Fourteen years ago - October 27th.
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The house is full of decorations. Balloons fan the manor from floor to ceiling, followed by banners written in bold letters and streamers clinging to the walls. Pink and white are the official colors, with a sprinkle of gold here and there.

Dami waltzes into the parlor and scans the decorations. The only thing that grabs her attention are the dual seats made to imitate thrones. They sit at the back of the sizable room, on a platform not too high up, but high enough to overlook the rest of the decorations. This brings to her a smile. The thrones were her idea.

Her eyes then wander over to the banner up high behind the two seats. It takes up most, if not all, of the wall. But it figures since that's the reason the celebration came to be. And so it should be as centered and eye-catching as it currently is.

Happy 9th Birthday!

Dami's smile widens. A day dedicated to her. It can't get any better than that. At least, not to a nine year old.

"It should have been bigger."

Dami turns and finds Verona. She's in her nightgown, feet bare and curly hair tousled all over the place. She rubs her eyes a couple times and steps further into the parlor. Six a.m. is a rather early time for her to be awake, but the birthday party occurring later left her with little incentive to rest.

"What, the banner?"

"No, the thrones. I can't fit Brian in." Verona waves the brown stuffed bear in Dami's face. The bells attached to its ears ring when she does so.

"Just stuff him besides you." Dami sighs.

Verona takes offense to this. "I'll squish him. I don't want that. Brian needs his space."

Dami takes a look at Verona once more. The dark brown of her right eye certainly conveys more irritation than the light grey of the left. That's precisely how Dami looks when vexed. It's puzzling how one can share the same physical traits with you to such an extent. Then again, that's what happens when you're born identical twins.

"I'm sure Brian will be fine if you left him in the room for a day."

"And have him miss out on my ninth birthday party? No, thanks."

Dami frowns. "Our ninth birthday party."

The correction flies past Verona. "You lost Celia and now you want me to abandon Brian. That just won't happen. Isn't that right, Brian?" She nods the bear's head yes.

Dami rolls her eyes. It's no secret she's been a bit heartbroken ever since she lost her stuffed frog, but the current situation has nothing to do with the lost amphibian. "Just make sure to keep him safe before he winds up missing like Celia."

Verona gasps dramatically. "Did you hear that, Brian? She's going to kidnap you!" She gives a disapproving head shake to Dami who only frowns. "By the way, I have your gift." Verona continues. She leaves the parlor and returns minutes later with a bag of lollipops that has already been torn open. "Here."

Dami eyes the candy and makes a sour face. "No, thanks. It'll rot my teeth."

Verona throws her a glare, then sticks out her tongue. "You're so ungrateful."

"My gift is better." Says Dami. She leaves and returns with an arts and crafts project. It's a rock painted with the colors pink and blue, and a white bow on top to mimic a girl. She hands the rock over to her sister with a proud grin.

But Verona is anything but impressed. "I don't want it."

It's Dami's turn to be irritated. "Fine." She throws the rock away, neverminding where it ends up.

"It's ugly, anyway."

"Well, I created it after you." It comes out as a mutter, but Verona still catches on.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Says Dami. Then she takes notice of the untidy state of her sister's hair and sighs. Unlike Dami, Verona is less put together, so Dami takes the liberty of doing her hair when their mother isn't around. She pulls out a hair tie and goes to help Verona's hair out of the curly bundle it's currently in.

"Your hair's always such a mess," Dami says while pulling the hair into a ponytail. "How are you more irresponsible than I am?"

"I'm still the oldest."

"Yeah, by, like, two seconds."

"I'm still older."

Dami has nothing left to say. As many as their fights may be, she still loves her sister. Once the hair has been tied, she takes a step back to admire her work. But give it a couple minutes and Verona will have it back to where it was just seconds ago.

"Amara. Verona."

Dami turns and finds her mother by the doorway. She's already dressed up despite the fact that it's still early in the day. Much like her daughters, Mrs. Rocci carries the same light grey eye. Her skin takes the color of a very rich brown, with thick black hair tied up in a bun.

And before she can even prepare herself, both Dami and Verona rush into her arms. "Mom!"

"What are the both of you doing up so early?" Their mother asks, while in the process of placing kisses on their foreheads.

"We couldn't sleep." Verona answers.

"Yeah, we're too excited." Dami adds.

Their mother brings them in for one more embrace. "Happy birthday, darlings."

Dami completes the embrace with a grin so wide, it almost takes up the entirety of her face. She loved this time of year most, because her parent's attention were hers and hers alone to keep. And she's sure it must be the same for Verona, because she, too, has the same wide grin.

"So is he here?" Verona asks.

"Yeah, is he?" Dami follows.

Their mother sighs. "I wanted him to be the first one you guys saw when you woke up, but you're already awake." Then she leads the twins out of the parlor and down the large hallway in search of the den.

There's an old man in this room. His brown skin is accompanied with white hair where a dull black once used to be. The saggy bags underneath his sunken eyes tell of his lengthy timeline on Earth, while his skin remains wrinkled from the seventy-eight years of life weighing on him. Once he sees the twins, however, the life in his eyes spark anew.

"Papa Musa!" Both Verona and Dami exclaim. They rush to him the same way they had done their mother, then give him the same tight embrace.

"Please, spare your grandfather. I'm not as youthful as I used to be." Papa Musa says in his Nigerian accent.

The twins laugh at this. "When are we gonna come visit you in Nigeria?" Dami questions.

"Yeah, when?" Verona adds.

