Axel walked down the dark shadowed street being illuminated by the light falling from the lamp posts placed at irregular intervals.
His heart flooded with joy of how much he had accomplished today despite its rough start.
He was a little hesitant on asking the doctor for a compromise on the payment of the medicine because he was not blind to see that the doctor was tired of seeing him.
The old man had retired from medicine but was still practicing as a pass time.
Axel's mom who had a lung disease since long ago, usually visited this doctor with the children as company.
The man provided their mother with the medication she needed. It seemed her disease had begun since long ago but she was successfully stalling it until her body couldn't contain it anymore.
When her health had deteriorated to a point where she couldn't move anymore, the kids were forced to grow into adults that would fend for their family's survival and treat their mother's illness.
There weren't many doctors in this district. Most of them were practicing to derive some money with only their best interests at heart.
But out of the many greedy lot, their mother had connections with a reputable doctor who was willing to give her attention let alone treat her.
It was also quite odd that someone of such nobility resided in this dirt hole district.
Walking down the same road he had tread earlier tonight but now with hope in his heart, he smiled.
He checked the watch on his left wrist, which had become one of his favorite companions as it was the piloting his life. The blue lights on the watch screen blinked 1:07.
Without a wristwatch, that's whole concept of time seized. The absence of a varying natural light source made the system of this district such that one could only rely on clocks.
Slowly the feeling of his chest tightening and increased and he realised what it was. The air diffused to this region was almost all out. He needed to reach his house before he choked to death from lack of air.
His legs which had been blistered from being covered in the slightly undersized boots he had on, cried silently in pain and pleaded for freedom from the constraints on them.
Taking a turn, slowly the number of houses decreased until he stopped at the small red brown, shack that was illuminated by the orange lights of the lamp post from the road.
He rushed across the road, avoiding the dirt puddles that were slippery.
The floor of this district was poorly constructed, or rather unfinished.
Some dust, nuts and bolts were loose from underneath the STEM cuboid structure unto the surface, littering the floors in this vicinity.
When he got to the house, knowing that his sister and mother were asleep by now, he pulled out the spare key he always carried in his bag wherever he went.
He inserted it in the keyhole and twisted it until the door unlocked.
He pushed the door open and closed it immediately to prevent the leakage of the high priced air he had bought just a day ago.
The lights in the supposed living room were still on so he walked with their aid to the bedroom.
"I'm back and I have great news " He couldn't contain his joy as he entered the bedroom.
The broad smile on his face died down when he saw his sister crouched on the floor by the bed on which their mother was laying on.
Her small back shook as she hugged her knees with her face buried between them.
He approached her. "Ana?. What's wrong? Why are you sitting there? "
He dropped his bag on the floor and squatted before her.
When she acknowledged his presence, she lifted her head and he saw her blood shot eyes and tear streaked cheeks hiding behind her curtain of ginger hair.
" What's wrong? " His heart sped in his chest as he saw his sister's tears.
"It's over" her whispered words blew to him, empty like her eyes. Her voice was hoarse from crying for how long he couldn't decipher.
"What's over?" He asked as his hold on her shoulder tightened.
" Are you hurt anywhere. Why are you crying and why are you talking like that?! " He rushed his answers as he searched her body for any damage.
"She's gone Axel. " She stated flatly and pools of tears flooded her eyes and spilled down from her eyelids to join the lanes created by the others.
"Who?! what do you mean? " His heart was erratic and his hands shaking.
" Mother is dead! She's dead Axel! I watched her die! " She screamed out and broke down in sobs
He moved his eyes to the woman who seemed to be sleeping on the bed just like she did everything time he was back home.
She had streaks of died blood running down from the side of her parted lips down to the collar of her sweater.
" No. no. " He shook his head with a strong conviction.
"She's asleep like she always is. You must be mistaken " He rushed his words as he checked his mother's wrist for a pulse but got nothing.
His hands shook as he hovered over her to listen for her heartbeat.
He lowered his head on her bony chest wrapped in a grey sweater but heard nothing.
"No. This can't be happening. " He started babbling as tears fell on his cheeks.
" I just got a new batch of medicine for her. This.. this.. This will work better than the others. She's fine. " He stammered as he tried convincing himself but the ice cold temperature of his mother's palms disaggreed with his inner conviction.
"She's fine" His voice came out muffled.
" She's fine" He held onto the haggard hair on his head and groaned in pain.
He hugged the body and screamed into the sheets.
" No. You're fine! You're fine! "
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Now experiencing nothing but the pain of grief, the twins wondered how things could change in such a short while?