Why Can't You See?

I guess the question isn’t really as much why did she never tell me as much as why didn’t I choose to comprehend the obvious. But I’m getting ahead of myself, as I always do…1

The year my twin sister and I turned six years old, my parents stopped buying two cakes. They just had one single one that read, “Happy Birthday, Martha and Miranda” in pink frosting. But that was okay, because we shared everything. With time, we really did grow to share everything. Everything. 2

You see, Mommy stopped talking to Miranda after we turned five, for what reason I don’t know. Daddy stopped soon after, so I was left as my twin’s only company. Then they stopped buying two of everything. At first it was just little things, like candy bars, but I could just share with Miranda. Then they stopped buying two toothbrushes, and eventually quit setting her a place at the table. I had to hide some of my food in napkins and share it with her if she were to get any. 3

Miranda got used to this very quickly, and I didn’t understand it at the time, but I continued to sneak food up to her, let her sleep with me in the double-bed, and play with my toys. She never questioned why our parents ignored her, so I never asked her about it. She never talked to anyone but me. One day, when I was eight, I decided to try and fight for some of my twin’s dignity. 4

“Mommy, why is there only one bed in my room?” I asked her while she was doing dishes. I saw Miranda turn and look into the kitchen from where she was sitting on our living room couch, and Daddy looked in from the hall closet when they heard me ask it. 5

“What do you mean? Why would you need another bed, honey?” She asked me. I stared at her for a minute, then turned to look at Daddy. Were they really serious?6

“For Miranda,” I told them. They exchanged glances that I couldn’t decipher. When I looked back into the living room, Miranda had disappeared. 7

“I don’t think Miranda needs a bed, sweetie,” Daddy said. I glared at him. 8

“Of course she does! Why wouldn’t she?” I demanded. I got blank stares in response. Neither of them quite knew what to say, so I walked out of the room. 9

“Martha…” Mommy called after me. I let my slamming bedroom door answer her. Miranda was sitting on our bed crying. I rushed over and put my arms around her. 10

“Don’t worry about them, sis. I love you, doesn’t that matter?” I asked her gently, wiping a tear from her cheek and trying to avoid crying myself. 11

“Yes, I love you too, Martha” she whispered, leaning into my arms. I ran my fingers through her hair. I heard a knock at the door after several minutes had passed. 12

“Go away!” I yelled at the door. It opened anyway. 13

“We’re sorry, Miranda,” Daddy said. Mommy looked at him strangely, then she apologized too. They both apologized to me after that. 14

“All your Mother meant was that you have a double bed, so that should be big enough for the both of you,” Daddy explained. 15

I understood then, and felt kind of bad for freaking out, but for the most part I was very happy. Our family was back to normal at long last.16

7 years later…
At least, I had thought so. Of course, things started to slide. My parents had to ask me what Miranda wanted all the time, because she still didn’t talk to them. They slowly started ignoring her again, and I had to be her parent as well as her twin. 17

Finally, at fifteen years old, I had had enough. I pretty much forced Miranda to speak to Mother. She asked her timidly if she loved her. Mother didn’t say or do a thing, not even look at her. That infuriated me. 18

“She just asked you a question,” I said angrily.19

“Who did?” Mother asked, turning around quickly with a puzzled look on her face. I gestured toward my sister, a fiery look on my face. She looked at her, well, actually, more through her, and then returned to me, looking just as confused. 20

“Miranda!: I yelled. Mother’s mouth fell open. 21

“You’ve been ignoring her for pretty much fifteen years now! How can you act like she isn’t standing here terrified of you?” I demanded. She stared at me for a moment, then went out to the garage to get Dad.22

I looked deeply into my twin sister’s eyes and tried to read her thoughts. She was blocking herself out to me again. 23

“Don’t,” I whispered. She pulled her eyes from mine. Our parents returned. 24

“We have something we need to tell you,” Dad told me. He ushered us into the living room. We sat down on the couch and I took her hand. 25

“Martha, when you were three, four, five years old, you had an imaginary friend. You loved her to death, and we went along with it for the longest time. Apparently too long.”26

“What does any of this have anything to do with anything?” I demanded.27

“You weren’t ready to let go, but now you really need to, Martha. You don’t have a twin sister. She’s a figment of your imagination. We had no idea you still believed in her,” Mother said. I jumped up from my seat. Miranda tried pulling me back next to her, but I pushed her off me for the first time in our lives. 28

“WHY CAN’T YOU SEE?” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “You’re killing her! You’re killing us both! Why the hell can’t you see? She right there! We look just the damn same, look at her!”29

“Martha,” my sister said in a surprisingly stable voice. I looked at her through my misty eyes. She repeated my name gently, and I sat down. 30

“They’re right. I’m not real,” she told me. I blinked. She took my hands. My tears were inevitable. 31

“I was just your imaginary twin sister. I didn’t want to tell you, though. You made me real, you can see me, feel me. Other people can’t. I wanted to tell you, wanted to so many times…”32

“Oh, Miranda…” I choked, begging the powers that be not to let it be true. My parents looked at me, then what must have been the empty space next to me. I met their worried eyes. 33

“Okay, so she isn’t real. I can still see her. Now what?” I asked. 34

“I don’t know…” my mom said. 35

I didn’t know either.

Author notes

Option 1.

TwilightBeliever

A contest entry

Is it too obvious through the whole thing that Miranda doesn't exist?

