Unexpected

• Anita Phabmixay, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2011

I am one of two children. My sibling, Sam, is a couple years younger than me. We didn’t have the closest of sibling relationships. When I started high school, she was learning their time-table. When I finished college, she finished primary school. We were never quite on the same page. I didn’t pay much attention to my sibling. I would be out with my friends or busy with work and she would be ... I don’t know what Sam did. We lived in the same house; however we could go for 3 whole days without seeing each other.

A couple of days ago, I was out of town for a business trip and whilst I was there I stopped by a small café. While reading the local newspaper, occasionally I would look up to scan the light crowd and traffic on the street. I look up then back to the newspaper. When something clicked in my mind. I look back up. That was odd, however I returned to the newspaper. But I had to double-take.

There she was, Sam, across the street from where I was sitting. But something was wrong, something distant. Suddenly Sam looks at me but it was more like that they were looking through me. I can feel the goose bumps form all over my body. A crowd of people swept by, sweeping my sibling away, leaving a cold chill behind.

That night I had a business dinner. As I wait at the table, occasionally checking my phone. A racket behind me catches my attention and there was a customer yelling at the waiter.
“Hello” A voice says from my table.
I turn back and sitting in the seat across the table was Sam.
I was surprised to see her, stumbling over words “What - what are you doing here?”
She was silent
“Sam you’re supposed to be at home. What are you doing here?”
“Did you see me today?”
I was silent.
She stared at me for a while “I was hoping for a different reaction”
Then she pulled out her phone and sent a text.
I was getting annoyed “Sam go away I have a business appointment. We will talk about this later”
“Sorry to say but your business appointment was suddenly cancelled”
“Cancelled but how can that ...” I checked my phone, No signal.
That’s when Sam pulls out a small signal scrambling device out from under the table.
I was on the verge of yelling “What is that? You are going to get me fired! Go away”
“Getting fired isn’t the worst of your problems”

That was 36 hours ago
Since then; I have been shot at on several occasions; sky dived out of a building with no safety equipment; driven on the wrong side of the road with oncoming traffic; I think I have a concussion; and have learnt more about Sam than I have in a lifetime.

One thing that I haven’t gotten over yet:
My. Sibling. Is. A. Spy.