"Sandwiches Always Save the Day"
The sound of feet roughly crashing into the ground echoed on the sidewalk along with the lungs gasping for air every second. Sweat crept down Camellia's face abundantly. She knew it was a bad day to wear her hair down. She pushed the thought aside and turned her head to look behind her. She saw her brother, Cedrus, racing 3 feet behind, still looking flawless even though they've been running non stop for 30 minutes. The dashing looks of her brother aside, there was still a creepy bird lady gaining on them in the neighborhood full of worn down houses. Her squawks could be heard from a mile away Camellia guessed.
Cedrus locked eyes with her for a split second, then averted them to a corner with an alleyway close by. Being in what seems like the poor part of New York had it's up side. Right as the thought drifted away, Cedrus dashed in front of Camellia and harshly took hold of her hand. He dragged her into a small alleyway and placed a hand over their mouths to silence the heavy breathing. Camellia looked into her brother's eyes and she could see the fear in them trying to claw there way into a scream.
Camellia did not appreciate the hand over her mouth. She can quiet herself down. She shoved her tongue out and licked his hand which tasted like sweat and dirt. They both made gagging sounds which was not helpful at the moment as they were trying to hide from that crooked lady with big feathered wings and talons. Fortunately, they saw the bird lady swift past them with a furious look reaching from her mouth to her eyes. The air filled with breaths the twins didn't know they were holding.
"Finally, air please fill my lungs," Cedrus heaved out as he guessed the bird lady was far enough where she couldn't hear them. Camellia rolled her eyes and gave a "you're really doing this now" look to her brother.
"Hey, don't judge me. I'm sure if you'd been put in this situation that you would be begging for air as well. Plus, I need oxygen to look this cool in the pit of distress." Camellia stared blankly at her brother for a moment then just sighed and shook her head with disappointment. His humor is really flawed.
"Aw c'mon Cam, you know I'm joking," Cedrus exclaimed as he gave his twin a light shove to the shoulder which caused her long chocolate hair to get stuck on a piece of gum left on a wall.
"This is no time for joking, Cedrus. Now, quit being a dork and hand me that steak knife. We need to get out of here. Something's not right in the air," Camellia acknowledged. Cedrus nodded his head with a serious glint in his eyes. He reached down and pulled the steak knife out of his black leather jacket pocket and carefully handed it to his sister. Camellia started to attempt to pull a Mulan and chop her hair where the gum was sitting. She hesitated and looked to her brother for reassurance.
"Here let me," offered Cedrus. He took the knife out her cold hands and began to saw away her hair. Though it would end up choppy, it will do it's job. Looks honestly didn't matter at this point to Camellia. While her brother looked like a prince from a fairy tale, she was sure she looked like a mop with googly eyes.
She looked up into her brother's deep blue eyes to see that he held a look of concern in them as he gently worked at her hair. She must have seemed anxious to cut her hair for the first time since they ran away from Aunt Kelli and Uncle Jared at the end of winter and the beginning of spring. As much as the twins wanted to stay with their happy family of cousins, they just couldn't burden them any longer. Camellia convinced Cedrus that it was the best choice as they didn't want anyone getting hurt from the weird occurrences that have been happening. So, they left a note in their room saying they'll be going to find Great Grandpa Cayden for answers. They're almost there too. He lives near Long Island North so they can't be too far.
Cedrus snapped Camellia back to reality as her thoughts were beginning to ramble. He passed her the chopped off hair in pieces and had a guilty look.
"It's okay Cedrus. It was getting kind of annoying anyway so thanks." Camellia offered him a small smile of gratitude. Cedrus gave an accomplished cheshire grin with his eyes closed. He could feel his sister roll her eyes even though his were closed. Surprisingly, she let out the smallest giggle which caused Cedrus to smile even more. With a small smirk on her face, Camellia decided to roughly poke Cedrus on the cheek with a teasing look in her eyes. Cedrus returned the act by poking her in the arm. Both had a playful look in their eyes until a wave of nausea came over Camellia.
"Something here is wrong. I can feel it." She looked towards her brother and gave a pained look. He thrashed his head in every direction trying to find the mysterious "wrong" thing. His eyes then came across a small kitten laying on the ground with blood surrounding it, matted fur, and maggots surrounding it's head obviously dead. Camellia followed his gaze and covered her mouth as a gag reflex started showing up. The thing was, she had nothing to gag up which reminded her they needed to find a place to eat.
"Let's get out of here Cedrus. Maybe once I don't feel like puking my guts out we can find a little something to eat." Cedrus nodded and supported Camellia's weight by grabbing her elbows and letting her lean into him. Though they both had slim figures, the height difference did help the distribution of weight. Camellia silently thanked her twin by patting his shoulder gently.
They walked along the eroding sidewalk slowly, trying their best to not draw attention to themselves. But, alas. There was a group of three girls who looked around fifteen years old strolling the sidewalk with shopping bags chattering among themselves while stealing glances at Cedrus. The one blond one brushed her hair behind her shoulder and gathered the courage to approach him.
"Hey hot stuff, what's you're name? Mine's Ashley. You live near here?" Cedrus just stared blankly at her. This isn't his first time dealing with girls like this, and it certainly won't be his last. It's not that he doesn't appreciate the attention because Cedrus loves attention, but it's that this isn't the best time to play around. The twins aren't in their best state and they have a place to be by sundown.
Cedrus has a bad boy aura around him which Camellia wouldn't exactly agree with that since he acts like a dork most the time. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop girls from crawling at his feet.
Camellia slightly shifted to stand behind him and averted her eyes to the ground.
"I'm Cedrus and no, I don't live around here. I actually have places to be and little time to get there seeing as it is already noon. Gotta zoom." Cedrus quickly grabbed Camellia's hand and pulled her around the group of girls with a faster pace than before in order to prevent the girls from running after them.
