The fierce wind of the night was the only sound that could be heard right now, making trees sway violently and carrying the strong smell of dust and wet earth after a heavy downpour to the nose of every human under the sky. This night was especially quiet, eerily silent, and it instilled a sense of foreboding in everyone who cared to pay attention to it.
The heaving downpour had stopped only five minutes ago, and a violent breeze followed immediately, and it was, no doubt, inconvenient for a lot of people. There were flashes of lightning in the sky, and the roaring thunder signified that it might rain again this very night.
Despite the weather, two little children, two little boys, were being ushered out of the mansion, their little innocent faces bearing a mixture of panic and confusion. The cold grilled them as their thinly covered bodies were exposed to the harsh night wind, and they had to wrap their arms around their little frames to warm themselves up. Adults would think twice before stepping out in this weather, yet the merciless hands of their parents pushed these kids into the cold night.
"Mommy, do we have to leave tonight?" one of the boys asked, his tiny voice shaking from the cold while his teeth chattered and his lips trembled. He held the hand of his brother beside him, and though he was visibly scared and horrified, his little thumb rubbed soothing circles on the back of his brother's hands. "The weather is bad, and it will not be safe to drive, so let's leave tomorrow, hmm, mommy? We would leave very early before the sun rises tomorrow."
Little as he was, Timothy tried to reason with his parents, his voice holding desperation. He was really scared and visibly worried, but not about himself — about his autistic twin whom he was holding.
His parents, though, could not see reason with him and had chosen to ignore it. Their mother's eyes regarded them with indifference, and his father was no different. He looked impatient, like he couldn't wait to kick his own kids out of his house into the night.
"That is enough, Timothy!" their mother snarled. "If you want to stay here, you can, but we won't accept your brother into this house. He has caused so much problems for us with this disease of his."
"IT'S NOT A DISEASE!" Timothy yelled, visibly enraged by his mother's words. And upon realizing that he had just raised his voice, his head snapped to his side and he saw his brother shivering in fright, all thanks to his angry yell.
With regret and guilt clouding his expression, he hugged his brother with one hand while the other hand wiped the tears off his own face. "Calm down, Theo. You don't have to be scared. I did not mean to raise my voice," he whispered gently and carefully, hoping to ease his brother's fright while he tried to keep himself from crying.
While the two boys hugged themselves, Timothy looked up at his mother. His gaze pleading and begging. He looked at his father too, hoping that one of them could be reasonable, but nothing of that sort happened. Right now, he couldn't see his parents — he could only see two people whose reasoning was blinded by a madness they had disguised as pride.
He had nothing else to say to his parents. Begging and hoping had gotten him nowhere, so he turned around, holding his brother's hand, and led them both to the car where the driver and their nanny were waiting for them. What was to be lost anyway? He would leave this place, and if everything worked well as he had planned and hoped, his brother would be treated and they would live happily ever after. Just like those fairytales.
Ah… the innocent little hearts of children!
"Master Timothy," the old nanny called, her wrinkled face marred with worry and pity as she spread her arms out. "Let me hold Master Theodore while you get into the car. We wouldn't want to miss the plane, would we?" She tried to smile, but a lone tear slipped from her eyes, betraying her façade of calmness. No one could blame her. Seeing two eight-year-olds hugging themselves out in the cold when they had a big warm house to live in would bring anyone to tears. And just like anyone else who was witnessing this, she still couldn't fathom why their parents were sending them away.
With a nod, Timothy let go of his brother and was about to enter the car when a little, hoarse, and brittle voice called his name and made him stop in his tracks.
"Tim…"
The smile on Timothy's face was unmatched when he heard his brother say his name. This was the first time his brother was speaking to him in days, that too in the presence of strangers.
Wasn't this a sign that he had made the right decision?
He turned around and held his brother by the shoulder, all the while maintaining his smile. "Yes, Theo. Do you want to say something?" he asked hopefully. His ears were perked in anticipation, eager to hear the next thing that would come out from his brother's mouth.
"Are you leaving me? You should stay with me."
These words rolled out of Theo's lips while he clasped his brother's hands tightly. He didn't want to be apart from his brother — not even for a second.
Timothy laughed while ruffling his brother's short hair. "I am not going anywhere, silly. I will sit in front with the driver while you stay at the back with the nanny, hmm?" he explained whilst still rubbing his brother's hair.
He saw the objection in Theo's eyes, and as much as he loved to hear Theo's voice, when Theo opened his mouth to voice his complaints, Timothy hushed him.
"No objections, Theo. I have something to discuss with the driver, and the back seat is really warm, so you should stay there. I will come back to you when I'm done."