Out in the Dark

Our English Prep: to write a piece entitled Out in the Dark. I don't think the story speaks for itself, but I actually had to do some research for my writing. Came as a shock!

Out in the Dark

Rhyming couplets are complete: they stand together yet apart from other words. If you hear them you can spot them, distinct and obvious.

Eyebrows sit above the eyes, meeting centrally then branching out. We always see them together; we never think anything of it, until one of them is missing.

Twins start to play with each other at fourteen weeks. Ultrasounds have proven that they touch each other more then they do themselves. Wombs are dark places, and we know we’re both there. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

I was born at 12.47, Molly at 12.51 that makes me the oldest. Molly came out quickly to be with me didn’t want me to experience a single thing without her; Georgie and Charlie came out two hours apart from one another because they’re not like us.

When we were born Granny almost fainted, as mummy hadn’t told her she was having twins, she wanted it to be a surprise and mummy said she got one. We were dressed in baby blue suits. We were meant to go home that night but mummy had to stay so the nurses could look after her. Molly and I looked after each other until the morning.

The average weight for twin is 5lbs and 5oz, I weighed 5lbs and 8oz, Molly weighed 5lbs and 3oz; daddy always says I stole some of her sugar bags.

Derek the dog didn’t really like us: we would always pull his ears.

Daddy’s favorite book to read us was about Bears, all the different types of bears in the world: the Asiatic Black Bear, the Brown Bear, and the Panda bear. Mummy is like a Polar Bear as they always give birth to twins. I don’t think she could have managed triplets.

Uncle Stan sometimes came round, he would bring his little girl Rosie. Rosie couldn’t understand why we dressed the same or what we would say to each other. I think I liked Rosie, but Molly didn’t, I’m still not sure about her.

Once, during one of Uncle Stan’s visits we were all on the trampoline. It sat in front of our pine trees; we were all bouncing when Derek started running round us like he usually does. Derek started barking loudly, growling and showing his teeth; Molly and I were scared so Rosie bravely went to get Dad. You see Molly she’s not too bad.

Molly and I are in the 40% of twins that create their own language.

When we started school we refused to be in different teaching groups. I think that upset some people, but school’s a scary place for twins: lots of kids want to play with you and just you. And you realise that you’re both good at different things, I’m good at science and Molly at music and maths, she also drawers birds. Once she told me that she wished she could fly.

Fly over our pines to the grey skies beyond.

There was this one boy who liked Molly he was called Frank Turner. He tried to kiss Molly behind the gym so I hit him in the nose. It only bled a little but mummy made me go to bed without supper; she doesn’t know that Molly brought me some chocolate pudding.

Some people call a twins connection ESP.

At one party we gave the birthday girl, Sally, a massive fluffy Polar Bear as her mum was pregnant with twins. Her tummy was so big through her tight frilly pink dress. When we were eating cake I asked her if she could eat three slices as she was feeding three people. Sally’s mum only laughed, saying ‘she wouldn’t be eating any cake if she wanted to get rid of the baby weight’. You have to run to get rid of baby weight.

If she gives birth to fraternal twins she’s three times more likely to give birth to another set.

Being a twin girl I have twice the chance of giving birth to twins. I will never get a big tummy that shows through a frilly pink dress: humans are fragile but twins are the most delicate of us all.

Twins share the same DNA but do not have the same figure print, sometimes we share things but only once may carry it on. Like drawing birds.

TTT’s, also known as: Twin-to-Twin transfusion syndrome; fetal transfusion syndrome or fetofetal transfusion syndrome is a rare disease in the placenta, where during the development of identical twins they share the same blood vessels meaning the blood can flow unevenly. One twin takes the others blood. It didn’t hurt my heart.

In the other twin, in Molly, it can cause severe anemia as they are giving all their blood to their sibling. Anemia is easy to hide in a twin, when I can be Molly in gym, or I can finish her chocolate pudding.                 

I only noticed her heart beat quicken in the moon; everyone noticed it stop.

Uncle Stan called us in for fish fingers, Derek ran off chasing a bird and daddy him, trying to save the bird and mummy complained that our carrots were getting cold whilst also trying to save the bird. Rosie jumped from the trampoline and ran into the house. I told Molly she should hurry up and jumped from the ladder. The bird got away, Uncle Stan had cooked the chips and Derek was inside. Everyone was inside. I started running back to the trampoline.

“Molly!” Her red coat fell and bounced.

Uncle Stan was getting coffee; Derek was at the neighbors; mummy and daddy were trying to save a different bird. Rosie was holding my hand whilst I hid in Molly’s coat.

All the machines, all the doctors, all the drugs were trying to save her; but Molly had already told me she was leaving.

You’d already told me that birds and grey skies were closer then we thought.

Experts say that genetics account for 60% of the occurrences of disease, whilst other factors, such as infections or exposure to toxins are responsible for the remaining 40%.

Molly, I didn’t know I was stealing your moonshine, please come back, I’m lost. One star can’t shine alone.