Casey & Lane

The howling of the wind brought her eyes open. Where was she? Focusing in the dark of the night, confusion washed over her. It was pitch black. Something gritty caught between her toes. A soft golden light flapped towards her. It was a golden butterfly and it brought a thick low fog with itself. She tried to catch it but it was fast. Suddenly a whisper came softly, "Please help us..."

She halted at her place. Trying to hear more clearly. This time the whisper was louder and more clear.

"We need you!"

She turned around and asked, "Who are you?"

No response.

Still pitch black not being able to see anything apart from a few inches because of the glowing butterfly. She looked at the butterfly and thought, how pretty. She saw a weird figure near her. It was small and it was slowly closing the gap between them as a scream came abruptly, "HELLPPPPP!"

She woke up in a cold sweat, panting. She stared at the wall for a few moments as if she could vividly still imagine what she had just seen. Swiftly she turned the lights on, even though there was enough light in her room. Covering herself with her blanket and leaving her face open she looked around her room. Everything was still there, in its place. Her bed was askew now, the neatly arranged pillows falling to the floor. She could feel one of her last pillows teetering on the edge, and she nudged it over with her foot. Her eyelids glowed pink, making it even more impossible to sleep. The blur of her dream was still there in her head its been a while since started.

Casey had weird things going on in her life. It all started when she was eleven. Every year during the summer break she will start getting these types of dreams frequently in a week. It's been exactly four years and still, she couldn't figure out why? Of course, they went to the doctor but still nothing.

She glanced over at her clock. It's exactly Seven in the morning now, almost the time to get up, she thought. Yawning, she pushed the blanket aside and swung her feet onto the floor. The hardwood floor felt nice.

A thump sounded behind her. Casey turned her head just in time to see one of her photos clattered on the floor. She sat impossibly still, listening. The rest of the house was quiet. She picked up the picture. It was a photograph of her family. Her brother Lane, her mother Ysabel and herself were taken last year.

She had a slight feeling of being envious of her twin brother. Lane had perfectly straight blonde hair that looked sleek no matter how much he washed it and it always fell in flawless strands when he set them as a side-swept fringe. Casey's long wavy warm brunette and blonde highlights in a non-uniform sweep had been a torment since birth.

She had pulled them into braids in middle school until the girls on her bus started calling her 'Pippi' and yanking her hair. But if she didn't do something with it, her curls frizzled out in every direction. Classmates would sit behind her and complain that they couldn't see. She found herself eventually keeping her hair open rather than being 'Pippi' but still she would soothe down her reflection as she passed windows. In summer she would suffer from all the sweat. She always wished for Lane's hair.

Casey sighed and placed the family photo back in its special place on her bedroom wall. She turned away, soothing her hair as usual. She slid down the stair bannister and went straight to the kitchen and saw her mother who was preparing herself tea. People said Casey looked exactly like her mother. Both had brunette hair with blond highlights which were natural, guess it was in their genes and hazel eyes with blue flecks, an exact copy of her mother.

"Hmm," Her mother glanced towards her, "What's special today? You are up early."

"Those dreams again." She replied and sat at the dining table.

Her mother paused for a moment as she sighed and poured two cups of tea and brought it to the dining.

"Ehh?" she made a face while picking up the cup. "I don't like tea, only coffee."

Her mother gave her an eye and replied, "back in my days, we only used to drink tea and it was considered elegant."

"Yes. Yes. I know, don't you have work today?" She said while taking a sip.

"Oh my!" she looked at the clock. "It's almost seven-thirty."

Casey chuckled. "I'll pack your lunch. Go get ready quickly."

Her mother gave her a chef kiss and replied as she drank all her tea at once and was rushing towards her room, "You are the cutest! My princess!"

Casey kept her half-filled cup on the table and stood up and smiled, "Very elegant!"

She cracked her fingers, "Alright! A tasty breakfast and a decent lunch. Go!"

