Saint's Prison - Chapter 73

Two souls

After finishing the vineyard work, I returned to my room.

It seemed that Amal hadn’t returned from her prayers yet.

I sat on the bed and thought about the discomfort I felt earlier.

“I have a brother.”

“I have a sisters from the same mother.”

The crucial difference between Amal and Francesco’s expressions.

It’s whether the words “from the same mother” are included or not.

First of all, “from the same mother” is a term that refers to siblings born from the same mother.

However, there is no need to use such a term just to explain that.

That’s because when people think of siblings (of course, there are exceptions), they usually imagine people who are related by blood born from the same mother.

And another thing, the girl from the daydream looks too much like Amal.

No, it’s safe to say she looks too similar.

(Yes, as if they were the same existence…)

I thought up to that point and felt a shock in my brain.

Wait.

Yes, that’s it.

Why didn’t I realize something so simple until now?

Faces, shapes, appearances. Atmospheres and scents.

The girls who look so much alike that they seem like the same existence.

“…… Twins.”

Twins.

If that’s the case, it makes sense. It’s natural that they look alike. They are probably identical twins.

In addition, the term “from the same mother” may have a meaning beyond being born from the same mother, it may also mean growing up together in the same womb as twins.

Previously, Amal referred to himself as a “cursed child.” Perhaps this is due to Amal being born as a twin.

In the past, even in Japan, twins were thought to be ominous. In an era when one birth and one child were the norm, twins must have appeared as an alien existence to people.

The fact that those who gave birth to twins were despised as animal-like, having multiple children at once is proof of that.

Moreover, twins were called cursed children or demon children, and were even killed.

Thinking up to that point, I felt a chill run down my spine.

(Could it be that Amal’s sister wasn’t killed, but was killed by someone’s hands?)

One of the twins was killed as a cursed child. If that’s the case, what a cruel story.

It’s nauseating. From my perspective, treating twins as cursed children is superstitious and unscientific thinking.

I remembered when I visited Amal’s room to search for the parchment. The hidden umbilical cord in the trick desk came to mind.

“Was that umbilical cord I found in Amal’s room her sister’s?”

Did she keep it as a keepsake?

I looked down at the floor.

If my thoughts so far are correct, was the Amal I met that night at the silent corridor actually Amal’s sister? Is that why I felt a vague sense of discomfort at that time?

But wait.

Amal also said this.

“—She died as soon as I was born.”

So, Amal’s sister is dead as soon as she was born.

If so, why did she appear as a girl instead of a baby? Is she really Amal’s sister? Or is she something else?

Either way, if she still truly exists in Stonehurst… I have no choice but to think that supernatural forces are at work.

“… Twins.”

I muttered.

Noticing it, I chuckled.

I gently closed my eyes, remembering Shizuyo. My twin sister. The most important existence. Although we were not identical twins, we were siblings who didn’t look alike at all, but we were bound by a much stronger bond than our parents and other relatives.

(Shizuyo…)

Ah, my sister’s beautiful appearance and soft, feminine smile come to mind. I called her name over and over in my heart. Even though there was no way she could answer, I couldn’t help but mock myself and couldn’t stop.

I involuntarily opened my eyes at the sensation of my cheek being gently stroked.

There was no one in sight. Instead, there was only an old wooden desk that showed its age.

I sighed and thought again.

Now that I think about it, Amal and I have something in common.

That is, we were both born as twins, and we both lost our other halves.

Twins were originally thought to be one existence that was born separately.

In other words, two people were barely one person. That’s why twins have souls that are connected.

If Amal and his sister were identical twins, it wouldn’t be strange for them to have an even stronger connection, both mentally and physically.

Yes, because their souls are strongly connected, even if one half dies, true death in its complete sense does not come.

Amal and I, who are living while dead.

Shizuyo and the girl, who are dead while living.

The present world and the eternal world.

We are standing on the boundary line between them.