Cursed Twins

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow would be my eighteenth birthday. As well as the first day of college.

I sighed and looked out the window. Wonderful. I was supposed to be happy, glad to be starting over. Glad to be somewhere new to get a new perspective. Glad to be away from the lies.

But really, I was glad of nothing right now.

I looked away from the window and walked toward my full length mirror. I reached for my sweater and noticed my black birthmark on the back of my left shoulder. It was just a big, dumb, black circle. Just big, plain, and ugly. I closed my eyes and put on my black sweater.

Whenever I asked Barbara or her husband if anyone had this birthmark, she always said that her great-grandmother did. But now I knew it was all a lie.

I grabbed my dorm key and walked out into the hallway. My room was the last one in the hallway and I had no roommate. I didn’t really mind, but I knew that wouldn’t make it any easier to make new friends.

Closing the door behind me I walked down to the school’s office and walked in. The campus was pretty big, but you could get around it. Living in New York gave me that sense of confidence that I could find my way around in a place with many buildings or rooms.

“How may I help you dear?” The lady at the desk asked.

“I wanted to pick up my schedule. I came down here a few days ago when I arrived and was told that it wasn’t ready yet, due to the late registration.” I replied.

“Oh yes. What’s your name again?”

“Matilda.” I told her and watched her walk away to a room. I stood there and looked around tapping my finger on lady’s desk.

A boy who looked around my age or a year older, walked into the office and stood beside me. He looked around and sighed running a hand through his dark hair.

“Does ANYONE work in this place?” He said out loud, and a bit rudely.

“She just went in to get a few papers.” I said. I was going to look away, not caring for this idiot who didn’t seem to have any patients, but his light brown eyes caught me off guard.

I felt like my breath got caught in my throat and I didn’t know what it meant to not stare.

He raised a cocky eyebrow at me and smirked. “And you are…?”

“A girl.” I rolled my eyes and looked back at the empty chair where the lady was sitting at a few minutes ago.

“Yeah, I can tell by your brea-”

“I found them dear!” The lady came out of the room and smiled as she handed me the papers. “If you need any help finding your classes, let us know.”

“Thank you.” I replied, with a forced smile and turned to leave. I sneaked a glance up at the strange boy and realized what a mistake that was.

Because he was staring right at me with those light, brown eyes.

Pushing open the door and walking out, letting a sigh of relief out. What happened back there, I wondered. I never cared about any guy who walked in my path or flirted with me. Not that he was flirting, or maybe he-

Ugh! I shook my head and rushed back to my dorm. This was nonsense talk going on through my head. And nonsense was something I sure as heck didn’t need.

I closed the door once I was in my dorm and laid in bed. Feeling the urge to read, I looked through my bag that I had on the airplane and found a black folder instead. What was this?

I pulled it out with a frown and sat back on my bed. A note was on the front in Barbara’s husband’s handwriting.

We love you so much Matilda. Never think that we played the role as parents. We WERE parents to you. We know you are upset right now, and wish to go out and find yourself in the world. And we respect that. But please come visit us on your spare time.

This folder, and the sheet inside, are the only things your biological parents left behind when they dropped you off outside our door. Barbara and I hope this will help with whatever you are trying to figure out.

We love you.

I wiped away my tears and quickly opened the folder. With shaky hands, I took out the old, elegant, handmade paper and realized it was my birth certificate. My REAL certificate. It had my name, birth date, and time I was born.

But no mention of whom my parents were. No mention of where I was born. No mention of my real last name. NOTHING! I clenched my jaw and put the paper back in the folder.

I took deep breaths and told myself to calm down. Told myself that I WOULD find answers. Told myself that I can get through this. Told myself that I would heal with time.