The Island of the Second Twins On a brisk Saturday morning in May, Anna and Emma were supposed to be having

a birthday party. They were 8 years old today. Twins. Oh, how special, you might think to yourself. But all was not well in the Anderson household. You see, Anna was making her way slowly and reluctantly up the stairs to the bedroom she shared with her sister. Emma was the eldest by 11 and a half minutes. Emma was the smaller one. The one who needed all the attention. Anna was the so-called easy baby. She rarely cried and never threw a tantrum. Emma had a heart condition. Everyone gave Emma all the attention, perhaps calling Anna for a photo opportunity. Anna could hear the giddy sounds of children at play, and the laughter of the adults coming up the stairs, getting quieter as she moved on. Anna had dreaded this day, but somehow had known all along that it was inevitable. Downstairs, Emma and her friends and family were about to start opening gifts. Sadly, Anna reached her room without anyone so much as noticing that she had left the party. Today was the day of the Disappearing. What happens is that when a twin has been ignored, pushed aside, and generally neglected, he or she receives a personal Guide who hails from the Island of the Second Twins. Anna did not bother to check her hair or change her clothes before climbing up onto the windowsill, pushing the wide windows open, and standing precariously on the edge. Not only could Anna hear the excited sounds of her sister opening and admiring each gift, but this made her feel the dread all the more. She closed her eyes tightly, leaned out while still holding on to the edges, then opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. Now she lept off of the windowsill and began a slow, drifting descent to the ground, for she was nothing but the pure white feather of a dove now. From above, a shadow floated through the air then disappeared, and reappeared a few moments later. It seemed to dance with the feather, drawing it up and up towards the clouds. Past the clouds. The shadow and the feather travelled a very long distance before arriving at their destination. As the Island of the Second Twins came into view, the shadow became a young lad and the feather became a little girl. Anna looked around and realized she was flying next to a boy. She felt that he was a friend, someone to trust and rely on. He took her hand and shook his head when she tried to speak. He put a finger to his lips, looked around, then dashed on with Anna in tow. They landed in the center of a great courtyard with a few sparkling fountains here and there. At the top of the circle was a pair of statues. This was the first thing that the boy wanted Anna to see. "My name is Allen. You're Anna." "Yes. You found me... I had dreams about this place. Been having them for a long time." "We all do, Anna." Allen smiled. "Please, look at these statues and study the information on the plaques. It's important information because there have been rumors that the original twins are coming back." Anna went up to the first statue, it was an enormous one about twelve or so feet high. To Anna or any other eight year old, it was the biggest statue in the world, for sure. She thought he must surely be a wizard, by the looks of the hat and robe he wore. "I wonder what happened." Anna thought to herself. Then she read the plaques.

The first plaque read: Horaleiu. The elder twin. The second plaque read: Sivalean. The younger twin, by thirty seven minutes. The third plaque was different, and seemed to only have strange characters carved into it. As she examined the plaque more closely, letters formed into words. The original twins were born so long ago that time has nearly forgotten. But in the memory of the inhabitants of the Island of the Second Twins they remain alive and well. Horaleiu, being the elder twin, was given all of the birthrights, while Sivalean received nothing. Sivalean hatched a plan to take over the birthrights, but being too thoughtful, he waited too long. Horaleiu killed his younger brother. Death by fire ants. It was a painful and torturous way to go but Sivalean's soul left his body long before it became unbearable. Sivalean's soul wandered lost in another dimension for many many years. It was only able to come back after a set of twins was born into his family's descendants. He rescued the second twin on the day of Disappearing. Sivalean and his descendant, whose name has been long forgotten, founded the Island of the Second Twins. It would be a refuge for Second Twins for millenia to come. After reading all of this, Anna was slightly overwhelmed. She had never thought that this had been happening for so long. She turned to Allen, but he was not standing next to her anymore. She looked around and noticed a single firefly next to the largest fountain to the left of where she was standing. Anna practically tiptoed over and put out her hand, as though expecting the bug to land on it. Just then, it did. Anna jumped out of her skin, and the firefly flitted away. Just then there was a thunder in the sky, and people of all ages started appearing in the courtyard as if from nowhere. They all looked to the sky, so Anna followed suit. A woman and a girl fell from the sky and dusted themselves off. "That was close!" Exclaimed the woman. The girl held onto the woman's hand for dear life. She was clearly just arriving. Anna found herself walking over and standing close to the woman and girl. Soon the whole place was abuzz with news of the sightings of several fireflies around the Island. Anna looked around for Allen, and saw him falling from the sky with a teenaged boy who looked determined about some thing or another. But there was no time, because just then the sky darkened and then lit up slowly with the twinkle of about a zillion fireflies. How were fireflies connected to the original twins? Why did the fountains sparkle so? These questions were about to be answered. An old lady took a whistle and got the attention of every person in the crowd. She walked to the top of the courtyard by the two large statues, and began to speak. "I know that you are all wondering what is happening right now. Some of you may know a little more than others, but I'm just going to tell all of you so that everyone is up to date on what is known for certain. First of all I'm sure not many of you are ready to hear the things that I am about to say. But please remain calm, and be prepared to take a stand one way or another. Not many fireflies have been spotted around here in the past few years." Anna noticed more and more people falling from the sky, and soon it was standing room only in the courtyard. Anna could feel herself being jostled around, everyone trying to make room for the

newcomers. She did all she could to pay attention to the old woman. "Now tonight, we see more than ever, and haven't you noticed all of the new additions? Why, they are coming so fast that we haven't time to introduce anyone or show them around. Most will never see the plaques or statues. Most of you have no idea why the fountains sparkle. It's because the water is actually not water. It is liquid soul. All of our souls, you see, have been collected by the fireflies. The original Second Twin, Sivalean, recruited fireflies to do his work. They show up at odd times, sometimes drawing a second twin out of sight, only to draw him to the Island. Some of you may think that the twin is recruited because he has been ignored, when in fact the opposite is true. The twin is ignored because he gradually loses his ability to keep his soul in that physical realm." The sky cracked open with a BOOM! and an eery hush fell over the crowd. Nobody moved and they barely dared to breathe. Two old men, the likenesses of the statues, fell from the sky. They were kind of larger than life, to tell the truth. Each wore a robe with a long pointy hat, and carried a staff with an ornament at the handle. They glared at each other, and took stances that revealed their intentions to destroy one another. Then it happened. The fireflies lit up the sky brighter than ever, brighter even than the sun. Anna covered her eyes and listened to the sounds of spells being cast, fireballs being tossed, lightning zipping through the air. She dared to look up during a brief relative silence, only to witness the original twins going at it with daggers. Blood went everywhere, but it wasn't blood after all. It was liquid soul. As the soul leaked out and gathered in the fountains, the original twins began to deteriorate. Soon, there was nothing left but a jagged, charred circle at the top of the courtyard. The old woman came out from the crowd to address the Second Twins once again. "You see? You see what evil does? But fret not, my friends. For now you must drink from the fountains, get your souls back, and hop on a firefly and make your way home. Go on! Go on!" Anna rushed through the thinning crowd towards the large fountain. The same spot where she saw the first firefly of the event. She reached in and drank and drank. She thought maybe she had overindulged, when suddenly a large firefly came and swooped her up. It carried her up into the sky, past the clouds, and Anna shook with happiness at the prospect of rejoining her family. With a quick shake, the firefly released Anna into the garden in back of the house. Anna ran without hesitation to the party, and laughed and said she had been hiding when her parents asked her where she had been. Now she got all the hugs and attention she had been craving all along.