Jack and Jill

Bickering. That is what they always do, from where to eat and even their football team. I chuckled when Jill dismissed Jack with a whatever. Very original, I thought. Then the silence came, only the sound of Jack’s mix CD serves as background music. Jack cranked up the volume when I guess the silence was becoming unbearable. I decided then that maybe I should start talking again.

“I’m hungry,” I said.

Right on cue, both of them put on their parent mode.

“Ok, what do you want to eat?” Jill asked.

“We can go wherever you want,” said Jack.

See, parental. The indulgent kind. It is very tempting to take advantage of these two. Jill’s voice from that day rang in my head. “It’s okay; you still have me and Jack.”

I smiled and said we should get burgers. Not the ones serve at those fancy restaurants, but the big, real, greasy burgers that just scream heart attack and calories. Jack seemed eager enough while Jill just grimaced. I felt bad instantly and told Jack that maybe we should just go to whatever we saw first. And sure enough, with Jack’s direction we saw a fast food joint. Score one for Jack.

I sat across of them when we got our food. We dove into our silly conversations, talking about the future and what we might go through. I stole a fry from Jack and dipped it in Jill’s ice cream. “You know, I think I love you guys,” I said.

Both of them momentarily froze. I used that quick second to steal more fries. Damn, those suckers tasted great that day. Jack cleared his throat and Jill shifted her weight in her seat. Without being cued, both of them said “me thinks so too.” It was perfect.

Boom.

You're alone and it is dark. You can't seem to see anything. You realize that your shoes are gone and that your are standing on a wet field. You start to panic and shiver manically against the cold wind that suddenly comes and envelopes you in a strong hug. You notice that you can't breathe. You start hearing murmuring and it becomes louder and louder. You call out out for help, but your voice is weak. You can only listen to the murmurs.
"Shame,"
"It is because of you,"
"Your fault. Your fault,"
You reach around, desperate, trying to get to the voices but you get nothing. When suddenly a spark shoots up to the sky.


The spark blazes up and explode to a wonderful scene of fireworks. More sparks shoot up in the air and suddenly the wind ceases, the murmur stops. Your surrounding gets clearer and you manage to see your feet, and that your shoes are next to you. You quickly put on your shoes and rub your eyes, adjusting to the lights. Fireworks paint up the sky in a harmonious booms. You start to laugh and cheer for the fireworks. You look around and notice the people around you. They  beam a wide smile at you and you join them dancing under the fireworks. Your face muscles twitches, you notice that you are smiling and it feels good.


They pull you into a hug, each one of them. Saying goodbye. You don't understand. And you look up to the sky, more fireworks are beginning to fade away. You scream out telling it to stay.
"Goodbye. Goodbye,"
The murmuring begins. You panic and start to sweat. Suddenly the people move away. Like a scene from a cartoon, within a blink they are already miles away. You begin running towards them. You notice your shoes are gone. You run anyway. You no longer run on that wet field, but a dry, grainy ground. Your feet begin to bleed. The sky turns darker every second. You can no longer see them.


You can't breathe. You can't run. You can't see. You just sit and pull your knees close. You rock your body back and forth, back and forth. You are murmuring now.
"It's my fault. It's my fault,"