As Camellia looked behind her, she heard Ashley mutter, "He's prob taking that ugly wretch to a homeless shelter." All the other girls nodded their heads and turned away from watching Cedrus speed walking away with Camellia in tow.
After about 15 minutes of searching, (no longer in the poor areas) they came across this modern sandwich shop. It was small with a red and white theme. The giant logo plastered at the middle top read, "George and Ruby's Sandwiches." Camellia and Cedrus gave each other a shrug as a "this will do" agreement came across them.
The twins walked in with a ding of a bell and was immediately submerged with 70's music. The layout looked a lot like subway, Camellia noted. She looked towards the counter where she supposed sandwiches were fixed and saw an older couple working together in shaping bread. The man had short curly silver hair and a pale skin tone while the woman had white frizzy hair with a darker skin tone. The women, which she assumed was Mrs. Ruby, looked up at her with a warm smile which then turned to a concerned look.
"Well my heavens, bless y'all's little hearts. What happened to you two?" She asked in a gentle but slightly scratchy voice. She took off her apron and hung it up, walking over to Camellia and placing her hands in hers and looking into Camellia's eyes with a very concerned glint. All this commotion caused, who Camellia assumed to be Mr. George, to look up at Mrs. Ruby and sigh with smile on his face then continue shaping the bread.
Camellia looked into Mrs. Ruby's eyes and felt a wave of discomfort and warmth (an odd combination) settle over her. "I uh just got gum stuck in my hair and...and we both fell down earlier." Camellia's voice was soft and gentle, her words flowing together as she spoke with a shy demeanor.
"Well there's a restroom in the back where y'all can wash up. What's y'all's names dears?" Mrs. Ruby kindly asked, finally letting go of Camellia's hands.
"I'm Cedrus Callista and this is my twin sister Camellia Callista." Cedrus answered for both of them due to Camellia feeling uncomfortable. Mr. George looked up from the bread with his eyebrows furrowed which caused his skin to wrinkle even more.
"Did you say Callista young man?" Mr. George asked, giving a curious look to the both of them. His voice was deep with a scratchy gruffness to it compared to his wife.
"Yes sir," Camellia responded.
"Well how about that. Do y'all fellers happen to have an old relative named Cayden Callista?"
Camellia gasped in excitement and Cedrus just stood there looking shook. A smile spread across Camellia's face as she explained, "Cayden Callista is our Great Grandfather! We were actually on our way to his house. How do y'all know him?"
"He is our neighbor. Wise man, I tell you. We owe him a great deal 'cause he helped us open this place here," Mr. George stated with a smile stretching across his face. Camellia and Cedrus then looked back to Mrs. Ruby and she wrapped them both in a tight hug for an old woman then released them.
"I'm Ruby and that's my husband George! I can't believe you're Cayden's great grandchildren! He talked so much about you two at our annual neighborhood get together. My oh my. Well, how about we serve you hungry children some food and then we can give you a ride to his house. I just can't believe it! You two both have his eyes! It's an uncanny resemblance!"
"Thank you Mrs. Ruby. We really appreciate it," Camellia replied respectively, nodding her head with a small smile graced upon her lips.
It didn't take long for them both to clean up a little and inhale their food. It tasted like an old fashioned Subway Sandwich, but with better bread. Once they were done, Mr. George grabbed his car keys and went over to Mrs. Ruby and gave her a kiss goodbye. Camellia thought it was sweet and her heart warmed a little. As they were walking out of the little restaurant, she saw Mrs. Ruby put on a knitted sweater and rub her arms for warmth. Mrs. Ruby smiled, which created more wrinkles on her eyes, as they walked out.
Subway is not sponsored
As they got in the back seat of the small old car, Camellia gave a look to Cedrus which expressed uncertainty. He just sighed in return and wrapped an arm around her frail figure and frayed clothing to warm her a little which didn't do anything since they're both naturally cold.
The car ride was mostly silent besides the oldies music playing in the background. Camellia noted that Mr. George did not talk much. Half way there, Cedrus got a wave of tiredness and placed his head on Camellia's shoulder. She then adjusted herself so Cedrus could be more comfortable on the ride. Her hand went to pet Cedrus' soft chocolate hair in order to let him know it's okay to relax.
Even though it sometimes doesn't seem like it, the twins love each other and know each other more than they know themselves. They've always been together and barely spend any time apart. Every bad thing Cedrus went through, Camellia went through the same thing and vise versa. They've been with each other for the good and the bad. It's always been just them.
30 minutes later, the car drove up into a drive way. It was a small cabin looking house. Camellia shook Cedrus and clutched onto his hand as they got out of the car.
"Here it is. Back to the restaurant I go. Have fun with y'all's Great Grand-poppy," George kindly said as the twins slid out of the car.
"Thank you very much Mr. George. Have a good day!" Camellia responded. As his car drive off, the twins stared at the house, gripping tightly to each other's hands. They both took a deep breath and looked at each other then the house.
Hand in hand, they began to walk up to the front door. Cedrus withdrew his hand to knock on the door. Both their hearts were racing as they've spent a little over a month making their way to their great grandfather's house. They'll finally get answers after all this time.
The door opened gently.
"And you are?"
Author's note:
And that's that! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but if you want more, make sure to tell me. I hope y'all enjoyed this book's pilot chapter. If you see any mistakes please tell me in the comments. Make sure to stay tuned for the next chapter with Cedrus and Camellia. Have a great day!
(Oh and by the way, Camellia is pronounced [come-eel-lee-uh] and Cedrus is pronounced [See-driss]. Callista just has to be sounded out)
The Lost Flower by jess_writes121