Limbo

Wind gently whistled by, a low, open tone that filled the ears of the three companions. They sat together on a lone bench, amidst the sea of wheat plains, stretching out as far as the eye could see. The cloudless sky bore a weak sun, just bright enough to dispense the cold, but not filling the air with warmth.

The young man of the company sat further away from the other two, leaning his elbow on the armrest with his chin resting on his fist. His free hand tapped nonsensical rhythms against his jeans while his eyelids sat half closed over his brown eyes. The breeze fluttered the ends of his dirty blonde hair and loose sleeves of his grey t-shirt, proudly displaying his favorite sports team.

“Mom’s gonna be pissed,” he finally broke the silence. Pissed at you two, he hoped they would catch.

His two sisters sighed and rolled their eyes in sync. One look and you’d know immediately they were identical twins. They both had long, wavy dirty blonde hair matching their brother, with the same almond-shaped brown eyes. The twins looked like clones of each other, with long, oval faces, wide shoulders, and short torsos. Their fashion styles were the only way to tell them apart, with one favoring green themes and scrunchies, and the other always adorning her wrists in bracelets and fingers in rings.

The brother stared at the gravel road ahead of their feet, pursing his lips together. “Did you see all the cords I got for my graduation ceremony? They would’ve looked great on my gown.”

Once again, silence was the only response. He waited a few minutes before trying again.

“I was planning on sharing a dorm room with my best friend, once we got to college.”

“Nathan, will you leave us alone?” Her bracelets jangled as she shook her arms in annoyance and straightened her blue top.

“Haven’t heard that before,” Nathan muttered, noticing the look of confusion he received. “Stop playing the innocent victim, Abigail. Mom and dad aren’t here to see.”

Abigail folded her arms in front of her, crossing her legs in an identical stance as her sister. Another few moments passed in silence, with the breeze as their only other company. The third sibling stood up suddenly, her high ponytail, decorated with a light green scrunchy, bouncing with the movement.

“Well, I can’t stand just sitting there if we’re going to be here a while.” 

“What, Molly, have you never waited for anything you wanted before?” Nathan smirked. 

She quickly strode to the other side of the bench, toying with the wheat stalks. “This isn’t exactly what I wanted when you suggested we carpool together for some “fun” sibling bonding time.” Nathan’s eyes would have burned holes into the ground if he had been born with heat vision. 

“How long are we gonna be here, anyway?” Molly squinted her brown eyes at both sides of the dusty road, shrinking to a pinpoint in the distance.

“No idea,” Abigail grumpily stated. After a few more minutes of silence, Molly gave up, joining her siblings on the bench once again. Finally she broke the tension.

“Well, there’s no point of being mad at each other now,” she said in a matter-of-fact sort of way. Nathan and Abigail both turned to her, their eyebrows darting up their foreheads.

“I’m just saying,” she explained, “maybe this could be our second chance.”

“To do what?” Nathan was irritated again.

“To . . . love each other.”

Nathan sighed, leaning back against the bench. “All I’ve ever been was second best. Mom and dad obviously favored you two, and just ignored me. You two followed your parents’ example.”

Abigail’s eyes softened. “I know, and I’m sorry, but we didn’t choose to have powers.”

“And I didn’t choose not to have powers.” Abigail thought for a moment.

“But I think Molly’s right. We don’t have to treat each other like this anymore.” Now it was Nathan’s turn to think. Was he ready to set the years of neglect and pain behind? Even if it wasn’t their fault, could he forgive his sisters? Nathan’s eyes met his sisters as the corner of his mouth curved upwards. 

“Look!” Molly pointed to a small speck on the road growing bigger and bigger until it took the shape of a bus. The bus looked like an ordinary city bus, except for the colors that flashed at random, as if trying to bring cheer by simply being colorful and fun. A sign over the large front window read ‘Limbo’, then faded to ‘Afterlife’. 

All three were startled by the figure that literally jumped onto the gravel road just as the door swung open. He looked like a young man in his twenties, but energetic enough to be a five year old. The sun seemed to reflect off his huge smile as his shaggy black hair bounced up and down. 

“Welcome to Limbo,” his tenor voice bellowed. “Come on the bus and we’ll take you to the Afterlife! I’m Percy, and I’ll be your driver today!”

The siblings looked at each other, surprise turning into suppressed giggles. They almost didn’t catch what Percy was saying from the inhuman speed of his talking. Short introductions were made as they boarded the small bus. A few others were scattered in green velvet seats, with looks on their faces that said Percy had talked their ears off. 

Despite the large number of open spaces, the three companions sat together on the same row as the bus rumbled through Limbo.

Both of Nathan’s parents had superpowers. They fully expected their firstborn to exhibit some powers in childhood, too. But their baby grew into a toddler, then started elementary school, with no sign of any powers at all. Such an event had never occurred before.

The twins soon joined the little family. Within a week, Abigail was literally melting out of her parents’ hands and solidifying on the floor. She melted her body through the bars of her crib and underneath door cracks, making her almost impossible to control. Molly took an interest in plants from a very young age, but her ability to communicate with trees and plants wasn’t apparent until she was a toddler.

For as long as he could remember, Nathan was sidelined, never as good as his sisters in his parents’ eyes. The twins were clearly favored because of their superpowers, being viewed as more whole than Nathan. He resorted to any action, sometimes reckless, just to be noticed and given attention by his family. His sisters turned their nose up at him, showing off a new trick they learned with their powers while he tried to show his parents the A he got on his latest test. His childhood memories were filled with nothing but neglect. 

With his sisters only having their permits, Nathan was driving. Nathan had enough of being treated as a second class citizen, and refused to tolerate his sisters’ treatment of him. An argument quickly broke out, with Nathan angrily driving, oblivious to his speed on the narrow, tree lined road. The blue sky faded into grey, revealing Venus as a single dot of light in the heavens. He couldn’t concentrate with the yelling in his ears, not noticing a truck pulling out from a driveway tucked in the bushes. 

The car spun and rolled out of control, the next few seconds of being tossed and turned passing before comprehension sunk in. Nathan lifted his bleeding head off the steering wheel just in time to see the body of Molly being caressed and mourned by the trees, before succumbing to blackness.