    : , Your review:

    Comment Suggestion: What is your your first impression?
    : no Cost: 0 free left 0 points, You have 0. (?) (Line numbers)
    Ratings:

Comments

1 - 25 of 25

  • Gary Alexander silver member
    October 28

    Edit | Reply

    Verdict? Excellent...Excellent

    You did a super job with this.
    You did a super job with this.
    Credible dialogue as well!
    Credible dialogue as well!
    I give this four stars!
    (Make that eight!)
    GA


  • VampBabe01
    October 4

    Edit | Reply
    this is amazing!!! wow, at first i thought it would be a little well, boring, but it;s so NOT! i really really really love it!!!


  • Myra La-Ryn
    August 27

    Edit | Reply
    Wow. At first I was starting to scream at the parents. The whole, "Uh, yeah... she's not real." was done really smoothly. What I don't understand is why Miranda would say she isn't real. Because she's made by Martha who thinks she is real. You see what I mean? Other then that, really good job.


  • Valkyrie gold member
    August 24

    Edit | Reply
    It's clear that Miranda isn't in the same category of "real" as Martha is. What sort of "real" she is, though, is still up in the air at the end of this part. I like it; what is coming next?
    Para 29 has She right there! and should be "She's" though.
    But wowdang, you write very well. I'ma go read the rest.


  • The Joker HaHa
    August 17

    Edit | Reply
    this was an amazing story. had to admit that i saw it coming from the third paragraph...most people probably do just saying. i would love to read more of this. thank you for entering.


  • papercutangel86
    August 14

    Edit | Reply
    Wow this is a wonderful story I am sure this would make a great book. Kinda creepy that she thought that her sister was imaginary the whole time! I think you should try to expand your characters make this a whole thing a really cool story. Kinda a horror story. At least I was pretty freaked out lol. Thanks for entering


  • Naive.
    July 14

    Edit | Reply
    I definitely don't think it was too obvious. You included enough mystery to keep me guessing about what Miranda really was or what had happened to her. This was a very interesting, unique story. I've never read anything this intriguing about imaginary friends. I had one when I was a child (for, like, two days. xD), but I like how this story shows the dark side of a child's imagination. Great job.

    Thanks for entering and good luck! =]

    -jj


  • Violet Moodswing gold member
    June 12

    Edit | Reply
    Thanks for your entry. It was obvious that something was out of sorts for the family to ignore Miranda. I was not sure if she didn't exist or if perhaps she had died and Martha had been too young to realize what had happened. I like the matter of factness at the end. It is like that Martha has accepted that Miranda doesnt really exist, but Miranda still exists in Martha's world somehow. I could see future chapters where the imaginary friend actually becomes real.


    I liked the story. Good luck in the contest.


  • Stryke Greeters member
    June 8
    Edit | Reply
    Very well written. I enjoyed throughout. Thanks for entering. Best of luck


  • Surfingfarmhand
    May 17

    Edit | Reply

    Wait, what?

    * double take* whoa, that blew me away, never in a hundred years would i have seen that coming. The whole time I just assumed that it was Child neglect and left it at that. Wow am I in troble for the Tell me contest. great job, i could see everything in my mind.


  • iBubbles
    May 15
    Edit | Reply
    -amazed- that was brilliant


  • ForgottenVoice silver member
    May 10
    Edit | Reply
    this is really cool!


  • valentine7
    March 9

    Edit | Reply
    This is amazing. You really captured some raw emotion in a short story which is hard to do. It really draws you in and flows throughout. It has such a fitting ending which tops the whole story off brilliantly.

  • Decadent Anomaly
    March 3

    Edit | Reply
    Very well done. Here:
    "You see, Mommy stopped talking to Miranda after we turned five, for what reason I don’t know. Daddy stopped soon after, so I was left as my twin’s only company."

    I started thinking one twin was now deceased and the survivor was clinging to someone not really there. Your ending is definitely better. Thank you for sharing this.


  • Taylor Renee
    February 21

    Edit | Reply
    Oh my absolute dear!

    I love this! So much!

    Okay, it's obviously a finalist.

    This was SO original! I love that! And creative, of course.

    AND TWINS!!!!



    Just...wow!

    I absolutely am in love with it. I thought that it was gonna be that her twin sister was actually dead and she didn't know it...but I LOVE this!


    AWESOME job!

    Thanks so much for entering my contest, and I wish you the best of luck! [Not that yu'll need it!]

    xoxo
    -♥-
    Tay

  • LauToTheRen
    February 3

    Edit | Reply

    wow

    thats all i can say.
    it was so amazing!
    i mean i never really thought about what happens to the kids that had imaginary friends when they got older.
    i thought people just outgrew them.
    but wow.
    to go your whole life believing in something that wasn't even there is mind blowing!
    I guess its true what they say, reality is truly how one sees it.
    keep writing girl!!
    you've got a gift!!
    -lauren <333


  • SeleneStone gold member
    January 15

    Edit | Reply
    That was so intriguing! I have never read a story quite like that one it really did hold my interest all the way through it. I loved the way it first looked to be real then comes to show it's all a fantasy that the little girl created because she wanted a sister that badly then believing in it all those years. Very creative

  • JustBreathe
    January 1

    Edit | Reply
    Intriguing and creative story! Martha so needed a friend/sister that she created a full-blown fantasy that became real for her! I liked the ending... How DO you 'turn off' a fantasy that has become such an engrained part of your life? Major therapy is probably in order! Excellent writing ... kept my interest throughout!


  • Mallig
    December 31, 2007
    Edit | Reply
    Good story, very sad in a way. I like the last lines a lot.

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