To Melodie

Dear Melodie,

I'm sorry. You were my sister; my twin sister actually. We shared the same birthday, celebrated our entire lives together. We were basically one in the same that made this the most challenging thing I'd ever have to do, but I had to.

You were always our parents golden child; their special little social butterfly. So beautiful and free but also the most fragile. Everyone knew the girl on Hamilton Drive, you were so eye catching how could they not know you. The way your coco colored hair always fell perfectly to frame your face, your slim but also curvaceous figure, and just gazing into those eyes of pure amber I swear at times I could see fossilized treasures. You were bewitching but I however was not, in fact I was just our parent's humungous disappointment. I was always just the less intelligent introvert who clung to their twin for dear life. The eerie looking girl with a rat's nest of raven locks to be identified by. You know you forget to brush your hair for a week and then you're just known for being unhygienic and an idiot because you're not capable of figuring out how to use a brush. Also let’s not forget my biggest identifying marker, my delayed physique. The girls would joke that Paul Blart had more boobs then me. Oh my dear Melodie you were my everything I only ever needed you and I thought you only ever needed me. I was wrong evidentially.

You see Melodie it wasn’t till 10th grade when you meet your soon to be high school sweet heart that I realized you were pulling away from me. I don’t understand Melodie we split once as embryos in the womb why would you want to split now in the most challenging phase of our lives...high school. I blame Bryan, since the day you meet him our lives had been nothing but chaos. I remember the day vividly, we had just transferred to a new school walking into our home room and there he was the perfect representation of a beach boy with the wavy blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, and golden tan skin.. he was perfect and you instantly fell for him. As soon as we walked in the class room I assumed we would take our seats in the back of the class like we have done our whole lives in school, but instead you chose Bryan and took the vacant seat next to him leaving me to my own demise in the back row with the nobody's. The whole class I watched as you two entwined with one another; it's as if you two had known each other for years and were just catching up. Oddly enough as much as I hated how gregarious you always were I being to grow jealous seeing the way Bryan looked at you and then when the rest of the school looked at you the same way I was enraged. You were mine. My sister. But no one saw me how they saw you not even our own parents, most people were even convinced I wasn't actually your twin because how could someone like me even start to try and compare to someone as sensational as you.

Now it's time to explain the beginning of your ending, and ironically enough it started with the celebration of our beginning. That's right it was our 16th birthday, you were always one to love a jamboree and you got one each year better than the previous year. Our parents made it a point to do anything and everything to make you happy so they let you invite what felt like the whole school over for our birthday. The whole night you spent drooling over Bryan right by his side like a little puppy dog waiting for its owners attention, you were so happy just to be in his presence to be part of his tight inner circle. You looked ridiculous you didn't belong there, you belonged with me but that night he asked you out officially and the next day at school everyone was talking about Belodie the power couple of the school, just repulsive. It wasn't long after when you completely withdrew from me, I saw less and less of you each day and considering your room was across from mine you would figure I'd still see you all the time, sadly that wasn't the case.

Months went by like this of feeling like an only child but also being suffocated by the shadow of Melodie I was in. Then the end came. Like literally the end of the world, global climate change had reached record breaking peaks and natural disasters were hitting the world at astonishing rates. The people couldn't recover fast enough, in one year Florida was underwater all its residents fleeing up the country. The number of earth quakes in California were sending skyscrapers to their knees. Kansas was riddled with tornados tearing through the state destroying anything in its path. Leaders decided they had to take drastic measures and were going to cull the population in hopes that with less pollution the planet would revive itself. They started 3 months later with animals wiping out almost half of every species, and there was no more endangered species list it was just if they died then oh well. Next they ceased all civilian vehicles and closed all gas stations except for heavenly guarded ones for police and emergency personnel. To follow came rebellion, everyone knew it was just a matter of time till they caused irreversible damage to the human species. Groups of rouge civilians began to destroy government property, there was attacks on workers of the sate ranging from police officers, doctors, politicians, and even a mail man. Then they brought explosives into the mix trying to obliterate military compounds, unfortunately despite their best efforts the culling begin 2 years after the discovery of the end.