By the time Lane woke up, it was already afternoon. He came downstairs, with the utmost look he could pull off. His messy hair and oversized T-shirt and pyjamas.

"Morrraaaninnnggg~," He said yawning.

Casey gave him a look as she was cleaning the table. "Your part is to do laundry and clean the dishes"

"I won't do it--aah-ah-ah" He slipped down the stairs.

"Pfft." Casey held her laugh as she kept one of her hands on her hip and another on her mouth. "Karma! You have to do it."

"When will mom be back?" he asked, getting up as he rubbed his back.

Casey pondered that for a moment before answering. It's almost the end of the month. During that time mom is usually late.

"It's the 25th of this month. Don't you know what that means?" She replied while throwing the cloth on the basket and jumping on the sofa. "Finished!"

"I can go out on a night out with my friends!" He said while holding his fist high.

"I'll tell mom."

"I will give you Andrew's number"

Casey looked at him. Lane raised his eyebrows while spreading his hands.

"Deal?" he asked, coming closer to Casey.

"Deal! Deal!" She said as she smiled.

Lane stood in front of her without saying anything.

"What?" she asked.

"Now, help me with chores"

"Oh! My! My! My! How cute!" She gave him a kiss from afar and continued, "Go my Cinderella, do it on your own!"

Lane picked up a cushion from the sofa and threw it on her face. "YOU PIPPI! I won't give you his number. Dream on!" He rushed towards the toilet as soon as he did that.

"Tsk. I never asked for it."

Casey was too tired and lazy to react to the crime his brother just did. So, she'll let it slide for this once. She took the small fluffy cushion and kept it under her head. She could hear Lane's cursing and cries as if he might have slipped into the toilet. LOL. "Clumsy Cinderella"

Her eyes felt heavy. She let them rest for a while.

She opened her eyes and jolted up on her sofa with the realization that she had actually slept and it was almost evening. The front door hinges creaked and shrieked and the sound resounded in her mind as she turned towards it. Lane.

"Where did you go?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Told you before. For a night out but then some of them couldn't come so we rescheduled it."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She removes her blanket and asks. The realization dawned on her that she did not have a blanket when she slept.

"You were sleeping like a dead body," He said, removing his shoes and wearing home slippers. "Those dreams are haunting you again?"

He kept his bicycle keys on top of the table and walked towards her and made himself comfortable on the sofa and turned the TV on.

"How do you know?" she asked, shifting a bit and folding the blanket.

"I saw your room light go on and off several times yesterday night." He looked at her, "Why do I feel like its worse year by year?"

"Anyways, what were you doing that late at night?"

"Summer break homework. As opposed to a certain person who copies mine every year. I work hard."

"Tsk. I don't know that someone." she sighed and got up.

"Extra food is kept on the dining table. We might throw it away anyway so you go and eat."

Sometimes she wished she had been born 3 seconds earlier so that she could order him around like this too. As she rushed into the kitchen, she opened the lid that was kept on the table, it was a sandwich.

She took the plate and decided to eat while watching TV. She was passing beside a small passage which leads to a storage room and the basement. She noticed a light there. Her first thought was that the light was on. She slowly moves towards the small passage through an arch. She bent her body forward and she fought a rising panic. The plate slipped through her hands and clashed on the floor. A fear that almost unmanned her.

"Casey!" Lane called out from the hall, "Are you eating a sandwich or what?"

Her throat ran dry. She slipped down through the arched wall floor while keeping her eyes locked on it.

"L-LA-LA-L..." she couldn't call him.

"Casey!" he called out again and started moving towards her. "Are you covering your crime scene of breaking the plate?" He stopped on his feet as he saw Casey on the floor and rushed to her. "What happened?"

Her heart jumped when Lane suddenly appeared. She pointed to the wall. His eyes followed her hand. "There's nothing on the wall!"

Her eyes widened, and she gulped saliva. "Butterfly!" she swept away her sweat. "The golden colour shining butterfly is sitting right there," she whispered.