2 years ago.
Waking, eating, stealing, sleeping is all I am doing in a day currently, and to be honest, I love it. I really love it because there's no worries in this timetable, all I have to do are basic needs to live except the stealing part and nowadays I seem to be enjoying it too, well why would I not, as Elicia is my partner in crimes, well, I cannot really describe it as a crime maybe stealing is a better descriptive word for it, as describing it as crime feels like a crime.
Well, there's nothing special in stealing that makes me feel good, but Elicia makes me feel good, make me want to wait for the next morning, make me want to live. I wonder how my life would've been if I didn't have met Elicia that day, it was the luckiest day in my life, I may have taken my life already by now if it wasn't for her.
A voice cuts through my thoughts, "Are you even listening, Arnold," shouted Anna. I came back to my senses seeing myself in Elicia's home, her voice was full of vexation, looks like she has done talking about her day while I was deep in my thoughts. I sighed; Elicia will be mad if she gets to know that I have made her beloved sister angry especially because Anna and her mother is all she has after her father's death. All she is left with. I want to become her support but I am not good at listening to a girl talking about her day unless the girl is Elicia. I want to make her proud. Want to make her happy. Want to make her smile.
A light and small hand brushed my arms and cuts through my thoughts, I turn my eyes to the side of my shoulder where Anna had made an annoyed face with her eyes shut tightly while pulling my arms, she sure is adorable no wonder Elicia loves her so much. "What happened Anna?", I asked with a soft smile.
Anna finally stopped pulling my arm and opened her eyes, an adorable smile covered her face as she said, "Are you done daydreaming, Arnold" asked she. To be honest, I am not. I can never be. It is not possible that I will be ever bored while thinking about Elicia, but I cannot say that to her, "How many times should I tell you that you should not call me by my name as you are so small, Anna", I said.
"Why? Isn't it what big sis call you?", she asked, her hazel eyes looked confused as she asked.
"But you are just seven, Anna, and your sister is eleven, there's a difference. You are smaller" I said hoping she would stop asking questions.
"But isn't big sis younger than you too, as she is eleven and you are thirteen", asked she while tilting her head.
I sighed, "But your sister is just two years smaller."
"Okay, fine" she said, a smile covered my face. Looks like she has finally quit asking questions. "… so, should I call you big bro, Arnold"
"Noooooooo", I accidently shout. Oh shit! What was I even trying to do, what will I even get from fighting with a child? I swift my eyes towards Anna, she looked a little scared, I sighed, "… sorry Anna, I was thinking about something. Just call me anything you want."
"So, does that means I can call you by your name", she asks with an expression in her face that I was not able to read.
"If you want, then you may", I said with a soft smile. Her face beamed with joy. Just after a moment her face turned from a glacier of joy to a suspiciously confuse place.
"R-Really? Are you sure Arnold?" Is it really much of surprise to her?
"Yes", I smiled-
"What is going on?!", A voice came running to the room, and there's no way I cannot know whose voice is this
It's Elicia!
I turned my face towards the voice with a smile I could not supress, I saw Elicia, her eyes wide open, she looked terribly pale while she was panting, "Arnold, what are you doing here and what made you scream?!", she asked, I smiled at the thought that she came running here because she heard my scream, she was worried about me, "Why the hell are you smiling Arnold?", her voice cut through my thoughts.
"Oh, Elicia there's no need to worry actually I saw a cockroach crawling in the gateway where are you standing right now", I smiled, as I could not afford to tell her the truth.
She screamed, and jumped in my direction, "Arnold why didn't you told me before?", my smile grew even bigger as I saw her getting Elicia scared from a thought of a crawling cockroach.
"Relax, it was just a joke, there's no cockroach here", As soon as I completed my sentence, I felt hands on my collar slowly drifting me upward, I opened my eyes only to see Elicia's face drenched in anger and pulling me through my collars.
"H-How dare you?", she said. Her eyes are like sea waves but currently I can see wild fire dancing across her eyes, I smiled at the thought, "What is making you smile Arnold, this is no joke, you knew I dislike cockroaches, didn't you?", her eyes showed much more fire now.
"I-I am sorry Elicia", I paused, "…I just didn't know you hated them that much, oh sorry, I meant feared them that much.", I said while couldn't able to manage the crooked smile now on my lips.
"What did you say Arnold, I think I didn't hear it right, can you repeat?!", she said drenched in anger-
"Big sis see cockroach", said Anna.
"Anna, are you abandoning me as well now, for this crooked rat?", she said while anger remains in her voice, "…I guess there's no way left" A pause, "I will beat him and you will get no apple pie for this month" she said.
"…big sis, you are just joking, right", said Anna with a face that screamed I have done nothing wrong, "…I was just telling the truth" And then there's it-
A scream
Elicia screamed, her eyes flied wide open and her hold in my collar loosed, and soon there's no hand grabbing my collar, "A-Arnold help me", she said as her voice cracked, I would have been burning from anger if her scream was caused by a more genuine cause judging by she is screaming out of nowhere, "…there's something in my leg", she was terrified, "…I-I think it's a cockroach"
My eyes dropped to her legs where I was not able to see any cockroach but instead a thick thread, my eyes flew towards Anna's, she had a finger on her lips telling me to act up and I did, "…E-Elicia don't move, it's a big one", as these words-
"Ahhhhhhhhh", screamed Elicia while jumping from one leg to another, I guess se is more afraid of cockroaches than I thought, "…. w-where's the cockroach who dared to climb on my foot?", she asked while my mind was occupied by the thoughts of how did her fear turned into anger in less than a second, "…why aren't you replying Arnold or… was it another prank of yours and if it was, then you better be ready for the result because I don't think you as so much of an idiot that you didn't even think of the output", she said, while a crooked smile spread across her face while she punched the palm of her another hand.
She really is scary sometimes.
"E-Eli it wasn't really a cockroach but a thread", I said with my hands up showing that I have gave up.
Her crooked smile only grows, "So you really do have a death wish, don't you", as soon as she completed her sentence, she is landing a punch on my face, I duck my head on the right side to avoid it and I did, wait, did I just dodge a punch from Elicia-
"Huh, so now you even dare to dodge my punch Arnold, that is in fact, the result of your wrongdoing", she says as anger ranges her voice.
"B-But Anna did it", I turned my face to face Anna, there's no way that she will ever scare her beloved sister.
"Is that true Anna", she turns her head to face Anna. Both of our eyes are pinned on Anna.
"I-I am sorry big sis, I thought it will be fun, I didn't know you feared cockroaches that much", she says with an innocent face while I know how she is just acting up all to avoid getting scolded, its expected as she is Elicia's sister.
Elicia sighs, "Anna, make sure you don't repeat it"
"Okay big sis"
"Well, Eli-
"Not you", she says sharply her voice still filled with anger, she turned her head to face me and the next moment her leg is sifting in the air with me as its aim, "You still did lie, didn't you-
"I am back", a cheerful voice cuts in before Elicia could kick me, her leg remained still in the air, I shift my eyes towards the entrance only to see Elicia's mother looking as beautiful as always, her eyes scan the scene in front of her and then, her tone is filled with anger as she says, "Elicia you are bullying Arnold, aren't you?"
After the terrible 30 minutes
"Sorry Arnold"
"Sorry Elicia"