Chapter Two: Cassandra:

I followed both the girl and the boy halfway through the city. I made myself careful enough not to be seen so easily. I didn’t want to frighten them off. I didn’t want to lose Elizabeth again. I love her too much for that. I followed them all the way to their apartment. I went through the lobby, into the other elevator, and up to the third floor. (I just took a guess at what floor they lived on.) My guess paid off as it turned out. I saw the girl and the boy again walking down the hall. I followed behind them at a distance. They came to apartment 337. The boy pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He and the girl went inside and closed the door. I watched them ever so closely. I drew in a deep breath. Okay, here goes. I walked over to the door and knocked on it once. I waited for a few seconds.

“Coming!” I heard the girl say on the other side. My heart raced as I waited. The door opened up wide. There stood my young Elizabeth before me. Her hair had lightened up some from my memories of her. The eyes were still the same. This Elizabeth had a younger face and a smaller frame to her. I stared at her in wonder and awe. I wanted to run my fingers through her fine hair. I about did so, but I held myself back. All I could do was stare upon my young lover again. The girl on the other hand looked at me confused.

“Uh… hello?” she asked. “Can I help you?” My lips trembled at this girl.

“Elizabeth?” I let slip out of my mouth. The girl looked at me even more surprised.

“How do you know my mother?” she asked. That one took me for a surprise.

“Mother?” I asked her. “Elizabeth Campbell is your mother?”

“Yes,” the girl replied. “Why?” It took me a moment to process what was going on. Then, it all came back to me. Sixteen years ago, Elizabeth was pregnant with twins before she died. I was looking at one of those children. My heart with joy at this revelation.

“Oh my god!” I said aloud. “It’s you! I thought you and your brother were all the way in England.” The girl looked at me confused still.

“Uh… okay…” she said. “Who are you and can I help you?” I opened my mouth to speak again.

“Cassie, who’s at the door at this hour?” the boy asked us. Cassie and I looked up into the apartment. He came out to us with an apron around his neck and waist. He seemed to have been cooking something. The boy looked as us slightly confused.

“Cassie, who’s this?” he asked. She began to open her mouth to speak. I stepped forward smiling.

“Oh,” I said aloud. “I am an old friend of your mother’s!” Silence passed us by for a moment. I watched both of the twins silently. I hoped that they believed me. The boy stepped forward smiling at me.

“In that case, I welcome you!” he boomed to me. “Any friend of mom’s is a friend of ours!” I smiled at that one relived. Good, they do accept me after all. I bowed to him.

“I thank you for accepting me,” I replied.

“Hey you care to eat with us,” the boy spoke up again. “I just made dinner and I think I’ve made too much again. I just hate leaving leftovers.” I smiled at him kindly.

“Sure,” I replied. “I would love to.” By then, Cassie began to relax some at long last. I think she trusts me now. In a few minutes, the three of us sat at the kitchen table eating. Cassie’s brother served us the food and ate with us. Let me tell you, that was the first I had real English food in sixteen years! This young man could cook for sure! He looked at me smiling.

“So,” the young man said to me. “What do you think?” I smiled at him graciously.

“This is good!” I called out to him. The young man looked at me thrilled.

“Aw, I’m so glad you like it!!!” he called out. I nodded at him with grace.

“I’m Blake Campbell, by the way,” the young man introduced. “This is my younger twin sister, Cassie.” Cassie bowed her head gracefully.

“Nice to meet you,” she replied to me. I lowered my fork and spoon on my plate.

“My name is Doctor William Stonem,” I replied. “I used to be your mother’s doctor.” The twins looked at me in surprise.

“Really?” Cassie asked me. I nodded at her calmly.

“That’s right,” I replied. “Up until I moved to Scotland. May I ask you two something?”

“Yeah,” Blake replied.

“Sure,” Cassie answered.

“What are two sixteen-year-olds doing all the way out here in Japan all alone?” I asked bluntly. Suddenly, that sounded so much better in my head. “What are mean is, what brings you two here to Japan?” Blake smiled at me kindly.

“Oh,” he replied. “We came here looking for any connections with mom that were still alive. We heard that she had a mutual friend out here in Tokyo, Japan. So, Cassie and I picked up and hopped the next plane out to here. And now we’re glad that we found you.”

“I see,” I replied politely. “So what will you do now that you have found me?”

“We were hoping that you could tell us anything about mom,” Cassie answered with trembling pale lips. Something told me that this question would be coming. I know I will have to tell them the truth about everything. My affair with Elizabeth, the punishments that followed, and council. But not tonight. I just met them and I can’t chase away Cassie. I need her to help me find whatever it is I’m looking for now. But, I will tell them the whole truth one day. I promise.

“I can’t right now, it’s too late at night,” I reasoned. “I’ll tell you all about your mother piece by piece in the morning. Deal?”

“Deal!” the twins said together in unison.

“Would you like more tea, doctor?” Blake asked.

“Sure,” I replied. “And call me William.”

“Okay,” Blake said. Then he went over to the stove and made more tea. I looked deep into Cassie’s eyes. I felt like Elizabeth sat before me again. I just couldn’t lose her again this time. I wanted to tell Cassie that I loved her. But that would creep her out once more. I just met the girl after all. I wanted to reach out and lightly stroke her light blonde-red hair just like I did with her mother. I longed to kiss her on the lips and tell her that I loved her. I was tempted to tell her that I followed her here from the subway because she looked like Elizabeth. But it’s too late at night for that. I’ll tell her in the morning when we are alone. For now, I had my thoughts about Cassie and Elizabeth to keep me entertained.

“Here is your tea, Mr. William,” someone said to me on the outside. I looked up right away at that sentence. Blake stood next to me with the steaming cup in his hands. I looked him up and down for a long moment.

“Huh?” I asked him.

“You’re tea is ready,” Blake repeated. I stared on blankly for a moment longer. Then it all clicked inside of my head.

“Oh yeah!” I said aloud. “Thanks.” I took the cup and blew on the tea some to cool it down. Blake smiled at me kindly as I took a drink. The warm spices in the blend seemed to wake up every part of my soul. It seemed to bring back some sort of hope that I thought I had lost a long time ago. Maybe there are angels after all.

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