Sisters

•Chapter 1•

When Daphne and I were five years old, we discovered that we were sisters. We walked all over town telling anyone who would listen that we were real blood sister.

They were horrified. They ran to Mrs. Jones after Church service to tell her everything we had told them. We were little so we couldn't read their facial expressions but her Mama made sure to slowly explain to us that they weren't looks of astonishment but looks of disgust.

"Elizabeth, what is this I hear of your daughter claiming to be sisters with a nigger?"

"Why would you let your sweet daughter be corrupted by that monkey?"

"You ought to sell her before she ruins your Daphne!"

Mrs. Jones is always animated so when she came home angry that Sunday morning and called Daphne and I downstairs, we knew we were gonna get it. She just about smacked the soul out of me for asking what a nigger was. I always forget to keep my mouth shut when she gets hot headed.

Daddy came home halfway through the lecture and caught a good earful of his wife screaming at us as if we were old and losing our hearing. Daddy was able to take her upstairs and calm her down and when he returned, he carefully explained to me that I wasn't to call him 'Daddy' in Mrs. Jones's presence and that Daphne and I weren't allowed to tell anyone that we were sisters. That it's supposed to be a family secret between the four of us. Daphne and I didn't like that new rule but we disliked her Mama's screaming more, so we kept our mouths shut.

We didn't fully understand why it was so bad to tell people that we were sisters. Sure we knew the majority of them wouldn't believe us considering we were from different races. Daphne's cousin made it his job to always point out my dark skin so I knew I was black and Daphne was white. But we thought we could just explain to them how we have known each other since birth and how we learned to walk and talk on the same week.

To us, that was all it took to be twins. And no one could tell us otherwise. We were inseparable. 'Daphne and Delilah' the 'Two little Devils' and 'Double Trouble'.

Nothing was serious to us, I guess that's how it's like for everyone when they're young. The whole world seems to revolve around you. Every wish is granted, every dream seems at arms reach.

But then you get older, you begin to realize that some things just don't make sense. And you start to question whether the world does revolve around you because it seems to only revolve around Daphne. And why is it that all her dreams are encouraged while mine are brushed over?

Whenever I ask Daddy too many questions he always says that curiosity kills the cat. To which I always reply with, 'it's a good thing cats have nine lives'.

But the Summer of Augustus Blair, taught me that the saying is only a myth. Cats only have one life, not nine. So If it gets run over, it ain't coming back to life.