THE CONNECTION

The Connection.

“Hopper!... Hopper! “ Mike yelled. Mike is handsome and slender with his beautiful brown eyes and short black hair. He has brains too, which was not typical for boys from the Bronx. Which is exactly why Harper married him. She Loves everything about him, Except how he says her name, it drives her nuts! It’s HARPER, not Hopper. She would always correct him and wished his name was something like “ Vinnie “ or “Tony”. At least then she could have something to work with, but Michale is all she gets.

“ Get back to work!...” he Yells, from across the way. “ These water filters aren’t going to clean themselves,” pointing at the water purification system he built out of old cars, reefer units, and some burnt playground rubble he found here and there. Even though the degrees earned at MIT are useless in these times, the knowledge and ingenuity are priceless.

“Sorry, babe,” Snapping out of this foggy eyed stare. “I… can’t help it” While Mike gently caresses her hand he gently speaks again. “Babe, you gotta stop playing with that thing, you’re gonna break it.” As she thought more in silence, she finally looked up at him and spoke.

“I know I have to be careful,” as she was rubbing her beautifully crafted, half of a silver heart shaped locket, around her neck. “It’s just my sister, my mom...I was SIX for crying out loud!! We were six, I mean” and hung her head as thoughts and memories of not getting one last hug, or even getting to say good-bye, seemingly consumed her.

“Harper,” careful to say it correctly, Mike went on “It Was what was best for you, your sister Jasmyne, and really For All of us. All of humanity”

Mike gently went on to remind her of the importance of the two halves of the locket and how they needed to fit together perfectly.

With a distal glaze, Harper sulkily explained “I know, Mike, but I can’t forget it either. We were six year old little girls and they expected us to figure this out and remember life changing secrets as if we were… just colleagues… AND IT’S NOT FAIR!” She Yelled through the tears. “I remember our dad telling us how he and our mom were working on some kind of assignment for the government. The same damned government that is responsible for releasing that “Shit” into the world.!”

“STOP IT HOPPER!” he exclaimed and Mike was hardly able to finish as Harper interrupted... “No! Our mother and father were working on something that the government didn’t want anybody knowing about, and now… now my dad’s dead, and I don’t even know if my mother and sister are still alive!” Harper was flailing her arms around and pacing back and forth. “The government wants to kill as many people as they can, then they can control the rest of the population with some… some anti-virus or serum, whatever they want to call it, And that it might not even exist!”

Harper was on a roll, ranting and raving. She kept yelling at Mike. “You know, when they dropped all of those incendiary devices all around the world, thinking that they could just burn the crap out of it, all they did was destroy half the planet and most of its inhabitants! I mean, look at you,” motioning towards Mike. “Yeah, don’t remind me,” as he adjusted himself in his wheelchair. “Sorry babe” said Harper, apologetically squeezing Mike’s hand. She leaned down towards him, as he reached up, each embracing the other. “Come on, it’s getting late, the rest of the filters can wait. We should just sit with the others and eat what there is to eat, before we try to get some rest.”

Afterwards, they both relaxed and chatted before drifting into a well deserved sleep. That, at least, was what Harper prayed for. As I sat straight up, in a cold sweat, I realized while staring into the darkness with my heart pounding, that it was just another nightmare. The kind that haunts you, never leaving, and you can always feel its presence. The kind that makes you think nobody is there to ease your pain. As I stumbled to the sink, to splash water on my face, I looked into the mirror, thinking, “Just another nightmare?...”

Splashing more water on my face, I found myself looking and wondering, then whispering to my reflection, “yeah, just another nightmare.” I remembered when our mom used to tell us about how she met our dad, who was working with some animals in a microbiology lab. She never said exactly what he did, only that he loved his work and that she was madly in love with him. But worst of all, I still remember when he left and took my sister Harper with him. “Damn it, we were only six!” I yelled, watching the water drip down my face.

I didn’t understand what was going on at the time. It seemed that every night there was yelling and screaming downstairs, and then there would be crying. I remember well how my mom would always cry loudly, for such a long time, that it would wake me and Harper even from a sound sleep. We would wonder what the hell all the yelling was about. I can still remember how me and my sister would be up for hours, trying to figure out what was making them so unhappy. One night, there was no yelling, arguing, or crying. I heard them coming up the stairs. I pretended to be asleep. I heard whispering, “are you sure this is the right thing to do?”

