Yesterday (End of Part One - Chapters 19 & 20) (Patreon)

CHAPTER 19

––Who? –– Laura asked in a daze.

––Jonah, your twin brother –– her father repeated reluctantly, as if he had trouble articulating each of those words.

––My brother is alive? But, he d... –– Laura felt that she was becoming sick while searching for sense in her words. Her father took her hands in his and tried to calm her down. They felt moist.

––Laura… –– her dad took a breath –– as I told you years ago, we thought it would be better if you didn't know anything for your own good and so that it wouldn't distress your poor mother any more. It's a complicated story, it's not easy for me to talk about it.

––But where is he? Is he here? I want to see him –– Laura demanded of him.

––So do I. But I'm afraid we're going to have to wait for now.

––But Dad, you can't tell me something like that and ask me to just be cool ––. Laura got up from the sofa and started wandering nervously around the room trying to clarify her ideas ––. What happened? Where is he?

––Laura, your brother is… –– Oscar was struggling to find the words, again begging for patience with his eyes –– special... things began to happen very early on and I... your mother....

––Dad, please speak out!

––I'm trying, but you don't know how difficult that was. We suffered a lot. It was a very hard decision for me, but I had no other choice –– he paused and lowered his head ––. I had to take him away from you. He left me no choice.

Laura stared disconcerted at her father. That was too much to assimilate all at once after a long day.

She felt lonely, tremendously empty, and a knot began to twist her throat. She needed to think, but she could feel her mind becoming dull. She sat down on the arm of the sofa, turning her back to her father.

She realized that they didn't usually have that kind of adult or open conversations. Maybe it was the third time in her life that they had had that kind of talk.

She admitted to herself that since she was a child she had felt the familiar presence of her brother in her mind, but it was something very intimate, which she hadn't talked about with anyone. Some time later, during her adolescence, when the suspicion that was gnawing inside her became unbearable, she could not avoid sneaking up on her father and asking him if what she had long felt was true, that she had had a brother. His father was surprised at first, but finally confessed "the truth" noticeably disturbed. But it was a brief conversation full of dark spots and silences that was cut short when his father made her swear that she would never tell her mother about it.

––Laura, please understand me, it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. And now with your mother… I couldn't wait any longer.

––But dad, what the hell happened to Jonah?

––He almost killed your mother.

––What? how? –– She said confused –– but he couldn't be more than three years old!

––Laura, you're not 33, you're both 37 years old.

Laura felt her world collapse. Her legs loosened and she fell plumb down on the sofa in front of her father. She didn't understand anything. She felt anguish and sorrow, an overwhelming sorrow.

––You can't do this to me –– It was the only thing she managed to get out of her mouth –– Not now.

––I'm sorry, kid, but it has to be now. With everything that's happened, I don't trust myself anymore. I need to tell you before I regret it, go crazy… or forget it.

And so Laura heard for the first time her story and that of Jonah, the truth. Her father quietly told her how he and her mother had tried unsuccessfully to conceive children since the beginning of their marriage. The misfortune they felt when after two miscarriages they were told that their mother could not conceive, and the opportunity that arose out of nowhere one spring day with the auspicious call of a judge friend of his.

His old friend, aware of the problems they had had, offered him a deal, two twin babies in exchange for his silence. "I don't tell you where they come from, and you don't ask me any questions," his friend offered him, and the next day he picked them up at his home in Barcelona, with all the paperwork ready, and a written promise of absolute discretion about their origins.

The babies were so tiny, they looked premature. They did not appear to be more than two or three months old and, in order to conceal and build a credible story for their friends, their mother immediately took them to the United States with her family for a prolonged period of time. Doctors there found a developmental delay on the kids, which they blamed on the steroid treatment they seemed to have been receiving since birth, and on possible problems with the biological mother. The treatment offered in those years in such cases was messy and minimal. They were experimenting with hormonal therapies but it was soon, they had to wait until the children's adolescence to obtain results.

They returned from exile three years later, and their mother made them pass for younger than they really were to avoid suspicion. On their return, she also decided to take advantage of those years of disconnection doing nothing more than the indispensable social life in Madrid for a long time to come. The children's slow growth did the rest and everything seemed normal.

