Twins

         "So today's the big day, huh?"

         Lina nodded.  The air in the small circle of friends was tense.  On any other day, Lina and her twin sister, Opal, would be playing games and having a great time with the other Tahrag children.  After all, they were just kids, Lina and Opal being the oldest among them.

         "Big day? What big day would that be?"

         Lina jumped at the voice, which came from behind and above her.  She relaxed when she realized who it was.  Thomas was the only non-Tahrag living in the village.  The tall human had, with permission from the village leaders, moved into the small community about three weeks ago.

         At first, Lina had been nervous around the human; after all, she and her friends only came up to about his knee, and he was easily twice as tall as the tallest Tahrag in the village.  Opal, however, had opened right up to him, and they had quickly learned that, in spite of his size, he was about as fearsome as a kitten.

         In fact, everything about him seemed soft.  His pale pink skin was much softer than the tough dark blue skin of the Tahrag.  He also lacked a layer of scales running from under his chin and down his body, a fact that he apparently felt self-conscious about, since was never seen without layers of cloth draped around his body.  His voice was soft; he was always polite when asking a question, which he had a lot of.  Apparently, his purpose here was to learn more about the Tahrag, and he never passed an opportunity to ask questions.

         Opal was the one who answered his question this time.  "It's me and Lina's tenth birthday."

         Thomas smiled, nodding his head.  "Oh, I see.  Congratulations, then!"  He looked around at the blank faces staring at him, and his own face fell.  "Did I say something wrong?  Among the humans, a birthday is something to celebrate."

         Kyrie, one of Lina's friends, answered.  "Not the tenth birthday.  That's the day that..."  She cut off, not wanting to finish.

         Thomas took a figurative and literal step back.  "I'm sorry.  If you don't want to talk about it..."

         Opal, always the brash one, shook her head.  "No, it's okay.  Do humans not have twins?"

         Thomas looked a little confused at the question.  "Well, some of us do, but not very many.  I have noticed that a lot of you young ones here have twins."

         Opal nodded.  "Not just a lot of us.  ALL of us do.  Every one of us has a twin."

         Without thinking about it, Lina looked around their little circle of friends.  There were six of them, Lina and Opal included; three sets of twins.

         "But when we turn ten," Opal continued, "one of the twins... disappears."

         "What?"  Thomas' eyes went wide.  "What do you mean, 'disappears?'  Do they leave the village?"

         "No.  They're just... gone.  If you ask any of the kids who are older than ten, they just say they aren't allowed to talk about it, and if you ask any of the adults, they'll just tell you not to worry."

         "So, today is your tenth birthday, which means that soon, one of you..."

         "Will be gone," Opal said, finishing Thomas' sentence for him and causing Lina to shudder.  Was Opal not as scared of this as she was?  "Our mother told us we need to meet her at home later.  I figure it will happen then."

         "That's..."  Thomas hesitated, as if unsure what to think of all this.  "I'm... I'm going to go talk to the village leaders."

         "B-bye, Thomas." Lina stuttered, speaking for the first time in the conversation.

         "Goodbye, Lina.  Goodbye, Opal."  Still looking a bit shocked, he waved to the rest of them before walking off.

         Opal looked up at the sky.  "The sun is starting to go down.  We should probably get back home."  Lina just nodded, and Opal looked at her, a serious expression on her face.  Opal was the one person Lina trusted; Opal had always been there for her, protecting her.  "Are you sure you're ready?"

         Lina nodded again.  They would have to go home sometime.  They said their farewells to their friends and headed for home.

- - -

         Lina and Opal sat next to each other on the bed in their room.  When they had arrived at home, their mother had told them to wait here for her.  They sat there, Opal's arms wrapped around Lina in a protective embrace.  As usual, Lina was falling apart, and Opal was the one holding her together.

         The door creaked slightly as their mother walked in, her tail twitching nervously.  "Opal, Lina.  I'm here to..."  She faltered, as if unsure of how to start.

         "You're here because it's our tenth birthday, and one of us is going to disappear."  Opal looked annoyed, but Lina knew that her sister was probably just as nervous as she was.  "You can't tell us not to worry about it anymore.  It's here now."

         Their mother nodded.  "Yes.  That's why I'm here.  I'm going to explain what's going to happen, and help you through it if I can.  I want you both to know that I love you very much."

         "So what's going to happen?"

         The older Tahrag took a deep breath.  "Since you were born, we've called you sisters... but that isn't entirely true.  You aren't really sisters.  You're... more than that."

         Lina and Opal looked at each other.  "What... what do you mean?  Then what are we?"

         "You're... the same person.  The two of you are one Tahrag.  One soul born into two bodies."

         Lina's eyes went wide.  "But... how is that even possible?"

         "It's... it's just how we Tahrag work.  We're born with our soul divided.  No one really knows why, but we think it has something to do with the way we grow.  Which brings us to why we're here.  You've reached a point where the two of you won't be able to grow anymore..."  She hesitated.  "Unless you become one.  What was separated has to be made whole."