I heard the voice of my father reply “Yes, we’ve been over it a thousand times Angela. This is the only way.” Our mom interrupted, “But, I think the children would be better off if they stuck together.” “No Angela!” my father then said more quietly, “No, this is the only way. If they were to catch us, all hope would be lost. For us and humanity.” He paused, and I felt a tear coming to my eye, then slowly going down my cheek. “And there won’t be any hope for them, either.” I tried hard to suppress the crying, but to no avail. I started crying, but did my best not to alert them to the fact that I was awake. Instead, I just made a noise like I was clearing my throat, adjusted the covers, and laid still. I then heard him say “I’m all packed, I have some clothes for me and Harper, and months ago I made sure that our bank accounts were cleaned out, so money won’t be an issue, if we end up needing it. I’ll get in touch with you as soon as we get to safety-” My mother cut him off, “Promise me!” she was practically begging him. “I will-” my dad was now crying as well. “I… I will!” And then, just like that, they were gone.

Jasmyne, still staring at herself in the mirror, got dressed. She laced up her boots. She checked her pistol, remembering her mom always saying “Locked, cocked, and ready to rock.” She grabbed her favorite satchel, and was ready to do some shopping. There were still a few people in town, not enough to worry about, but you can’t be too careful. Jasmyne uncovered her bike from some rubble that she used to keep it hidden from others. It wasn’t much, just a small dirt bike, but it got the job done and suited her well enough. She got on and started towards town. She started humming the way she always did when going into town. It helped her forget. Forget the thought of having something so precious wrapped around her neck. Forget the death of her mother. And also to remind her of the reason she had to survive.

Jasmyne had to stay alive long enough to find her sister, or to find out if she was even still alive. She hoped desperately Harper still had her piece of the pendant. Elsewise, the microchip wasn’t any good. Just a Micro without the chip, per-se.

It was 9:45 am. Jasmyne liked to go to town earlier because there were far less people out and about. That helped Jasmyne be more at ease and relaxed. This alone helped her think clearly and be able to react to most any situation. As she roamed about being cautious, she didn’t feel too much in danger, for the time being. Not too busy and with the majority rule being to never take more than you need, it was mostly people just trying to get by.It’s best to just stay quiet and be real careful. That’s why “Mr. Smith” is Always with me. I don’t usually get much flack.

Parking as close to the store as I can, I hop off the bike, take the spark plug and go in for my list. I grab the first apple I see, of course, and snag a shopping cart. I crused down the isles not really paying any attention to what I was doing and just sort of on auto pilot, BOOM! I ran straight into the hugest display of canned peaches ever! With a crashing bang and cans flying everywhere, including all over me, it really was just like the cartoons! Man, those little birdies are no joke. Quite real!

As it took me a while to regain my composure, I was taken off guard by the lady attendant standing in front of me gawking. She stood there still and with her mouth wide open. Holding a piece of celery in her hand she had a deer in the headlights look on her face. As I stand up and grab for Mr. Smith, and point it at her, ready to pull the trigger, in one foul swoop.

Lucky for the attendant, I was distracted by someone pointing right at Me yelling out “HARPER! Harper! I can’t believe it’s you! How did you get here before us?! How did..," and before she could finish her sentence I yelled back at her telling her “I’m Not this Harper chick, first of all! My name is Jasmyne and I am the one that’s gonna ask some questions now. Mr. Smith and I aren’t going to take any bullshit, either!"

After a barrage of questions, the lady was able to speak. “My name is May and I thought you would remember. Or had always hoped you would. I work with... “ Cutting her off cold, Jasmyne told her to just be quiet and move on before Mr. Smith joined in!”

Just then May started to explain… “Hey, just relax… are you the same Jasmyne, with a twin sister Harper, right? The one with the other half? The heart?"

“Maybe?” May continued “ Your sister has been looking for you endlessly! Tirelessly. There are tons of groups of people looking for you. DON’T WORRY though… she is an amazing and strong woman, just like you! It’s uncanny how much you guys look alike, too”

May, had finally convinced Jasmyne that Harper was fine and sets up the meeting, and full of caution and excitement the bright eyed May has done right, just as promised. A Few days go by and they finally meet up in Huachuca, a small town in Arizona and after so much anticipation and so many years,we finally get to hug once again. Instead of the forgotten goodbyes, she finally gets to say "Hello."

Crying and collapsing in each other's arms, the twins heart’s can now mend. As their own hearts mend they must now unite the two halves of the heart shaped locket to help heal the world, and try, to save mankind.