Except for Jonah.

Jonah was extremely intelligent and self aware, unlike Laura, who matured much more slowly. Oscar, her father, took that as a sign of fortitude and fell madly in love with the child. He saw in him his heir, a gentleman ready to be shaped into grandeur.

His curiosity was insatiable, and he began to ask some surprising questions for his young age. No one knew how, but one day he discovered that there were no photos of his baptism. His mother told him that they would be baptized together when the time came to celebrate their first communion, but the boy continued to inquire and ask questions that eventually became more and more uncomfortable.

They spoke to him, debated whether to tell him part of the truth in any way, but something unforeseen happened.

––Mom got pregnant –– Laura guessed in awe. She was starting to connect the dots.

––Yes, indeed. Despite everything the doctors had told us, your mother became pregnant with your sister, and that's where things went astray.

––But that can't be, I remember being alone for a long time.

––I know Laura, I know –– her father interrupted her with a hint of melancholy ––. That was Jonah's fault.

––But how?

––Let me finish.

And his father recounted to her how one morning Jonah, although no one in the house suspected anything yet, predicted that his mother was pregnant. It was as if he had conquered the moon. They were having breakfast, he looked at his mother, his face lit up and, pointing to her belly, he revealed it to her laughing, as if it was something very funny. Not even she could imagine it and laughed at the mischief until as she turned her back she began to feel nauseous. She called her doctor, tested herself just in case and there it was, the once longed-for baby, finally growing in her womb when no one expected it anymore.

Everyone took Jonah's "annunciation" as a milestone, and asking the child about all kind of things became the star game of the house in the days that followed. What fascinated them was that he was almost always right. And Jonah kept rising stronger with each small victory.

And Laura began to feel dread as she listened to her father. She no longer thought about that day, her sister or her previous feelings. She remembered the pills she had been forced to take every day for years and which she sometimes avoided because they clouded her mind. She would only cross her fingers mentally and pray that her father would not say the word she did not want to hear. She felt a tremendous shame. Fear. She felt silly.

––We don't know how, but your brother seemed to be... clairvoyant.

And his father continued to recount to her how enthusiastic their mother was at first, as she was a lover of all those topics and New Age trends. He was taken to a psychiatrist who was recommended to them and who happened to be giving lectures in Madrid at that time. He performed on the child the Rorschach test, a very popular test in the 70s that consisted of a series of ten plates with ink stains that were used to evaluate personality, and another test with a deck of white cards with printed geometric figures, the Zener cards.

Yes, those tests were also performed on her.

But it was Jonah's results that captured the psychiatrist's attention the most. He was a genius, or so he promised. He encouraged them to stimulate his intelligence, to teach him how to read and write as soon as possible, to teach him music or painting, activities to channel his energy into. But he was very precocious, and a private tutor had to be hired for all of this.

And the enthusiasm gave way in a very short time to routine, and with it, to Jonah's disinterest, more inclined to make his mother and his guardian angry, bragging with his riddles than to advance in anything.

"It is only a child" he warned them, but it was no use, and unwittingly, their life became a war, and home a battlefield.

Jonah was winning, he had them baffled. It seemed that every day he discovered a new trick, and he had no hesitation in bragging about them all.

Until one day he went too far.

Oscar paused and, standing up, poured himself a drink in the bar cabinet. He offered one to Laura, but she refused.

––You know I don't drink, Dad.

––I know many things.

After a dramatic silence her father continued his story with his gaze lost in his drink. Laura listened to the words but her mind translated them into images that were disturbingly familiar to her. She somehow knew she had been there.

––Jonah spoke of Eva, he described her. Your mother had not yet begun to show signs of pregnancy and he began to talk about her non-stop as if he already knew her. There was a change in his attitude and he became insolent. He was jealous of Eva even before she was born, and don't ask me why, but he started showing an atrocious resentment toward your mother as he spoke. Then he stopped his chatter for a moment.