I tried to protect you Melodie but you got mixed up with the wrong people and joined the Human Alliance, the biggest group of rebellions putting all their efforts into stopping the death of any humans. I'd go weeks without seeing you, always on a new top secret mission to save people. Soon after the attacks on the military compounds the government began to round people up starting with the homeless bringing them to undisclosed locations to test their worth. There's rumors that out of the hundred thousands that were brought in under only 5 were kept alive. Mass graves were built in the rubble that was Kansas now it was the wasteland state scorned by the stench of death. It neared our 19th birthday when the government started to round up people from nursing homes, mental institutions, and people that have to stay in care facilities because they aren't able to take care of themselves. You were furious when you returned home to find out our grandparents had been taken and eliminated. I've never seen that look on your face, of just sheer anguish. You hid yourself in your room abandoning the Human Alliance, you extracted yourself from life just to sulk in your room about our dead grandparents who we barely ever saw. Life seemed to return to normal people felt less scared since the government hadn't rounded up anyone for a while. Almost 8 months went by we had celebrated our 19th birthday 6 months ago and were starting to hang out again, always small things like going to lunch or riding our bikes but I cherished the time together. Seeing you hopeful again was refreshing and even brought hope to me but it didn't last. You found your way back to Bryan now focusing your attention to him, and the sister I thought I found again vanished just as fast. The planet was still in ruins and despite the drastic measure's the government took it just wasn't quite enough yet, they had to do more. Then started the restrictions on power and water, everyone's power would turn off at 9pm not to return till 6am the next day and on Wednesdays there was no power all day except for emergency facilities and

schools, still with limitations at that. This was our new reality for the next 4 months the Human Alliance became restless and decided to act they thought these restrictions were dumb and arbitrary, they devised a plan to fully incinerate a heavily guarded military compound containing a plethora of military weapons. To say the least it failed and all members of the Human Alliance caught that night were dealt with so to say.

The attack brought wrath to the government and the culling began again anyone with suspicious behavior and any sliver of evidence that they might be a member of the Human Alliance were brought in for questioning and evaluation. If determined they were a member they were tortured for intel and then exterminated when their knowledge ran thin. 20% of the Human Alliance was wiped out in under 3 weeks, after our grandparents death you abandoned the Human Alliance but something changed in you again and you started collaborating with them again. You were stupid you didn't realize until it was to late what you had done. But I did and I fought myself for weeks and weeks on what I was going to do.

It was three days before our 20th birthday and I was struggling internally with what I was going to do, military personnel were roaming the streets constantly. Surprise house sweeps were becoming more frequent almost 4 times a week for some people. Mom and dad were scared, we all knew that evening knowing of someone who is in the Human Alliance could get you killed now let alone living with on of them. You always tried to reassure us by telling us how careful you were being but it wasn't true honestly I feel like you wanted to get caught at times with how reckless you were being. It didn't matter how much you told us we would be okay because we knew the truth and the day before our 20th birthday when there was a stern knock at our door we all knew who it was. Dad answered he always was a stereo typical macho man who had to be the protector of the house, he opened the door to 3 men fully suited and equipped with enough fire power to take down a city. Before dad even said anything the men had already bullied their way inside the front door using the broad shoulders and bulky muscles to push him to the side. The man standing in the middle instructed the other two men to sweep the house and bring anyone in the house into the living room and that we were to line up and wait. With no hesitation the men began going around the house first grabbing mom from the kitchen, you from the backyard, and me from my room rounding us all in the living room. We stood there for almost 10 minutes until anyone said anything, finally our mother spoke up and asked why they were there. Then the questions began. It was almost a hour of enduring these men grilling our entire lives. I cant believe you just sat there and let them question all of us like we are criminals, you could have told your truth but you didn't. I had enough our poor mother was all pruned in the face from the constant flow of tears, our father was smacked around a few times for being a smart mouth according to the men. Finally after getting nothing out of us they left and so did you, just left me to pick up the pieces of our shattered home.

Melodie I am sorry. You meant everything to me but my whole life I lived in your shadow, I wanted to be you. I can't do it I cant turn you in, you're my sister I cant do this to you. But can I... maybe I wasn't the problem maybe it's always been you who is the problem. I sat in my room for hours that night switching back and forth between what I should do then finally I decided.

Late that night I called the whisper line it was the governments secret tips call center, and I told them. I gave them all the evidence they would need to prove you were part of the Human Alliance and I even told them about your little pocket book you keep all kinds of Human Alliance information in. Not even 15 minutes after you came strolling through the back slider a whole team of army men came barging through our front doors, immediately one of them had their arms around you holding on like his life depended on it, and in a blink of an eye they were shoving you out the door and into a armored vehicle.

That was the last night I saw you Melodie. I'd like to think you would forgive me for my betrayal, but I know deep down that if you were still alive you would have it out for me and spend every waking hour of your life trying to get back at me.

You were my sister, my twin sister at that and I apologize for turning you in but it was time for me to shine. I know you'll never know any of this but at least it gives me peace of mind knowing I told my truth. I must go now me and Bryan our going on our first date tonight, I guess he has a thing for girls living on Hamilton Drive or something cause I know now we are nothing alike.

Goodbye Melodie.

Love, Samantha