the rain has stopped the night was still cold. She can understand the weak part because she had been working since morning and had been staying up for a lot of nights because of her exam which thankfully she has finished but she just can't understand the scared part, why is she scared? Why does she has the feeling of fear building up inside her? Why this touch of loneliness? She just can't understand.The sound of a car stopping brought her back to presence, she sprung to her feet and was out the door before her mom could say a word, she just wants to see Oliver, him and no one else. Mirabelle followed her outside and they saw their father getting out of a car, they know the car, it belongs to Mr. Stuart, their neighbor. Why is Mr. Stuart the one that dropped father? Where is Oliver? Olivia thought before walking out to meet them. She saw Mr. Stuart place his hand on her father's shoulder and shook his head softly and also her father's dejected figure, her brows creased, what is happening?The fear inside her started growing fast, her heart thumping loud in her chest, goose bumps covered her body, her lips trembled and unknowingly, her fingers started to shake "da...d...dad?"Malcolm looked at his daughter and the tears he thought had stopped came rushing down his face again, he gulped and reached out his hand to his daughter, he pulled her into his arms and sobbed on her shoulder.Oliver felt the last strength in her go weak, what is going on? Why is her father crying and most importantly where is Oliver? Where is her brother? Her sweet, adorable brother? What is happening for crying out loud, she looked at Mr. Stuart who was standing few steps away from her her and her crying father, his head hung low and he seems to be dabbing at his eyes."Malcolm, where is Oliver" Mirabelle's shaky voice asked, her husband was crying and so was Mr. Stuart, her son left to pick up her husband and here he is without her boy, crying, her mind was already telling her what could have happened but her heart refused to believe it."Mirabelle" Malcolm muttered before reaching out for her, he hugged her tightly and silent sobs escaped his lips "Oliver, our boy...he...got into an accident...a tree broke and..." He sobbed "fell on his windscreen. Oliver, our little boy" he sniffed and covered his mouth to silent his sobs but unfortunately, he had said more than enough.Olivia went crazy, she screamed "no! You are lying. Nothing happened to Oliver, dad you are lying."Malcolm released his wife to grab his already crazy daughter but she slipped her hand from his and ran away from him "Stuart please."Stuart nodded and ran after Olivia while Malcolm faced the already frozen Mirabelle in his arms "sweetie.""My boy, just this evening, he was laughing and playing with Olivia. What are you telling me Malcolm, what happened to my boy, my beautiful boy?""He...left us honey...to a better place. He is in a better place my love.""No! My Oliver. My boy, my sweet boy. No! Where is my little boy Malcolm. He was at home, he was okay. You called him, you called him out. Where is my little boy Malcolm, give me back my boy please... Please...I want him back, I want my Oliver. Please Malcolm, please bring him back, bring him back to me" she slumped on the wet ground sobbing hysterically.Malcolm knelt beside her and sobbed along "he is in a better place my love. He is in a better place."Two days later, the family along with friends gathered to bury Oliver's corpse. Everywhere was silent as the priest read the goodbye. Olivia stood there like a statue, not saying anything neither is she showing any emotion. She looked so pale and lifeless. Her mother's occasional little sobs traveled to her ears but she doesn't want to listen, she doesn't want to be there anymore. Seeing the name of her most beloved man on that stone, she felt her world has come to an end.
A lot of times she has been separated from her beloved brother but the highest time had been a week and he always returned to her. Now, will she still see him again? She can't believe that her last memory of him was of him smiling lovingly at her. Every time she closed her eyes, she sees his face and that last smile he gifted to her. If she had known, she would have stopped him from leaving that day or better still offer to go with him, that way they can always be by each other's side. After all, they came into this world together, they should have left together, why did he leave without her? Why did he abandon her? Doesn't he want her anymore, doesn't he love her anymore? Why did he leave her?After the funeral, a lot of their friends followed them back home for refreshment, not that it mattered to her. She walked up the stairs to her brother's room where she has been staying since the night he died. She shuddered as she thought of him as dead, she still can't believe anything. Even though she had just watched his coffin laid underground, a tomb bearing his name and their birthday year, she still hoped that he is going to barge into his room and see her lying in his bed and he is going to smile and say to her as always "baby sis, you prefer my bed to yours?"The sob she had been holding in all through the day stocked on her chest that she feared she will die by choking. Oh, if only it will happen she thought as she sobbed, her hand clutching on his pillow and she kept rolling on his bed whispering between sobs "come back please, come back and call me baby sis."One week after Oliver's death, the family was getting back on their feet, well, all except Olivia. She has been hoping that he would come back after one week but when he didn't, she received another blow and it was not helping that everywhere she looked reminds her of him. No, she can't do this, she can't stay here. If she wants to get over his death then she must leave, she must leave this place. She picked up her phone and called the airport, booking a seat in the last flight to Australia.
