{"id":21,"date":"2022-05-12T13:56:38","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T17:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/?p=21"},"modified":"2022-05-20T15:25:16","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T19:25:16","slug":"long-time-no-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/long-time-no-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Time No See"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

by Taylor Zweil ’25<\/em><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
\n

Lyric drummed her fingers on the table, the sound calming her just enough to stop her from grabbing her emergency bag and running. He was late, as he had been every day of his life, even in the moments that counted.<\/p>\n

Especially<\/i>\u00a0in the moments that counted.<\/p>\n

Three quick taps against the blacked-out window made her roll her eyes. Of course he would come to the window.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t safer, but it was infinitely more dramatic. She had half a mind to let him wither out there, clinging to the windowsill.<\/p>\n

Standing, she took her time getting to the window before opening it just a crack. Eyes so similar to her own, yet missing the weight she carried, cheekily greeted her.<\/p>\n

\u201cLyric! My goodness, it\u2019s been far too long! Mind letting me in?\u201d<\/p>\n

She cracked the window open just far enough for him to enter, but not without significant difficulty. She wanted to relish the sight of him squirming through, but her stomach was beginning to churn and she couldn\u2019t properly enjoy it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCyril,\u201d she acknowledged him coldly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, c\u2019mon, baby sister,\u201d Cyril exclaimed. \u201cYou can\u2019t still be mad at me after all this time, can you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyric said nothing, arms folded across her chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently you can. Okay. How long has it been? Fifteen years?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyric\u2019s shoulders tightened and she retreated to the kitchen counter, gripping the edge with both hands. \u201cThis isn\u2019t a reunion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were, what, fourteen when you ran off? So yeah, fifteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw Mom yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyril finally stopped in his tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s\u2013 that\u2019s impossible. Mom\u2019s dead. We saw\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Lyric interrupted. \u201cBut obviously, we were wrong. Or\u2013 I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

She could practically hear Cyril\u2019s eyebrows furrowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean,\u00a0you<\/i>\u00a0were wrong? I saw the same thing you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Her fingers found the handle of a knife on the counter \u2013 just a butter knife, smeared with peanut butter, but it made her feel a little safer. \u201cYou didn\u2019t. You saw her dead, and I saw her die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, if you want me to apologize again\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not,\u201d Lyric scoffed, eyes narrowing. \u201cWhy is Mom still alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyril shrugged, although his discomfort was still visible. \u201cIt probably wasn\u2019t even her.\u201d He doesn\u2019t attempt to answer the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my first thought,\u201d Lyric replied. \u201cBut then I ran that night over again in my head. You remember it, don\u2019t you?\u201d She stared directly into Cyril\u2019s eyes, while he looked anywhere else. He waited a beat too long before he spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you that she was downstairs and that I\u2019d catch up. You killed her. I took the body away. You ran off, and I didn\u2019t see you again. Until now. Happy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyric shook her head, refusing to let the tears fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m not. I ran away because at fourteen I had become a murderer. Now at twenty-nine, I find out that my big brother lied to me.\u201d A singular tear escaped through her eyelashes, blurring her view of Cyril\u2019s elongated, flustered expression. \u201cYou never let me see her face, because you\u2019d told her about our plan and you let her get away. It wasn\u2019t her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, let me explain\u2013\u201d He began to put his hands on her shoulders, but she grasped the butter knife and held it at his eye level.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you realize now what you did? She knows what I meant to do.\u00a0 I can only guess you told her. And now she\u2019s here to kill me. So you\u2019re going to be here when she comes, and you\u2019re going to make it up to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Taylor Zweil ’25 Lyric drummed her fingers on the table, the sound calming her just enough to stop her from grabbing her emergency bag and running. He was late, as he had been every day of his life, even in the moments that counted. Especially\u00a0in the moments that counted. Three quick taps against the…Read more Long Time No See<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3782,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction-very-short-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3782"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/writers-on-writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}