"And you are not my father," he glanced at me with wide open eyes, on the brink of tears, surprising himself by the revelation; and he ran out of the room leaving your mother and me speechless.

I went after him and after searching all over the house I found him huddled behind a couch, sulking and bloodshot eyes.

He got up, pushed me, and the next thing I remember waking up was lying there by the couch, completely disoriented. I don't know how, but I had fainted.

I stood up, and upon arriving at the kitchen I was horrified to discover a scene I will never forget in my life.

You were sitting on the floor, your brother behind you with his hands on your temples and eyes closed as he whispered something. When he saw me enter, he lifted his gaze towards me, and without taking his hands off you, he threatened me furiously, "she won't know anything, but you... you're going to remember everything", and I got scared, not only because of the guttural tone of his voice, but also because when I looked down I saw your mother's feet protrude behind the table. As I approached, I noticed that Jonah's fingers were stained with blood, and you were in a kind of lethargy.

Your mother...

Oscar churned. He looked defeated, and Laura feared for his health.

––That's enough, it' s not necessary.

––No, please –– her father interrupted her with a gesture, asking for a moment ––. Let me finish. I could forget everything and then it would be too late for everyone.

Laura tried to ask him why, but he shut her up again.

––On that day Jonah discovered a new skill. Somehow he was able to control the minds of those around him. It's scary, and I've never talked about it before with anyone outside of us for fear that he would notice and retaliate, but today I have to tell you everything, because I suspect he'll be distracted enjoying his triumph ––. He ended up telling himself by clenching his fists with frustration ––. But let me go on.

Your mom was lying on the floor as if she had fainted. A small red spot dyed her skirt and a tangle of dark liquid threads ran between her legs. Dread caused my tears to flow as I faced Jonah.

––What have you done, child? –– I asked him.

But he never replied, he still had his little fingers on your head, absorbed by some kind of trance. I approached and separated you with a strong pull. He began to stir and scream, and a few seconds later you too began to scream, your eyes wide open, freaked out.

There was no one else at home, it became hell.

I desperately slapped Jonah twice and threw him to the ground. He looked at me in disbelief. You kept screaming.

I found the phone and called 911.

Divine Providence made your tutor knock at that moment. He arrived punctually to give his class. After the first scare that poor man got, we could both confine Jonah in the pantry. He kept kicking and insulting us. It was horrible, a nightmare. When we locked him up he began to knock hard on the door, but shortly afterwards he suddenly calmed down, and a sepulchral silence came over the house. I came back for you and you were no longer screaming, still on the floor, distracted by something you would have found there. I don't remember what it was, everything got very confusing from that moment on.

They took your mom to the hospital, where she was hospitalized for several days, the first one totally unconscious. She didn't lose the baby miraculously, the doctors told me. She had suffered a detachment, and they imposed absolute rest during the remainder of her pregnancy. She had lost blood and was weak, but otherwise everything was normal under the circumstances. There was only a slight difference.

She did not remember Jonah.

Never did she remember him again.

In fact, except for myself and his tutor, no one else around us did until that time when you named him, some time later, the night you asked me about him.

Laura nodded silently, petrified.

Oscar took a sip from his glass and continued.

––Jonah was taken care of by the tutor from that very first day of your mother's admission to hospital. You were entrusted to a nanny, Carmen, whom you may remember because after that she stayed home for three years, until your mother was fully recovered.

––She was never completely recovered –– Laura said unwittingly, letting herself be carried away by her thoughts.

––No, she never was, you're right –– her father granted taciturnly ––. From then on she suffered constant nightmares, depression and anxiety. Then came the anxiolytics, and she became the woman you knew.

––And what happened to Jonah?

––I immediately sent him out of Spain with his tutor, to Nice in France. I made a few calls and they recommended me an institution run by the Prelature where he could be admitted until we knew how to cure him or face what was happening to him. My contacts in the Congregation were very useful. A generous amount of money and several one-time donations were enough to resolve the matter with absolute discretion.

––A Prelature center? But you never go to Mass.

––Yes, kiddo, they were the only ones who took care of such cases at that time.

––Are you part of the Congregation? –– asked Laura with a mouthful.

