CHAPTER 51
Adriana tiptoed out of the room, thinking her kids were asleep. It had been a very exhausting day, one without Noah in the picture. She had hoped he would reach out, call, or something, but it's been silent for three days now. Having tucked the kids in bed, she yawned and started to leave but was barely out when they sat up. Not that she saw them. Her back was turned to the twins.
"I can't sleep mom." Ethan called, rubbing his eyes.
Their mother stood rigidly in the middle of the room, trying desperately not to sigh out loud. She turned back to see both kids seated on their bed and the first thought that crossed her mind was, 'Noah could have handled this better'
"Kids?" She questioned walking back into the room, also putting on an act. She hopped like a frog back to them. They kids smiled at her.
"I can't sleep, mom." Ethan repeated himself when she got to his bed, "Neither can I" Elizabeth said too.
'Not tonight' she muttered under her breath. Elizabeth immediately left her bed and joined her twin and her mother on Ethan's, her eyes were wide with expectations. Adriana's eyes grew wide at what they wanted, "No, no. not tonight." She said shaking her head, trying to dissuaded them but they didn't look like they would budge.
"Please" Ethan pleaded. "Mom, it's been a while." Elizabeth pleaded too.
"It's way past your bed time. I can't tell any story." She was adamant.
The kids looked at her with sad eyes, "Just one." Ethan pleaded again.
She couldn't do this to them, she thought. Moreover, the earlier they have this done, the better for everyone. Thankfully, they didn't ask about their father yet. She could at least do this and they wouldn't be asking questions she had no answer to "Okay, okay."
"Thank you, mom." Chorused both kids.
Like their father, she sat in between them. That was the best way to avoid them throwing punches at each other every slight chance they got. "So, which story are we interested in tonight?" she asked, rubbing their heads.
Both of them pondered over it for a while. "The lion and the elephant?" Elizabeth suggested. "No. why would you listen to that. She's told us this story over a hundred times." Ethan cautioned, "How about the dancing monkey?"
"Well, you've heard that a hundred times too. So, no" Elizabeth threw back at her brother.
Their mother watched them argue back and forth before coming in. "How about we listen to one you both haven't heard before?"
They nodded in agreement. "Yes. Like the one dad was telling us that night before she slept off." Ethan added. "We both slept off" Elizabeth said refusing to let him bully her again, "You slept off first."
"You were dozing, snoring like a cow. Moo, moo." Ethan teased. "And you like an elephant. Boo, boo." Elizabeth shrieked loudly.
"Kids." Adriana cautioned before they go into another bout of arguing contest. "What's the story anyway?"
"The owl." Ethan said. "The owl that sleeps at night." Elizabeth corrected proudly. Ethan gave her the evil eye.
Something about their constant fights made their mother worried, so she asked "If someone slaps your brother, what do you do?" she turned to Elizabeth.
"I'd slap the person hard." She was so serious about it that Adriana had no doubt she meant it. "He always does the slapping though." She smiled at Ethan who grinned happily
"I do that only when they disturb her, mom." He quickly chip in.
Their mother was happy to hear that. She was going to ask their teacher in school tomorrow to be sure. The way they were at each other's throat at home was ridiculous. She would hate that they do this outside. "Always have each other's back, okay?" she said and they both nodded then said, "Okay, mom"
She pulled them for a group hug. When they all let go, she smiled at them. "Now, do you remember where dad stopped?"
"Yes" they chorused. Ethan then said, "The owl fell sick and he slept all night. Then he woke up during the day when all his other owls were asleep."
"Yes. And he was bored. So he stepped out to find something to do. That was when he discovered the new world that was brighter and more colorful at daytime."
That was exactly where Noah had stopped the other night. She didn't let them know she heard the tale too. "I'll just pick it up from there." She said, "Well, when the owl stepped out and saw the world different, he fell in love with the new world. He wanted to share the details with the other owls, but they were asleep. Lost as to what to do, he tried waking them up. But they continued to sleep, pleading with him to let them play when they awake later."
"Sad." Elizabeth murmured.
"Yes. Finally, the owl got out to tour the world. He wanted to see as many things as he could so he could tell the others about it. So he went round the stream, noticed the difference in color of almost everything. He saw humans playing and talking. The humans never talked so loudly at night. He had never seen them talk. All they do was whisper. The owls had assumed, humans whisper."
The kids laughed.
"The owl saw the trees that they climbed at night. They were so tall, big and scary. Had they seen them these scary at night, he was sure they wouldn't climb them. But generally, the brighter world was better. You could see and hear everyone. It was safer. There was no danger of falling into trap like they do most nights. He had lost countless friends to human traps. He had a feeling that doesn't happen during the day when you could see everything clearly. There was also plenty to eat; fruits and food. He ate to the full."
"Wow!" Ethan smiled, "I'd prefer a brighter world any day over countless nights."
"Me too." Elizabeth said.
"Then it started getting dark and the other owls began to wake up. The owl who had witness daytime kept telling them how bright the world was. He told them stories of his adventure, which they found insane. The leader concluded his sickness had messed with his brain especially when he fell asleep while telling them his adventure"
The kids chuckled, "He must have been exhausted." Elizabeth said
"He was. But the owls didn't see it that way. They assumed he was still sick. They let him sleep while they went about their nightly duties. By the time they were done, it was almost day time and they started dozing off one after the other. Again the sick owl woke up. Since they were asleep, he began another tour of the world. He was quite sad that he couldn't make the others believe him. There was really no way to make them see this brighter world. So, he sat down by the stream watching the flowing water. And that night, while the others wake, he slept."
The kids yawned.
"This continued until one day, the owl saw some kids playing with a phone. He moved closer and saw the solution to his problem. He quickly made friends with a 'mini human' like he called them. His friend was an eight-year-old boy."
"Like us?" Ethan asked
"Yes, like you both. The boy helped him take pictures of the world as proof for his sleeping fellows. When they woke up, the owl presented them with a proof of the world. The other owls were amazed at how bright everywhere was. They decided to see things for themselves. That day, they chose not to sleep. And they stepped out in twos and threes to see the bright world. It was as they had seen on the phone. They were amazed."
When the kids yawned again, Adriana decided to let them go to bed. "We should stop here. But you should know the story just began from here."
"Really?" Elizabeth asked sleepily
"The owl had a proposal for the others," Their mother said, "But that is a story for another night."
"Okay, mom." Ethan said, "Thank you, mom." Elizabeth said. Their mother kissed them both on their heads and lifted Elizabeth out of bed. She placed her gently on her bed and covered her up. The young girl murmured her thanks and was soon asleep. Adriana turned to check on Ethan too. The little boy had slept. She pulled the duvet higher to cover his chest and neck then quietly walked out of the room.
$CHAPTER