Papa Musa smiles and shakes his head. "My dears, that's all up to your mother."

The two turn to their mother. "When, mom?" Verona asks.

"Yeah, when?" Dami follows.

"That was supposed to be another surprise." Says their mother, who gives their grandfather a discreet head shake.

"Why doesn't Papa Musa just stay here with us?" Verona asks. She takes a seat next to their grandfather while Dami occupies the one on the right.

"Because he has a home back home." is Mrs. Rocci's simple reply.

This is the response set in place when Dami or even Verona poke around that edge. Dami can't help but think they have no actual plans set in place for their visit to Nigeria. Not even their request to visit their father's home town in Italy has been fulfilled. With the abundance of security and guards around the mansion, it doesn't take much to figure out that their movements are limited. Both Dami and Verona have even been subjected to homeschooling. Not many visits outside the mansion's safety either. Not without some guard or the other.

"I see everyone's together." Comes a voice from the entryway. Before Dami even turns to see who it is, she already knows. It's her father.

"Daddy!" The twins exclaims. Perhaps it's the fact that today is a day of celebration, or the fact that the two don't see much of their father lately, but the amount of strength they pour into their embrace is immense. Who knows when next they'll see their father? He tells them he has some work to handle, then disappears. What work, he doesn't tell them. And until now, Dami still has no idea what her father does for a living. Maybe he works for the president, she had once thought.

"You made it!" Verona says, still in that embrace.

"Of course, I did. I wasn't going to miss you guys' birthday for the world." He plants a kiss each on their foreheads, then turns to Papa Musa and renders a salute. "Good to see you." He extends a hand towards him.

Papa Musa completes the handshake. "I hope you've been taking care of my daughter and grandkids."

Their father chuckles. "They're in good hands, sir." When greetings with Papa Musa are over, he turns to their mother and gives her a kiss. Both Verona and Dami pretend to gag when they see this.

After minutes of conversation fly by, both their mother and father leave to go meet up with the event planners for the celebration. Meanwhile, Verona and Dami sit on either side of Papa Musa as he tells them about his village back home.

"The masquerades come out during ceremonies and dance around in circles. They're not to be interacted with, only to be looked at and revered."

"What do they look like?" Verona asks. She tucks Brian under her arm and keeps her eyes glued to her grandfather.

"That's for you to see for yourself, my dear." Papa Musa answers. "But it would be wiser for you not to go too close."

"What happens if you do?" It's Dami's turn to question.

Papa Musa brings his granddaughters closer in. "You disappear—never to be seen again."

Silence swarms the room, and Dami spends that time mulling over that last sentence. Then finally, Verona's mouth drops wide open, eyes full of excitement. "I wanna meet one!"

Dami looks at her as if she's heard the worst.  "You're crazy." She tells Verona, who sticks out her tongue in response.

Papa Musa begins laughing. "You will meet one, surely."

"I'm not so sure about that." Verona sighs.

"Your parents are just busy, that's why." Papa Musa tells her.

But Dami thinks otherwise. "They keep saying they will, but they never have. Daddy hasn't taken us to Italy either. I wonder if they really don't want to take us at all."

Papa Musa falls silent. He has no answer. All he can do is join in on his granddaughters' disappointment.

Then suddenly, everything goes still. There's a gunshot somewhere in the mansion, followed by an ear piercing scream, and then more gunshots. They appear rapid and blaring and so . . . so close. The estate is under attack.

Papa Musa nearly jolts out of his seat when he first hears it, and so do the twins. His grip around them grows tighter.

"What's . . . what's going on?" Verona whimpers.

Dami grabs onto her grandfather's shirt with too powerful a grasp. She can't even utter a word, not with how frightening the screams and gunshots have become.

Papa Musa, now sensing the situation, begins searching through the parlor. Dami has no idea what he means to do in this time of chaos. Then he spots a hutch full of wine glasses to the side, with cabinets attached to the bottom.

"Do not make a sound." He tells the twins. But Dami is already on it. She's too great in shock to speak.

Papa Musa leads Verona and Dami, who are both too stunned to function properly, towards the hutch. He limps a little on his way due his aged back and hips, but he pulls through. And luckily, both Verona and Dami fit into the cabinet easily.

Papa Musa bends down as much as he can to see them. "Don't leave this place, no matter what."

This is when Dami's senses gradually begin to return. But with it comes panic. She grabs onto her grandfather's sleeve. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I need to go make sure your mother is okay." Papa Musa tells her. He even tries to smile. "Don't worry. I'll be back. Just stay here." And he closes the doors to the cabinet.

Dami hangs on to Verona's hand who has begun trembling. There's a peephole in the cabinet door, and though Papa Musa said not to worry, Dami can't help but feel the opposite. So she brings her eye up to that hole and peeps from within the cabinet.

Papa Musa's attempt was flawless. It would have worked. But as soon as he tries to leave the parlor, a man appears in the entryway.

Dami struggles to get a look at him through the hole. The man has himself dressed in an all-back suit attire, with medium length hair that completes the color scheme. There are bags under his dark eyes, and while the wrinkles have only begun settling in, it seems the man is still full of life from the way he smokes his cigar. He does it with so much relish.

The thing that really captures Dami's attention, however, is the eyepatch that lays over his left eye.

The stranger scans Papa Musa before moving his gaze over to the hutch, and Dami is sure he just made eye contact with her. Then he grins. A grin so evil, it makes Dami shiver.

"Found them."

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