The Big Rift

AMETHYST 

Amethyst was a typical teenager. She went to school, did all her assignments, and practically lived a life as normal as a teenager's could get. She had a sister, Isabelle, and they got into the occasional fight once in a while, but it all turned out okay in the end. 

It was a Saturday. Amethyst whooped for joy. The long-awaited boarding school admission letter had just arrived! She was packing now. She would be leaving for boarding school in a month's time. Sounds like paradise, right?

One year passed. All was fine. Amethyst came back once in a month and stayed home for a week. Isabelle was okay with that. She did love being in the center of attention. However, when Amethyst did come back, all the love and attention went to her. Isabelle was fine with this. She loved her sister so much. She was her world. 

It was two years. Two years since Amethyst went to boarding school. Amethyst was now 16 years old. She was pining away for her parents and sister. When would she get to meet them? Plus, mum had just given birth to her baby brother, Jonah. She couldn't wait to see him. Mum had sent her photos, but she needed to see her baby brother with her own eyes. 

She was one lucky girl, wasn't she? 

ISABELLE 

Isabelle was thirteen this year and pining away for her sister as well. WHEN WOULD AMETHYST COME BACK?! She needed her. Only when she was with her sister was again would she be happy. Plus, Amethyst needed to see their brother. Today was Tuesday. Amethyst would be coming back tomorrow. She couldn't wait. 

Meanwhile, a heavy feeling settled down in her heart as the thought she had been pushing away for months now came back with full force. The sisterhood they had shared... they were growing apart. The closeness that they had shared had before.. It hurt her heart. It killed her to think about all their happy moments together. Of course, it was inevitable, with Amethyst going to boarding school and all, but for it to actually happen.. eyes glistening with tears and a sad smile playing on her lips, Isabelle cried herself to sleep. So this is what it was like to bottle up emotions. She had never done this before. All was usually vented out somehow. 

Finally! It was Wednesday! She would see her sister after school! She couldn't contain her elation and literally skipped to class. She couldn't wait for mum and dad to pick her up. Amethyst would be waiting in the car with them. After a huge bear hug, they would liven up the car with a constant stream of chattering. She couldn't wait. 

School was over. Isabelle waited on a bench for mum and dad to arrive. Huh. They weren't usually late. Was dad called back to work today? That was the only reasonable explanation. So she waited. 

One by one, the kids filed out until Isabelle was the only one left. A black car pulled over and the driver, a pretty young woman beckoned to her. Who was this supposed to be? When Amethyst's head peeked out the window, Isabelle rushed over and clambered into the car. 

Only then did Isabelle realise she had been crying. 

"Where's mum and dad?" 

At this point, she burst into tears. This was enough to know that mum and dad would never pick her up from school ever again.  

AMETHYST 

She's only 15. Why did it have to be this way? Why does the world have to be so cruel? Plus we have Jonah. He was just a month old. He has never met mum and dad, at least not that he remembers. He says it was a blurry face and a warm, kind voice. That's all.  

No one deserves to lose their parents. 

It has been two years since mum and dad passed away in the accident. Luckily, they had left baby Jonah at home with the maid, so he was okay.  

Fast forward to when Jonah was 10 years old. Amethyst was 26 and Isabelle was 23. Both were working hard to support each other and Jonah. Isabelle took care of the rent and Amethyst took care of Jonah's school expenses.  

JONAH 

One nice day when playing with Jonah, Isabelle asked him: 

"If you had to sacrifice the life of someone in the family, whose would it be?" 

"Mine" 

So you see, Jonah loved his sisters as well. He would have done anything for them. The siblings were close-knit, and nothing would separate them. Except maybe.. Death. 

One fine afternoon, Isabelle came back crying. She said that she had been fired and the manager was planning to fire Amethyst as well. Well, the company was about to be shut down, and everyone was going to be fired one by one. It was like a tiger picking out the fattest sheep to be devoured. But Amethyst was nowhere to be found. 

Amethyst was also crying in her room. The investment she had just made turned out to be a scam. What were they going to do? Who would give them a job? And how to take care of Jonah? She didn't want them to starve to death. 

There was only one solution. And it would have to be done tonight. 

The unearthly screams of a young boy and girl disrupted the nightly silence that night. 

As the bloody knife clattered onto the floor, Amethyst sank to the floor, sobbing. Jonah's body was still spasming on his bed. Poor boy. Tomorrow was his school play. Guess he wouldn't be going. And Isabelle?

"Sorry, sis. I love you," had been the last words she had heard.

One more thing to do. She hung up the noose, stood on the chair, and braced herself. Kicking the stool from below her feet, her last thought was ,"I'm coming, Isa". And boom. She was dead.

Meh. She could never have had lived with it anyway.