         Lina looked back and forth from Opal to her mother.  Her head was swimming.  She had to become one with her sister, who wasn't really her sister, but the other half of her soul?  She couldn't wrap her mind around it.

         "Don't worry," their mother continued, "it's a natural part of any Tahrag's life.  But... before it can happen..." Her tail twitched faster.  "When it happens, it won't be the same for both of you.  One of you will be what we call the 'Dominant.'"  She hesitated again.

         "'Dominant?'"  Opal looked unsure.  "What does that mean?"

         "This is the hardest part to explain."  She looked back and forth between Opal and Lina.  "The Dominant is the one that will... consume the other."

         Lina stiffened, and Opal sounded angry.  "What!?  One of us has to eat the other!?"

         Their mother quickly shook her head.  "No, no!  It's not like that!  That's not how it happens."  She sighed.  "This is why we don't tell you about it beforehand.  It's not something that can really be explained with words."

         Lina looked over at Opal, who voiced the question that both of them had.  "So... which of us will be the Dominant?"

         "It's up to you to decide.  Some twins will struggle over it, while some will instictively know."

         Lina and Opal looked at each other.  Lina thought about her sister.  It was Opal who had opened up to Thomas.  It was Opal who always spoke for the two of them.  And it was Opal who always protected Lina.  Lina already knew which of them it would be, even before Opal voiced it.

         "Me.  I'll be the Dominant."

         Their mother looked at Lina, her face worried.  "Lina?"

         Lina took a deep breath.  "Yes... she's right."

         The older Tahrag visibly relaxed.  Her tail stopped twitching, and she let out a long breath.  Lina realized that her mother must have been worrying about a possible struggle between her and Opal.

         "Now that you've decided, it can happen.  And since there was no conflict between you two, that means it will be easy."

         "What do we have to do?"  Opal asked.

         "Now that the two of you have decided, your bodies have already begun preparing themselves.  Lina just has to touch Opal, and it will happen." She looked back and forth between them.  "I want you two to know that I love you both very much, and I always will."

         Opal stood up, and Lina did the same, the two of them turning to face each other.  "Are you ready? Are you sure about this, Lina?"

         Trying to push down her fear, Lina nodded. "I... I'm ready."  She reached out towards Opal, but then stopped.

         Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it was going to burst out of her chest.  Was she really ready?  If she understood what was happening, this was the end for her.  She was about to be consumed by her sister so that Opal could continue growing.  Lina shivered.  She was letting fear overtake her.  Not sure what to do, she looked at her mother.

         Lina's mother was looking at her with an anxious, worried expression.  But it was still a loving expression.  Lina trusted her mother, and she knew that if her mother told her this was necessary, then it was.  Before her resolve could weaken again, she pressed her hand against Opal's chest.

         She jumped as her hand slid between Opal's scales.  Except that it wasn't quite that she slid the scales out of the way; it was more like they parted to let her in.  And instead of feeling soft skin, her hand sank into Opal's body, which gave no more resistance than water.

         As she did so, a warm feeling expanded through her body.  She was still frightened, but now she felt like this was... right.  Like she was doing what she was supposed to do.  Without thinking about it, she knew what she was supposed to do.  She leaned in and laid her head on Opal's chest.

         Opal, seeming to react to Lina's action, closed her eyes and wrapped her arms  protectively around her sister.  Lina let out a sigh, then sank in as Opal's scales parted to admit her.

- - -

         It was dark, but Lina wasn't scared.  She couldn't see or hear anything - in fact, she wasn't even sure if she still had eyes or ears - but she could feel Opal all around her.  She could feel herself sinking deeper, but that was okay.  It was like Opal was surrounding her, protecting her.  She knew that, whatever was going to happen to her, she would still exist.  She wasn't disappearing; she was becoming part of something bigger, something greater.  She could accept that.

- - -

         Opal opened her eyes to see the tip of Lina's tail slipping between the scales of her chest.  She looked over herself.  It didn't look like her body had changed physically at all; she looked exactly as she had before.

         Her mother walked up to her, placing a hand lovingly on her shoulder.  "Are you okay, my daughter?"

         Opal nodded.  She was better than okay.  She felt different than she had ever felt before.  It was as if she had finally found something that she hadn't known she was looking for.  "Yeah... I'm fine."  She looked up at her mother.  "So... what do I call myself now?"

         Her mother smiled.  "You can be Opal, or Lina... or you can come up with a new name for yourself, if you want."  She gave her a hug, then walked to the door.  "I'm going to go get dinner ready.  You can come out when you're ready."  She left, leaving her daughter alone in the room.

         As Opal stood there, alone, she thought she felt something flutter inside her.  She closed her eyes, placing a hand on her chest.  "I'll always keep you safe."  Then she took a deep breath and walked out to join her mother.