Sunlight glistened through the open window, spotlighting every piece of wall and furniture it could find. Various sized boxes carpeted the floors, freshening the house with a lively feeling. A young woman around twenty sat in the center of it all. She laughed as she tore open each box, peaked into the contents, and slid them away on either side of her. The woman had the beautiful impression of a normal, every-day girl. Her bright, happy blue eyes were overflowing with generosity and laughter. Her light blonde hair was as bright as spring in the afternoon sunlight. Today though, it was tied behind her head crudely with a navy headband.
Once she finished checking the inside of the boxes, she took a minute to stretch out her arms and let out a small yawn. “Michael,” she called out, not moving her eyes from yet another box further away. The girl crawled over to it on all fours.
“Yeah?” a strong, masculine voice replied from outside. “What is it, Sarah?” “Do you need any help with the last few boxes?” the girl, Sarah, asked.
“Uh…” There was a pause. “Nope, I think I’m good. Thanks though.”
“No problem.” Sarah said as she slid the box over to where she was originally. She took her scissors and sliced the tape holding the top flaps of the box closed. She smiled as she sifted through the box’s hidden treasures, until something caught her eye. Curious, she raised an eyebrow. She reached into the box and was careful as she pulled the object out. Her smile faded more and more with each passing second she looked at it. Her laughter was replaced with confusion.
“M…Michael…?” Her voice faltered.
“Mmm?” Shuffling was heard from outside, and a young man walked into the room, carrying three moving boxes in his arms.
At first glance, the man seemed normal – raven black, disheveled hair and hazel eyes which resembled a cool, autumn’s day. He wore a black hoodie along with blue jeans and sneakers. Yes, he was normal… if you ignore the black wolf ears sticking out of either side of his head and the black tail poking out of his jeans. “Sarah,” he said as he walked in. “Is everything oka-” His voice trailed off when he saw Sarah sitting there with the object. She looked up at him with a confused expression and turned the object so Michael could get a better view of it, even though he didn’t need it.
“Who is he?” Her voice was a small whisper. The object was a beautifully framed photo that he had captured the image of a younger, teenage Michael; you could it was him because he had the same face, eyes and hair as the teenager in the photo. One of the only noticeable differences between then and now was the fact that past Michael didn’t have any animal ears. And even though the image cut off anything below the chest, Sarah knew that the tail wasn’t there either. The other distinguishing factor was that his eyes seemed a lot brighter in the past. They were ages younger, despite the fact the picture couldn’t have been taken too long ago.
But Sarah wasn’t pointing to the teenage Michael. She was pointing to the child standing next to him. He was young, about ten or eleven with dark hair like Michael’s, and ocean blue eyes. Both boys were grinning half-heartedly at the camera as though reluctant to have their picture taken. And knowing Michael, Sarah was surprised there even was a photo of him.
When present Michael saw the frame, his eyes widened with shock. The three moving boxes he was carrying fell to the ground with loud cracks and thumps, but the wolf spirit didn’t seem to notice the noise. Sarah’s frown deepened slightly with concern. She could see the pain and surprise in his eyes. “Michael,” she tried again, her voice low and soft. “Who is he?”
The small, antagonizing minute of silence stretched out like a rubber band. Then he sighed, looking defeated as he fell into the nearest chair. “He’s my brother.”
It was Sarah’s turn to be surprised. Her blue eyes widened as much as Michael’s just had, and she studied the picture again. Now that she knew what to look for, it was plainly obvious the two were brothers. Both of them had the same face and hair. She shook her head in disbelief. “Y…You have a brother?” Michael nodded. Sarah waited for him to continue, and gritted her teeth when he remained quiet. She sighed, making her annoyance fade. Her eyes became calm, and when she spoke, her voice was soft. “What happened to him?”
Michael’s eyes left the photograph and looked up at the blonde sitting in front of him. Then he closed his eyes as all his energy deflated from his body. He stood to cross the room and joined her on the couch. He looked down at his hands as he talked. “The Huntress happened.” He paused for a second before elaborating. “A while ago, Mitchel and I were outside, and he ran off. So I went after him. It was actually him who found the spirit world first not me.
“When I finally managed to catch up with him, the Huntress was holding him in her arms with him clinging onto her neck.” With that, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Sarah counted two whole minutes before he spoke again. “Since this was my first time in the spirit world, and I’d never met any spirits before, I didn’t know she was bad. Otherwise I would have done something other than just stand there. She asked me if I knew him, and I said he was my brother. Then she enslaved him and got away before I could do anything else. I never saw him again.” Once she finished speaking, he stood up and began walking off, his tail swaying behind his legs and his wolf ears back. “Now you know.”
Sarah, for her part, was too shocked to speak. She knew about the Huntress. She’s crossed paths with her before, and the encounters were never pleasant. Sarah knew that the Huntress was out for power from other spirits, and that the way she got it was by sucking it out of them, thus killing them. But if she took a liking to people without powers, like humans, she turned them into her slaves so they would do her bidding. It was a sick process which Sarah hated. It was even worse when you saw the Huntress in person and saw how heartless she was. Once the blonde finally regained her voice, it was slow and muffled. “That’s why you’ve been so obsessed with finding her. You’ve been searching for Mitchel.”
The wolf spirit nodded, his back still to her. Sarah stood. “How come you haven’t told me any of this before?” Her voice sounded hurt. “Michael, I could have helped you! Instead you shut me out! What else have you been keeping from me?” With that, her voice broke and she felt a mix of hurt and betrayal. He’d kept this from her. All this time, and he’d kept this from her. Why would he do that to her? “Do you… not trust me or something?”
Michael’s ears perked up at that, and he whipped around to face her, eyes wide. “No! That’s not… Sarah, of course I trust you! I swear! It’s just really hard to talk about it, okay? I wasn’t shutting you out. I wouldn’t do that to you. Ever.”
Sarah watched him through misty eyes, his figure slightly blurred through the saltwater.
Then she walked over to him and put her arms around him. His eyes widened, but he hugged her back. “I love you,” She said. “And I will be here to help whenever you need it. I will always fight by your side. Just... next time, please be honest with me, okay? I've told you everything about me by now.” Michael was speechless. Since his arms were still wrapped around her in a hug, he tightened his grip around her waist, holding her closer to him. He felt his eyes get a little watery too, but no tears came out. “Deal.” He smiled, “I love you too, Sarah.”