Reiko


I love my sister. I do.
It’s just..
Just..

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I am awake. The sunlight wakes me, warm on my back, and I am surrounded by giant trees in the Birch Forest. The birds are singing happily. I wonder if they have to worry about anything? Standing, I stretch, shaking some grass stuck to me from the morning dew.

She is gone.

It’s nothing unusual. She probably wandered off again, chasing a butterfly, or a rabbit. She forgets where she’s going and what she’s supposed to be doing. It’s always been this way, since she could walk. We are twins, sisters. I can sense she’s near, or if she’s gone too far; our bond lets this happen. If it wasn’t for this bond, I think I might lose her permanently, ‘cause she wanders off all the time. You see.. She can’t speak. She tries, but she just can’t. I don’t know why. But it doesn’t stop her from being happy. Everything makes her happy in this forest.

Mother and Father, the other deer, they couldn’t understand her. Because she couldn’t talk, couldn’t keep up with the others. Always wandering, doing her own thing. I always found her in the end. I just need to remind her that she always needs to stay with me, to be safe, and never wander off, and she’ll be okay. And to never trust strangers completely, because they could hurt her. We are only little fawns, but I can protect my sister, I’ll protect her with my life if I have to.

Shizuka. Someday I will make everything okay for you. I promise.



Shizuka


The little doe had wandered beyond the reach of the birch forest, having followed a butterfly in its search for nectar. She skipped, ran, leaped; little limbs leaving the ground every now and then. It wasn't until the insect landed on the soft petal of a hyacinth that Shizuka came to a crashing halt. She giggled before she fell to the flowerbed beneath her hooves.

A sunbeam fell upon the white of her belly as wild green eyes gazed upwards, black-socked legs held in the air at various angles. She held her two front hooves together as she observed the canopy. Then, she smiled. If only Reiko were there to share the view.


Reiko

"...Shizu!", the fawn exclaimed, running up to her twin and stomping one of her front hooves. "How many times have I told you not to run off?"
She sighed, watching her sister's ears droop, butterflies dancing around her head. "Look, I know.. I know you like to play with the butterflies... can't you at least wait until I wake up so I can come too?" She wrinkled her nose as a butterfly landed on it.


Shizuka


Shizuka's ears fell like the white of winter, slowly. Snowflakes, you see, enjoy their freedom, their graceful fall from the heavens, until the earth finds them and they're grounded. Grounded in some sense of the word, the fawn rolled back onto her belly to ponder her sister's question. How many times had Reiko told her not to run off? One too many, to be honest. Shizuka was always leaving her sister's side at the flash of a butterfly's wing or a curious face. She never meant any harm, though; she just didn't know any better.

The young doe pouted a bit, her green eyes focusing on nothing but the disappointment she had caused. She nodded at the second question before, out of nowhere, leaping to her feet to nuzzle her sister. It was her way of saying that she was sorry.


Reiko


"I know you're sorry, Shizu. But.. you can't talk...how can you tell me where you are? I just get so worrie-"

Reiko sighed. They'd had this talk so many times. She nuzzled her sister. "Why don't you lead me where you want to go today. I will follow."