"Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories. Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart."

-Thomas Fuller

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"Kate, I'm scared," Elena spoke in a hushed tone.

The younger twin sat on the bed with a grunt and sighed. "Nightmares?"

Elena shook her head. "The Exorcist."

Kate nodded and opened her arms, beckoning Elena forward.

Elena laid her head on Kate's shoulder and shut her eyes. "The dark is too dark today, K."

Kate glanced down, her hand rubbing in circles on Elena's back. "El, don't be scared. You've overcome your fear long back."

"I know." Elena sighed. "Doesn't mean I won't be afraid ever."

"Think about good things, El."

"Like?"

"Like how that girl got possessed."

Kate chuckled when Elena clapped her back with a whine.

"Meanie." Elena pouted in the dark and scooted closer to her sister again.

Kate chuckled. "Look, you're not a kid anymore. You're old enough."

Elena snorted in response.

"The darkness... it's nothing but the absence of light. Just think of it as a black cloth."

Kate gently tapped Elena's back as she hummed softly.

Elena sighed when Kate switched on the lamp. "See, El? It isn't so dark anymore. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Elena admired Kate's eyes, which sparkled under the lamp's glow. "Easy for you to say. You were never scared of the dark."

Kate chuckled, but Elena could sense a sneer in her low voice. "Darkness is no horror compared to what I've been through."

"El." Kate's soft voice sighed. "You've to look past the fear."

"It's all your fault, Kate," Elena's voice raised a little. "Had you not locked me and Van in that room, things would've been different today."

Kate scoffed. "Can you blame me? I was only a kid back then."

Kate's eyes crinkled as she tapped her chin. "How old were we? Eight? Nine?"

"Nine." Elena held Kate's palm. "I don't understand, Kate."

Kate put her palm over Elena's, encouraging her to continue with a nod.

"If I've overcome my fear, so should've Van. It's been so many years, yet he's terrified."

Kate nodded. "He should've overcome it by now."

Elena took a deep breath. "I thought he'd recognize us after we pranked him. That's what we've been practically doing since we were kids."

She paused when she heard movement. Her eyes widened as she noticed Ivan standing near their bed.

"Who are you?" he asked, the fingers of his right hand rubbing one side of his forehead.

"We're aliens." Kate facepalmed.

Elena sighed. "Go back to sleep, Van."

Once Ivan retreated back to lay on the couch, Kate whispered, "He heard everything, El."

Elena licked her lips. "It's time he did."

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The sunlight shone on Elena's hair, some of them appearing golden, a ray forming a circle on her nose.

She pushed back a strand of hair behind her ears and prepared more pancake batter.

Kate stood by side, watching her cook. She scoffed and began washing some strawberries.

Max sauntered into the kitchen, sniffing the air with a grin. His nose and cheeks shone and his green eyes gazed at the pancakes with pure love. "Morning, guys and pancake."

"Morning," the twins greeted back with small chuckles and Ivan greeted him as he strolled into the kitchen.

Elena sneaked a look at Ivan, noticing his clenched jaw. His left hand rubbed his head and he let out a long sigh.

His baby blue eyes gave away the fact that they hadn't grabbed much sleep.

He met her glance with a cold, unblinking gaze of his own, breaking it the next minute.

Elena's lip turned into a firm line. She then faked a smile when Max's eyes fell on her.

"Guys, thanks for the movie and dinner. Gotta go."

Elena grabbed a fresh pancake for him. "At least have a bite."

Max chuckled. "I'd eat them all, but I've to take care of something before school--"

Elena pushed a piece into his mouth and watched him smile with his mouth full.

Kate strolled to Max's side with a grin, her bunny teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "You can't leave without fruit."

Max gulped and grinned as he grabbed a strawberry into his mouth from Kate's hands. "This is the sweetest fruit I've ever had."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Delicious lie, dude."

"Ha!" Max sprinted towards the door. "I wasn't lying." He winked and left the twins' house.

"Hey! At least close the door..." Elena shook her head.

She peeked a look at Ivan, who stood there gazing at her with a frown.

