The Final Night

Sitting huddled together opposite of the fireplace, my sister and I hear the cracking sound of burning wood, almost sounding as if the fire was laughing with us. Though it is night, we both indulge in coffee from similar, handmade clay-mugs and bask in its warmth against our hands and throat. Faced with a dreary winter day, we kept within close contact of the heat-source, admiring the contrast of its bright, blazing hues against our pale, vacant walls. With painfully-solid, wooden floors, we both recognized our mutual discomfort of sitting on the ground, but neither of us made an attempt to finally stand up, walk to the door, and leave our childhood home forever. 

For the first sixteen years of our lives, my sister, Katrin, and I were far from close; we often fought and engaged in long periods of silent resentment. However, when we started nearing the final months of living together before we separated our journey for college, we immediately formed such an attached relationship, which was strong enough that our parents felt ostracized by our newfound-telepathic communication. Although there were still a few weeks left before college and temporarily leaving our home, our parents surprised us with the news of the house’s sale last month, forcing us to part with the house we have been calling home our whole lives. To distract us from that fact, Katrin and I made it our mission to hurriedly complete the final challenges from our childhood bucket list.

1. Spend 24 consecutive hours on the couch watching T.V.
2. Have a slumber party with our dogs.
3. Have a karaoke party.
4. Eat take-out Chinese food on the floor. 

To complete our first mission, my sister and I begrudgingly told our parents our plan; however, instead of deeming us childish and irresponsible, they surprisingly accepted it in awe that we cared so much about our childhood memories. Katrin, almost the polar opposite of me, always sits on the left side; therefore, she chose to remain on the left side of the couch for 24 hours, while I was perfectly content with its counterpart. She was in charge of microwaving the popcorn and dispensing the pretzels, and I was left to pour glasses of soda and purchase the candy. Throughout this one-day period, we delved into romantic comedies, horror, and dystopian movies that made us swoon, laugh, and sob. When the clock marked the end of our challenge, we counted it completed. 

Then, we were onto our next bucket list adventure: have a slumber party with our dogs. With two 60-pound, golden retrievers that were too heavy to lift, we knew this next challenge was going to be hard to complete. Using the same couch from our last completed mission, we constructed a blanket fort, using pillows and sheets tied to the backs of chairs for support. We coerced Lily and Cooper, our dogs, into the newly-formed retreat using their favorite toys and treats. Although they were initially restless and pouncing on us, they eventually settled and fell into a slumber, which Katrin and I also fell victim to. A thick, watery-liquid smeared on my face, causing me to open my eyes, seeing Lily licking my cheek. I peer out of the sheets and see the familiar colors of the rising sun and alert Katrin that mission two was over.

For our next bucket-list item, Katrin and I decided we were going to invite our friends to create our final memories with them before moving away. With the pillow-fort still standing, we were forced to move the karaoke night upstairs. Our three friends, plus Katrin and I, were non-stop playing 2000’s pop songs, upbeat rap songs, and the occasional country song. During the periods in which we were taking a break from singing, we indulged in leftover candy and popcorn from the night before. After successfully singing and dancing for almost three hours, we decided to call it a night and have a final sleepover with our hometown friends. 

There it was, the final bucket-list adventure: eat takeout Chinese food on the floor. This was convenient for us as all the furniture and decorative items had been removed from our house and displaced into moving vans. However, we both dreaded the last challenge as it almost resembled finishing our childhood and moving on to different challenges, which were inevitably going to be more complicated than our childish list. Together as inseparable sisters, we drive to the local Chinese restaurant and pick up our go-to order: pork fried rice, dumplings, and sweet and sour chicken. Driving home, we realize that may have been our last time ordering from that restaurant and navigating the roads it takes to get there. Pulling into the driveway, we grasp that not only is the significant change of moving important to us, but it is also the mundane things that will be the most difficult. We use our only copy of the house key to unlock the doors and walk inside, which may be the last time ever. With nothing but ourselves and the carried food inside, we trek in front of the fireplace to sit and enjoy our final meal in the house. However, my sister and I failed to realize that the electricity was already canceled, and at nine o’clock at night, it was pitch black inside, save for the growing flames of the fire which produced enough light for us to eat. At first, we ate in comfortable silence, not daring to mention the idea of soon leaving our town. However, we soon started sharing our favorite times of the last sixteen years; providing us with laughter and the occasional single, rolling tear on the cheek. When there was no more food or coffee to enjoy, we both knew it was the end of our stay and the completion of the bucket list. Although neither of us discussed the devastating fact, we stood up simultaneously and, hand-in-hand, walked towards the door. We opened the door and entered it together, ready to start the next chapter of our lives in unison.