She wanted to tell her mother but she knew she will stop her so she got up, packed a little of her clothes into Oliver's schoolbag and got down the stairs as quietly as she can. Her mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner, she felt bad leaving her and wanted to say goodbye but stopped her self. She will call her once she gets to aunt Grace's.Olivia left the house, she flagged a cab immediately she was two blocks away from her home to the airport.Grace opened her door early in the morning, Shocked to see her niece who had been missing all night at her doorstep, "Olivia! What are you doing here? I just finished talking with your parents."
"Aunt Grace" Olivia mumbled "can I stay with you for sometime? Oliver is everywhere in the house.""Oh my poor girl" Grace hugged her "you can stay as long as you want my darling" she said on her shoulder "does your parents know you are here?"Olivia shook her head "I will call them now. I didn't want them to stop me that's why I didn't tell them I was leaving.""They were so worried Olive, they thought something has happened to you too. They called me and we tried your number all night. That's why I was shocked to see you here.""I'm sorry aunt Grace.""Don't do like that anymore. Come in and have a hot bath while I call your parents" she helped her into the house and have her housekeeper fix a hot bath for her.The next few days in aunt Grace's house wasn't as bad as her parents home and so, Olivia recovered a little but still, it didn't fill in the empty space in her chest, she kept wishing her brother could just be alive somewhere. Every day she stares at herself in the mirror after bath, she styles her hair like Oliver does only that hers was longer but it always give her the warm feeling she wants. She will see her brother in her reflection in the mirror and since they have the same smile, when she smiles at her face in the mirror, it makes her feel like her brother was the one smiling to her.
Days passed with Olivia spending as much time standing opposite the mirror with a wet hair smiling to herself. The housekeeper had seen her a lot of times and complained to Grace but Grace knew it was the only thing making her happy so she left her alone. One day, Olivia stood as always staring at herself in the mirror with a wet hair, she smiled and ruffled her hair like Oliver always does his and a thought hit her. Since she like seeing Oliver's face so much and thankfully they are so identical, why don't she become him? That way, she will be seeing him every day of her life.The thought stuck on her for days and one day, Olivia got up, took a bath but rather than stand in the mirror and watch herself, she got dressed and left the house.Grace returned from work and noticed that Olivia was not in the house, she called the housekeeper and asked her only to hear from her that it has been hours since Olivia left home. Filled with worry and panic, Grace bellowed at her housekeeper while she fumbled to call Olivia on her cell phone. The door opened and both she and the housekeeper turned to the door, hoping to see Olivia but what they saw shocked them "Ol...Ol...Oliver?" Grace stuttered as she watched the young man who walked into her home, looking so identical to her late nephew.
"No aunt, it's me" the boy said in a voice similar to that of her niece and also that of her nephew."Olivia?" Grace called softly to be sure.The young boy opposite her gave her his killer smile which she had missed since the last time she saw him in December last year "yes aunt.""Olivia?" Grace called as she pushed open the door, "may I come in?" She asked, looking at the young lady lying on the bed with all her attention on the book she was holding six inches away from her face, "I'm still waiting for your permission" she said still standing beside the door.The girl groaned and without looking up from her book, she asked lazily "since when did you start being formal aunt Grace?""Well, I should respect your privacy" Grace said, closing up their distance "it's what that is expected from me since I don't know if I'm living with my niece or my late nephew" she sat down at the edge of the bed.Olivia rolled her eyes "and why will it be so aunt?" She asked, her eyes still engrossed on her book."Considering the fact that I don't know if I will be meeting the female you or the male you" she touched her toes and that got Olivia looking at her. Grace smiled to her "you have been indoors since the day you arrived here, how about you go out with me toni
The party kept getting busier and fun but where is the celebrant? Nobody knows. A lot of girls fawned on Olivia but only brave ones walked up to her and demanded for a dance which she is accepted of course, like the gentleman she is. She later asked Grace for a dance and it happens to be when she was talking to a friend so she can't say now but she still punished Olivia by stepping on her foot twice and laughed while Olivia winced in pain. Now she knows how her brother feels whenever she stepped on his foot while dancing. Damn it's painful, she thought.After her dance with aunt Grace, people applauded and she turned to see the reason of the applause. Standing at the door that leads into ballroom was a tall man, who from her measurement happens to be the same height with her brother or a little bit taller. He has a jet black hair, styled all back, a beautiful but cold hazel eyes. A full straight peach lips, a nice defined pointed noise and chiseled clean shaven jaw. He was wearin