––I don't belong to anyone –– Oscar calmly reassured her ––, but I have friends everywhere. First he was taken to a house in Nice, then transferred to a school in Ireland, where he spent most of his childhood in the care of a Jesuit priest. They were actually very helpful.

Earlier I told you that you were tested too. The psychiatrist who treated you is a member of the Congregation, Walter Hebert, and when I called him to tell him what had happened, he immediately put me in touch with Father Aminarti, the priest who later took charge of your brother's tutelage. At that time in the Vatican there was a very discreet current of interest in these matters and the Prelature placed itself at the forefront of the Church, researching on its own. They were secretly convinced that the future of humanity resided in the development of man's mental capacities. To me it seemed like Masonic delusions but that psychiatrist was quite an eminence, so I sent Jonah and his tutor to Nice where they met him and Father Aminarti.

When he returned, the tutor told me that Jonah, who had been mute since the incident, accepted the Father as soon as he saw him. He approached him, took his hand and took refuge under his arm, head down, as if looking for protection. Little more had to be said. Jonah remained in his care, and I went to see them a few days later, when I was able to excuse myself from home under the pretext of a business trip.

Jonah did not look at me or speak to me throughout the interview. He stood behind Aminarti. I didn't know what to say to him either, so I focused on Father. He seemed cultured to me, quite serious and devoted. We had to sign the legal guardianship and I entrusted your brother to him. He didn't let me tell him much, he told me that the best thing for everyone was that from that moment on he knew as little about us as possible. Something like that would have been unthinkable today, but those were other times, it was easy to arrange papers using money and influence.

I alone could contact Father, and after following a rather complex process. He stressed that I should never let him know where we lived or details of our lives. He promised me that he would be in charge of conscientiously educating Jonah and sculpting into him a personality that would be able to control all those abilities, if they survived his adolescence. Something the Father thought unlikely at the time. Or so he assured me.

No photos, no memories. Jonah disappeared from our lives, something that at the very least gave you room to flourish.

Perhaps because of what he did to you, or because of his absence, there was a very positive change in you, you began to open up to us, and I want you to know that above all, for me and for your mother, you have always been and will always be our beloved daughter.

––I know Dad –– answered Laura overwhelmed.

Oscar stopped his story and remained pensive again, his gaze lost. Laura didn't dare open her mouth. She also needed time to process all that.

Oscar decided that the conversation was too painful for him.

He had spent Martha's entire funeral debating with himself whether or not he should finally talk about all that, whether he should tell both of them or just Laura. But in spite of the conversation his inner struggle continued. He feared that talking any more would cost them dearly again, and was beginning to feel a pressure in his head and the urgency of organizing all those memories again before they slipped away so as not to return. He checked his watch. The glass almost slipped out of his hand and the small shock made him stand up and react with determination.

––It's getting late, Laura, don't get up, I'll tell them to clean up what's left. Let's have dinner later and we'll keep talking. I need to attend some matters. See you later.

He kissed Laura briefly on the forehead and then, without further ado, left the room, leaving Laura bewildered and completely devastated.

CHAPTER 20

Eva decided to get out of the way and give them space to talk at ease. She left for the Stanhope clinic shortly after leaving the room. After all, she had some business to attend to, and despite everything that had happened in her house, she still had to take care of Adrian.

It was nice that his father and sister finally talked. She had always thought that if her parents had bothered to know Laura a little better they would have been pleasantly surprised. She was a very special person. Eva loved her very dearly.

Her mom.

For a second she remembered her brief and fatal conversation on her mobile phone.

“ Is it my fault?”.

She pushed that thought away and concentrated on the road. She hardly ever drove, but she had to get used to it. She was alone.

Adrian was still in bed when she arrived in his room. The machines' soft electronic hum was audible, but nothing else. His breathing was very soft. The room was in the dark and actually cozy compared to the functional ICU in Valencia.

“It's not a good day to wake up”, she muttered mentally, “you better sleep”.

The good thing, she told herself, is that she had him there safe and sound at all times. And somehow, Eva felt she was back in control.

End of part one