"I am so happy", marco exclaims smiling cutely at his twin.
"I know brother, am happy too", mario tells ruffling his brother's hair making him giggle.
"It feels like dream, don't you think mario, we made our first friend", tells marco kicking pebbles on his way to their home.
"it feels like dream", mario tells looking at sky.
No one ever played with them nor behaved well, oddy was the first one who played and treated them with respect and love in a friendly way, she gave warmth which they only received from their mother.
"I can't wait to tell madre, let's run", marco declares running towards their home holding mario's hand.
Mario giggles and run behind him thinking how they would tell their mother and she will be happy for them, she would happily read them the story oddy suggested.
As twins were running towards their home they found a group of people gathered at a place. They frowned and saw each other's face questioning internally. As mario nodded his head marco walked towards the group of people.
"What happened here?", asked marco as mario stayed beside him with a visible frown on his face. Something felt off for twins but they couldn't point out what it is.
The people gathered gave twins pitiful looks making them frown more.
"what happened?", asked mario to a elder woman who was giving them sad look.
"What will happen to these kids?".
"poor kids they lost their father when they were five and now their mother".
Were the murmurings twins heard from the group making their heart drop in their stomach.
"Mario...", marco pleads his brother.
He don't know for what he is pleading and why but Mario understood.
Mario held his brother's hand tightly in his own and pushed the people away making way for them.
What they saw was they couldn't imagine on their whole life even in their worst dream. Their mother in a pink dress was laying on the road, there was strawberries around which probably fell out from the bag she was carrying and had there were two more paper bags but twins don't know what is in them.
Their main attention was on their mother who is bleeding to death. She isn't dead, not yet, that's what the twins believed.
A loud scream erupted from mario. As marco stood their silently with his eyes on his mother's blood stained body.
Mario rushed towards alesia's body and cradled her head in his laps. His loud cries were echoing on the street, where marco was stood broken and without a moment. Not even a single tear slipped out of marco's eye.
"madre… please wake up… madre", Mario cries shaking her head with his small hands.
"madre… please… wake up, why are you sleeping on the road like this?", he chokes as blood oozes on his palm from her head.
There is blood, a lot of blood, that people were afraid to take her to hospital and didn't call ambulance because they would be dead just like her if they go against him.
"ma… madre, we have… so much to tell you", cries mario putting his head on alesia's chest crying his eyes out.
"we… w… We made a friend, she I.. Is beautiful… just like you… she told us to ask you to read… red shoes and seven drawfs s… sto… story", mario cries stuttering badly.
This was the first time mario is crying like this, he always hid his tears from marco, from his mother but not today, the little innocent soul who used to think about other's before himself is broken to the extent that he couldn't be healed. He needed to cry his eyes out, let all the tears he kept hidden in his chest to be able to breathe again and he did. Sadly there wasn't a single hand who came forward to wipe his tears.
"Mar… marco… . Brother… . Please ask madre.. to wake up, she… she always listens to y.. You", Mario chokes getting up leaving his mother gently back on the road shaking marco with his blood stained hands placing on Marco's shoulders.
"she left us Mario, don't cry, no one is there for us now, it's just you and me", marco tells making mario choke on his tears badly.
"brother... please…", mario speaks but marco cut him off immediately.
"ca… can anyone help us to bury o… our mother", he asks in a pleading tone blinking his eyes to get rid if any tears forming in his eyes.
No one replied him, in fact everyone started to back away. Leaving those twins and their mother's dead body on the street, with no intention to help those shattered innocent souls.
Mario stilled, he moved his eyes to every corner possible to search for someone who could help them, people either ignored their cries completely without glancing their way or few gave them pitiful look then shook their head denying the humanity to them.
Mario kept crying and sobbing till his eyes turned puffy and red. Where as marco stood few steps away without not blinking a single tear.
Hours passed but no one helped them. They were broken wanted to be embraced by single person but no one had enough humanity to help them, they couldn't leave their mother like that on the streets for hungry dogs which were howling in the darkness of night.
Evening to midnight passed they didn't get a second of sleep. How could they when they were habituated to sleep in their mother's warmth because lack of comfortable blankets in their home.
A group of dogs started to walk towards them, twin got horrified and stepped a back. But when dogs started running towards them they know that those dogs wanted to dig their teeth in their mother's body.
Seeing them coming Marco and Mario covered alesia's body with their own. The hungry howls made their bones shiver in fear along the coldness of night.
Still crying mario said to his brother.
"Marco run from here, they will hurt you", but marco wasn't the one who is going to leave his brother and his mother alone in danger. He shook his head vigorously holding tight on his only family.
"I don't want to die now, marco, I promised you but I didn't fulfil them", Mario cries hugging his mother and wrapping a hand around his brother.
"If you run, you will be able to fulfil them", Mario tried to explain his brother but marco was stubborn he wasn't the one who would leave his family behind.
As they heard multiple howls their hearts dropped. "Mario… I will be happy to die tonight with you but I won't be able to live without you after mom leaving", marco chokes but didn't cry.
Both kids closed their eyes with a smile on their lips ready to accept their fate but it didn't reach them. Five loud bangs echoed making then flinch and open their eyes in fear. Those five dogs running to them are now laying dead few feet away from them.
When they lift there eyes confused seeing dogs dead they saw a woman standing there with two guns in her hands. She is wearing a black pencil skirt with white shirt. Her eyes covered with shades she is wearing.
She helped them, but why?
When no one showed them mercy and helped them why this woman helped them?
They were glad someone helped them but were confused why?
Twins knew there must be any reason behind it, because they understood people don't help unless they need something from them.
Only one word escaped from their mouths in unison "why?".
The woman lowered her guns and tucked then behind. Smirking at twins she answered "such brave boys shouldn't die this easily, not at least now".