Nekoda UriahThe ringing fire alarm woke Nekoda out of a blissful sleep. She jolted out bed, unfazed by her nakedness as she hurried across the apartment toward the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway. Her heart slowed its rampant pace and her hands rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes when she took in the scene. Her identical twin sister Davina was standing on a folding chair in the middle of the room as she attempted to waft the smoke that was being emitted from the pan on the stove away from the fire detector. Davina’s face broke into a wide grin when she saw Kody’s unamused glare.
“Hey! Good morning!” she shouted over the wailing of the alarm. Kody ignored her, making her way to the stove to shut off the pan of crackling bacon. She turned back to her twin.
“This is karma,” she said, putting as much disdain in her voice as she could manage before she continued,
“for your part in what happened to that poor animal.” Nekoda pointed toward the meat. She feinted an authoritative disappointment.
“Think about what you’ve done.” She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to maintain her air of superiority while standing completely exposed. Davina continued to smile as she climbed down the chair and wrapped her arms around her sister.
“I’m sure it didn’t suffer. I mean, it was grass fed.” Her brilliant blue eyes sparkled, waiting for Kody to respond. The two of them had never managed to have a real argument in their life. They hadn’t always agreed - afterall, Kody was vegan and Davina was almost entirely a carnivore - but the bond they shared always superseded any sort of discord between them. Kody rolled her eyes but didn’t push her sister away.
What a hopeless waste of an argument, she thought. Instead she wrapped her own arms around Davina and gave her a light squeeze. She pulled away.
“Say what you want,” she said, turning toward the fridge. She opened it and grabbed a bright yellow grapefruit. The chill from the fridge bit her skin but she barely noticed. She continued,
“but I know this didn’t suffer.” She winked and left the kitchen, heading back toward her room to change. She came out minutes later, ready for the day. Her
outfit was comfortable for the potential warm weather and for excessive walking. When she entered living room where Davina was, she frowned. Davina was dressed in her light blue scrubs.
“I thought you were coming with me to the festival today.” Kody slumped onto the couch, throwing her legs over the arm rest. Davina hurried around the room, gathering various items. She grabbed her car keys out of the dish on the lamp stand before she answered.
“Sorry pretty girl, I have rounds this morning. But you should still go. Try to find a good lookin’ man.” She came over and kissed the top of Kody’s head. Nekoda smiled at the idea but didn’t say anything. Davina headed out the door but leaned back in before adding,
“A man. Get one. I want nieces.” She shut the door before her sister could respond. Alone in the apartment, Kody prepared to spend the day doing the one thing she loved most in the world. Photography. She wanted to capture what she saw and felt about the festival in a picture. She finished her breakfast then began gathering her supplies. When she had collected them all, she put them in her
bag and headed out of the apartment.