She moved closer to him and touched his arm. "Headache?"

He nodded.

Kate shifted closer and handed him a pill. "Take this, it will give you relief."

Ivan's eyes scrutinized the pill, taking its form from all sides.

"Van, it's just a pill. Come on, take it."

Ivan moved the pill closer to his mouth but was stopped when Kate held his wrist. "Van, you take pills with water. You can't chew them."

The twins looked at him and at each other with furrowed eyebrows.

They found him staring at the pill strangely, bewilderment sprawled on his face.

"Van--"

"Ivan! What are you doing!" Mrs. Moore hollered from the doorway.

She rushed towards him, her feet hitting the floor in thuds.

She glanced at Ivan and at the pill in between his fingers with her eyes bugged out.

She snatched the pill and threw it on the floor. "Who gave this to him!" she fumed, her voice as loud as thunder. "Who!"

"It's just a pill, Co," the twins spoke, taking in the woman's blue eyes scanning them icily.

"Just a pill? How can you be so nonchalant?"

"How dare you give this to him?"

"Who gave you the--"

"Co, just relax, okay?" Elena held her arm. "Even kids take pills. No harm in that."

"No harm?" Mrs. Moore removed Elena's hold. "Now you will decide what's good or bad for my son, huh?"

"She never intended to, Co," Kate defended, enclosing Elena's cold hand in hers.

"That's Mrs. Moore for you," she snapped as she glowered at the twins.

Elena stared at the woman in disbelief. "But that's what we've been calling you since..."

Ivan's confused face made Elena pause, but Kate continued, her voice bleak, "We thought you'd still like us."

Mrs. Moore scoffed. "That was in the past, sweetie."

Elena balled her fists. Kate noticed them and shook her head.

"Stay away from my son. You've already done enough. I don't want--"

"What have we done!" Elena marched towards Ivan's mom, her dark eyes ablaze with anger. "I've already clarified why we had to leave. Our dad had his job--"

"I don't care about your dad. This isn't about him." Mrs. Moore's jaw clenched. "It's about what happened after you left."

"What did we do?" Kate asked, her face grim.

"What didn't you?" Mrs. Moore growled. "Everything was your fault. Whatever happened was because of you both."

Elena stared at her, her eyes resentful. "I've no idea what you're talking about."

Kate sighed. "Whatever happened. We never meant to hurt Van. We love him--"

"But you already did."

"I thought you would do him good, but I was wrong," Mrs. Moore continued. A heavy sigh escaped her thin lips as she stared at the pill on the floor. "So wrong."

"But..."

"Look at him. He's in pain."

Elena opened her mouth to protest but was cut short when she noticed Mrs. Moore in tears.

The woman blinked them back and sniffled. "Never give him any medicine without asking me."

The twins nodded unsurely, their faces long.

"Or better don't give him anything. I can't risk his li... health."

With a shake of her head, Mrs. Moore gently held Ivan's arm and ambled towards the door.

"Wait! At least have a pancake." Elena rushed towards them.

"Save it, Elena. I don't like them."

"But Van does, in fact, he loves them." Kate smiled slowly but dropped it after taking in Mrs. Moore's sharp glance.

"He doesn't. Not anymore."

The door's banging resonated in the twins' hearts, pain flowing instead of blood, along with the guilt of not knowing what they had done gnawing their flesh.

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Hey, people! 💖 How are you all? I'm back with an update. :D

What do you think happened to Ivan?

What do you think of Mrs. Moore?

Do you think how she treated the twins was fair? Why?/Why not?

We now know why Ivan has a fear of darkness, even Elena does, but she has overcome it mostly.

Did you guys like this update? If so, please vote by clicking on the star sign below. If you like my previous updates, do vote there too.

Also, please comment whatever you feel so far about this story. Thank you so much for reading. The Alien Memory👽 has crossed 6.6K reads. I still can't believe it. :)

If there are any mistakes and something that needs improvement, please let me know.

Sneak-Peek of Episode 35:

What will happen when Max notices Kate's arm? (Yeah, we get to know finally.🤓)

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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