+Chapter Four

Yena was so happy with her new headband it gave a new confidence that she was beautiful to herself now. Her sisters always thought she was attractive but Yena didn’t think she was herself. She spent almost the whole day looking at herself in the mirror brushing her hair in different directions to the left side, to the right side, her usual down the middle, and all the way out of her face. She also tried small ponytails and she tried to use one of her sister’s old bobby pins. She was so happy with her appearance that she wanted to do more.




For the time being, Haidyn and Kean had already eaten lunch and the oldest was making dinner as the other swept the floor with an old homemade broom. As Kean swept she glanced over at her twin sister and smiled then went on sweeping all of the dust off of the floor and out the door. Haidyn was making rice in an old pot over a bright fire. Kean had her hair in a high ponytail since she was cleaning so her hair wouldn’t touch the ground and because of how fast her hair grew, it was already time for a hair cut, but she didn’t care at the moment.



Yena finally decided to leave her hair alone and let the headband stay in place. She got up from where she was sitting but she forgot that since she had been sitting in the same place for such a long time that her legs were asleep and she immediately fell back on the floor. “Ouch!” she sat on the ground and stretched her legs then she got up and heard her stomach growl loudly and she clutched her stomach just now realizing that she skipped lunch. “I am so hungry. I was so busy with my hair that I ignored my sisters all day and didn’t even eat.” She walked outside into the chilly fall air to see her twin sister, Kean sweeping leaves into a pile alongside the old wooden shed, she didn’t seem to notice her at first until Yena crept behind Kean and whistled loudly. Kean jumped. Yena started to laugh.



“Ayah, my ears! Yena!” she yelled.



Yena snickered and skipped back into the shed.



“Ouch that hurt,” mumbled Kean as she walked into the shed. She took down her hair, which was dragging on the floor by about six inches, and sat down near her Favorites Box and took out her sharp switchblade and set it beside her on the wooden board floor. Kean combed her hair then grabbed her hair about a foot from the end with one hand the picked up her knife with the other and cut off the foot of hair. Right as she cut off the foot and put her switchblade back in her Favorites Box Haidyn had just gotten dinner finished and called them over.



Yena and Kean walked over to Haidyn and she gave them both a bowl of rice then gave herself some. Kean went over to the corner to eat as she always does. “I wonder why Kean never eats with us?” said Haidyn with a mouth full of rice, “She always goes over and eats in the corner to eat, but why?”

Yena swallowed some rice then said, “I don't know, maybe we should ask her to come eat over by us.”



“Good idea,” said Haiden “I’ll go ask her.” She got up and went over to Kean and kneeled by her, “hey Kean why don’t you come eat with us, you seem lonely over here by yourself.”



“Uh…well…okay then.” Said Kean as she played with her fingers.



“Come on, we’re you sisters, quit bein’ so shy!” said Yena.



Kean shrugged and looked down then back up and picked up her bowl and set it by them and sat down behind it and ate.



Yena and Haidyn started talking about random subjects such as hair and jewelry and after they had been talking for a while, Yena elbowed twin sister and said “Hey Kean, why don’t you ever say nothing? You just sit there all quiet and stuff, you barely ever speak, but when you do you be talkin’ like a straight up mouse.”



Kean was surprised that she was asked such a question and didn’t know what to answer she just blankly stared at her sister then the other sister then she looked down and honestly answered “I…I don’t…I don’t know, I don’t know why I am so quiet or shy. I really don’t”



They were all silent for a minute then as they finished eating Haidyn picked up her sisters’ bowls and washed them off in a bucket of water. Haidyn thought that it was her responsibility as the primogeniture to take care of her sisters even when they didn’t need care. That it part of the reason she is so helpful, the other reason was that she had a sweet character and a thoughtful nature. She was always thinking of others before herself, especially her sisters. She has always been this way even when she was very young.



Kean braided her hair then went over to the foam bed and lied down and quickly fell asleep. Yena did the same. Haidyn was last to go to sleep as usual making sure her sisters were all right and neatening everything up before she too, went headed to rest.