New Orbit Magazine Online: Issue 03, June 2018

do to you, but all I kept coming back to was
that, as badly as it hurts, I still would have
wanted to know. I, you, we. All I had to go on
was my instincts. Some of those are probably
yours too. I don’t know. I don’t know you and
yet I do. And I know that I would have wanted
to be free from any cage, no matter how cosy,
how pretty. That’s why I left him in the first
place. That’s why I had no choice but to unlock
yours. You’re in shock. I know, I understand.
You’re scared, you’re angry, you’re confused, I
get that. But you are also so much stronger than
you know, no matter what he’s told you or
made you feel. I’ll take care of you Sandy.
There’s a whole world out there for you. It
might be broken and bleeding in too many
places, but there’s still so much for you to see
…to experience, to discover for yourself. For
real this time. But this is all a diamond-tipped
lie, Sandy, an illusion.”
Sandy’s breath was easing, her fists
untangling. “Maybe I liked my illusion.”
“No. You can’t have. You have felt trapped
every day that you have been with him. I know
you, Sandy. I am you.”
“Oh God. I think maybe I have always known.
I dream about you, you know. No, not you but
someone who looks a lot like you. Nothing like
the mother he gave me.”
“Yes, that would be right. No one was like our
mother. She was one of a kind. Unlike us. Ha…
no, I’m sorry, that’s not funny. I am sorry that
you never knew her. Really, so sorry.”
Sandy was still now. Eyes seeking into her
sister’s.
“So. What now? What are we going to do? He
won’t ever let me go, you know.”
*
Henry did not seem surprised to see her. To
see them both, side by side. Armando came out
onto the deck, confused but un-holstered and
ready. Henry waved him away.
“Ah. So, it was you. The missing journalist.
Clever, Alex, very clever. Naturally.”
“You did a good job, Henry. Amazing for
such a short time span. Except that she’s a
much better person than me. I wanted to kill
you, she just wants you to say you’re sorry.”
“For what? To her, for what? I gave her life, I
gave her everything. I love her.”
Henry looked at Sandy now.
“I love you, you know that, Baby.”
Alex moved in front of Sandy.
“Apologise to me then. You stole from me
Henry. In the worst way possible. You’re a thief,
an abuser, a liar.”
Henry spoke through her.
“Sandy, you are everything that your twin
here isn’t. I made you so much better. You will
hate each other, you know.”
Alex moved back and took Sandy’s hand.
“Don’t believe him Sandy, he is a living lie.
He’s convincing only because he believes it all
himself. Oh, yeah… Great pool, by the way,
Henry. It’s the one I drew for you, isn’t it? My
dream pool. I’m sure Sandy loves it too, but
hey, you know what? It seems that DNA is
thicker than water. Or, at least than your
facsimile of love. Sandy is coming with me now,
Henry, and you are going to let her go.”
Henry smiled, exhaled.
“She won't survive for long without me, you
know. You think you’re on some mercy
mission, delivering justice, but you’ve only
scorched the earth and poisoned the well, Alex.
The acceleration can't be stopped but it can be
managed and I've got everything in place to take
care of her when she starts to decline. You may
think you're getting a sister or a daughter, but
you'll end up with your grandmother before too
long…”
The bile burst into the back of her throat.
Alex had never wanted to break her
Hippocratic Oath before. Never wanted to do