The Lost Sister (Caitlin)

The next morning, I met a girl at the door. From underneath her impeccably worn suit shone a confident repose that marked a natural leader. Each piece of music is Looking at her was like looking into a mirror of my own hopes and dreams. She heavily resembled Alisha with the sharp, penetrating gaze from her kaleidoscopic eyes boring into my soul.
         "Caitlin?" She recognized me almost immediately. I wanted to say "Emmeline?" in reply, but, once again, my words got caught in my throat. We shared no warm embrace, but Emmeline sat down as Steve ran into the room fretting about something. Something told me that he was reliving an upsetting memory, but I wasn't sure what. He panicked and cried out for help. Emmeline looked confused, but otherwise unruffled. She, instead asked for a glass of water. Aside from the sweaty strand of hair clinging to her forehead, I could have never told that she was tired. She asked for a glass of water, which I gladly filled for her.

Suddenly, I started to feel sick and jittery. I could hardly sit still. Steve grabbed my hand and simply said "Stay here." I was taken aback by this gesture, but I stayed with him. "I do not like them. Not at all," he said. Unable to speak, I pulled out my phone and typed:
          You don't need to worry. It's just you, me, and  my sister, Emmeline in here. Typing those words felt strange. Normally, he would have been the one who told me not to worry. He stroked my hair half protectively and half anxiously as if worried that "they" might bring harm to me. Meanwhile, Emmeline rested her feet on what looked like a saxophone case and read her comment sheet; presumably, she came back from solo and ensemble. After pressing into me for a few seconds longer, he recovered. As if the incident had never occurred, he encouraged me to talk to Emmeline.
         "Want some apples? Alex and I have been gathering." I took one. It was glistening red and looked perfect. The flesh was crisp, sweet, and the juice trickled down my chin. Emmeline curled up next to me as if we knew each other all our lives.
         "Are you back from solo and ensemble?" I noted the blue sheet she held in her hand.
         "Yes. I got an Excellent rating. I could have received a Superior if my accompanist wasn't late and dressed in a T shirt and jeans, but I'm happy. I'll have junior and senior year to go to regionals!" At the Minecraft solo and ensemble festival, I adjudicated the clarinets. Some of them were from Mindcrack, so they were pleased to see my face. Wendy, one of younger Mindcrack clarinetists, played primarily in her clarion register, but she played with courage. Tim's altissimo register rang strong and clear as did his clarion register, but his chalumeau register was insipid at best. In contrast, Naia's chalumeau register was sublime while her altissimo notes were squeaky and harsh. I was supposed to judge two others: Kaitlyn, a sixth grader, and Mark, a freshman in high school, but I had a seizure in the middle of Kaitlyn's adjudication. Mark I could judge fine, but I felt Kaitlyn's shock. I know it's something I can't control, but I felt sorry for Kaitlyn having to see me at my worst. I ended up giving Kaitlyn a Superior for playing on (and doing so quite well) despite her fear.

Emmeline told me all about her experiences with solo and ensemble.

 Bryce, Jayden, and Colin sounded like an excellent tenor saxophone section. She told me about the funny comment she received on her sheet which was: "Be SAXY and have some fun with it." I couldn't help but laugh. Steve eventually came out with hot chocolate for both of us. There were drips down the sides, but I didn't care. He left, presumably to slay some creepers. "So, I presume Alex takes vocal lessons from you. Does she have as much energy as I think she does?"
         "Why yes, she does. She has a lovely voice. All I need to do is teach her the techniques and she goes from there." It was true. Alex really does have a talent for finding the pitches once I point her in the right direction. I noticed that Emmeline had several wristbands on, each in a different color. I asked about them.
         "Oh, these? Well, the black glittery one is a way of honoring the black-eyed Endernymphs who were killed as sacrifices. The red ones are from my sports, such as volleyball and track. This orange one was a souvenir from a random event. I got this green one from band and I got this purple one for exceeding my fundraising goal for a concert to benefit the Minecraftian Epilepsy Foundation. Havencraft High School is cool like that with all its fundraisers and things."
         "What was your goal?"
         "It was 25 iron ingots. I ended up getting 5 diamonds, 4 iron ingots, and a platter of cookies from Alex's father and two gold ingots from Alex herself."
         "Where have you been all this time? How come I never knew you?"
         "Well, I was banished because of some random prophecy. You can read it here. I've been compiling them. The bottom is kind of scratched out, but I kind of know what it means. She handed me the scroll, which had seven female figures on it. The one fighting the dragon was definitely Vivienne, Alisha was the one sitting on a throne at a meeting with what looked like her soldiers, the two dancing figures were Marcinia and Lorelai. I couldn't tell which was which, but I could tell that the dancing pair was them. Samantha was some sort of ethereal figure, almost flamelike. Rosalie was tending a field as if she were a villager. I was not in the scroll.
         "Unroll it further," Emmeline coaxed. I did so and, to make sure, I blew on the scroll. Dust floated up everywhere. It stung my eyes and my throat felt like it was closing. I reached for my inhaler and puffed on it once. It didn't work. After four or five times, I still got nothing. I finally got back to normal. On the scroll, I noticed a wraith of a girl sitting in the corner stoically while being tormented. That was probably me. I noticed that Emmeline was the one who was pointing a staff as if either doing magic or pointing her sisters in the way they should go.
         "Well, Alisha did become CEO of the Minecraftian school department." I remembered her standing like a queen when she spoke to Mindcrack's teachers.
         "That doesn't surprise me. Samantha is a terrorist, Lorelai is a hermit, and Marcinia is a professional women's parkour team! Go skellies!" Though Alisha tortured me ruthlessly, it was Samantha who actually tried to kill me. She was the one of us that actually liked the Ender Dragon. Though she was bullied in school, she refused to empathize with me and instead found solidarity with an evil dragon. Now, she was out to get revenge on an unknown target while killing many innocents in the process.

Sportive and competitive, I'm sure Marcinia enjoyed herself doing parkour. It surprised me, though, that Lorelai would be a hermit. She seemed concerned with her social status in the past. Maybe she shut the world out in frustration or maybe she finally found the lifestyle that suited her. "And Rosalie..." Emmeline scrolled on her phone. "Rosalie died protecting a village from Samantha's attacks. It says here that Rosalie Netherfield was a "hero whose bravery could slay a thousand Ender Dragons." Rosalie took over for Vivienne on certain occasions. She did not like to do it, nor did she have to do it, but she did it. I'd say that she was the second kindest to me out of all of them. We talked on and on about our lives, just like sisters.

Because we were