Kane looked at Oliver to see that he was still looking at his sister's leaving back, "don't go near my sister.""Come on man" Olivia laughed "she is a beauty and in case you don't know, I'm a lover of beauties."Kane pointed at the dance floor, "there are a lot of beauties tonight, you can look around and make your choice."Olivia smiled "you know, there is a saying that men don't like what they do to girls to be done on their sisters and you my friend just confirmed that quote. Don't worry, I won't go after your sister.""Better" Kane replied and they both ended up smiling.The party continued and they talked and drank together, bonding more than they expected. Kane on the other hand was happy that he didn't miss his party like he planned on doing earlier. They exchanged their phone number just when the party was coming to an end."So, who are you to Grace Herrington?""I'm her nephew.""Really? I guess I heard wrong then.""What did you hear?""That s
The next day, Olivia woke up nice and early, she took a shower and dressed up before going down to join Grace for breakfast. When she got downstairs, Grace was already eating her breakfast and was prepared for work. She was reading the morning papers while sipping water from a glass, she looked up when she sensed someone approaching "hey Olivia, you are really dressed this morning" she measured her from her head to the male shirt and pants she was putting on down to her shoes "and like a man. Where to?"Olivia rolled her eyes before pulling out a seat and sitting down, she grabbed a plate of waffles before glancing at her aunt "don't tell me you are that forgetful aunt Grace. I told you last night I will be joining you to the office today to get an office and again, Kane is taking me sightseeing.""Oh, that's true. I actually forgot" she dropped the papers and continued with her food "you are in luck though. My managing Director called in sick this morning, perhaps you c
Kane called her later in the night and told her he was outside the gate. She left her room and met her aunt in the living room "I'm out. Kane is outside.""Okay dear, have fun but please, try to be back on time.""Come on aunt, I can take care of myself.""Olivia!""It's Oliver aunt" she smirked "don't worry, I will be back before twelve" she picked up a slice of apple from a plate beside Grace "I gotta hurry, Kane is waiting" she dashed out of the house and Grace looked at the housekeeper worriedly."Please tell me I'm not making a wrong decision by letting her model her brother" she kneaded her temple tiredly."Since it makes her happy, you are not doing anything wrong. She will come out of it someday when she realizes she doesn't want to be her brother for the rest of her life" Evelyn, the housekeeper said."If Mirabelle find out I let her daughter impersonate her late brother, she will kill me and talk about my brother Malcolm.""I'm sure they will unders
"Wow, killer at six o'clock" Olivia commented.Kane heaved a deep sigh before looking back "Priscilla, never figured I will see you here.""Me neither, how have you been? It's been long" Priscilla said when she was close to them."Yep it has been. When did you return?""This morning. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your birthday last night.""It's okay. No big deal nor hard feelings. How have things been with you?""Great. I was actually thinking of asking you out but since you are here, how about I join you guys?" She looked at Olivia, "but before then can I ask who your friend is? I don't think I have seen him before.""This is Oliver, I met him him in my party last night. He is Grace Herrington's nephew.""Oh, nice meeting you Oliver. I'm Priscilla, Kane's...friend" she smiled.Olivia noticed the hesitation there but she still smiled, "well, any friend of Kane is a friend of mine.""Thank you. I hope to see you around sometimes" she smiled and faced
Olivia woke up with a sharp headache, she groaned and her hand went to her temple, kneading it softly. She got out of the bed to realize she was still in her yesterday's clothes. She yawned and wondered what happened last night, how she got to be in her room. She undressed and went into the bathroom, she searched the shelf in the bathroom for aspirin which she took to numb her headache.After a steamy shower, she left the bathroom for her closet where she got in a business suit. Drying her hair, she put on her wig to complete her male look before going downstairs.Her aunt was already sitting on the dinning with a cup of coffee as she skim through the papers as usual."Good morning aunt" she greeted with a yawn and pulled out a chair to seat on.Grace watched her very action before shaking her head slowly, "what happened to knowing how to take care of yourself?""Aunt, don't start now. What really happened last night anyway?""I will tell you the one I know. Kane b
Five minutes later, "Oliver" she heard and glanced up to see Kane striding towards her "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. You should have told me you were coming.""And ruin the surprise? Hell no" she stood up and gave him a brotherly hug.Kane froze.Why is his body so soft?Why does he want to hold on to him and not end the hug?"I kinda wanted to know if I will catch you with a woman" she winked.Kane rolled his eyes."Like hell. There are some things I don't bring to the office.""Oh, looks like Kane has a protocol" she laughed and they fell into steps together. Passing the receptionist, she beamed "thanks for your TLC."The girl blushed really hard but couldn't make a comment because of Kane.Kane stared at Olivia with a raised eyebrow "got my female workers under your tiny finger?""Come on, give me some credit. It's not my fault they can't stand my beauty" she smirked.They got into the private elevator for Kane and went straight to his office