NW2009 (004) - Sisters
Emily knew Jane from way back ... they were sisters. The both of them grew up in a small farm; it was at that farm that Jane developed a taste for architecture. This was chiefly in response to how well the farm was built. Emily was older and had helped her dad work on the farm since before either of them had learned to speak. Emily had mastered all the tools in the normal span of such things, but Jane had always been frustrated by how her dad did things, eventually being also frustrated with Emily, who copied their father. Jane's root frustration was revealed when the barn, having been wobbly but serviceable for years, finally fell on their father. Emily's response was to grieve intensely, bury their father, and rebuild the barn, patching where she could but basically remodeling the entire thing - as close to memory as she could. Jane's response was a bit more violent. Their father had left a sizeable insurance policy behind, which paid nicely for the materials required to rebuild the barn - but Jane would have none of it. As if intending to distance herself from her father and her mimicking sister, Jane decided to learn how to build such structures properly. She had not decided whether she would go back and rebuild or redesign the old barn or abandon her family entirely - she just knew that she had to solve the problem ... to learn how to fix it before it killed the rest of her family; in her studies she became obsessed with shoddy architecture and her passion for such safety burned deeply.
Jane had taken odd jobs, found the cheapest safe places she could, while spending her free time researching colleges that would offer a sufficiently dynamic architecture program to guarantee preparation in her struggle against her stated foe. After selecting a college, she mapped out how much money a path toward a graduate degree in both civil and mechanical engineering, with whom she would need to communicate, what classes she would need to take each semester, who her instructors needed to be, a mentor who could keep her focused, and how much it would all cost. Once the final number and path was mapped out, she dedicated her heart and mind toward accomplishing her educational goals.
Thus, it was not a pleasant gathering when Emily finally found Jane five years later. Jane was in the middle of her sophomore year, had just finished her last class for the day, and was heading toward home. Emily found Jane power-walking off campus, eyes focused with a perpetual glance to her periphery to catch traffic or distractions, and tried waving her down. Emily's efforts went unnoticed (or at least disregarded). Emily tried jogging to catch up and found herself quickly out of breath as Jane's efforts pushed her at a rather marked clip. After a few minutes Emily went back to her car, turned the ignition, and followed Jane on the road, trying to get her attention. Several miles later, Jane turned to Emily, gave her a quizzical look, and walked at a slower pace, stopping at the nearest bus stop. They engaged in dialogue, Jane got in the car, and the two drove to the house.
Marcy was in her room, studying something or other, when she heard a car door slam; turning toward the window, she noted Jane walking with someone else. She remained focus on studies, finishing up the chapter and made her way to the kitchen. Jane had finished making soup and was serving up two bowls. Offering Marcy a bowl, Jane served the three of them and they sat down at the dinner table, exchanging pleasantries.
Marcy found that Emily liked much of the same things, though never felt she had any kind of scholastic bent. They chatted about wind instruments, fret-positions, composers, and seemed to get along famously. Jane watched quietly, and went unnoticed as she placed her bowl and spoon into the sink. Marcy looked up, realized Jane had already left, and told Emily about the lake. Offering to show her where the stair entrance to the lake, Emily declined, indicating she had to discuss something important with Jane. Marcy nodded, spoke quietly about a few more things while taking the dishes back to the kitchen, and then went to investigate Jane's location. They found her sitting on the porch in the pagoda. The view was quite lovely, displaying the lake on one side, the house on a second side, a strange archway that Jane had been constructing in her spare time. Jane had special-ordered a piece of marble with the phrase "McGuffin" and placed it at the top of the archway. Most of her attention was focused on the archway when Marcy and Emily made their way to the pagoda. As they approached, Jane turned toward them, closed her eyes, sipped her coffee, and turned her head back, moving slightly toward the wall. Marcy realized that Emily was being offered an opportunity to speak with Jane, indicated as such to Emily, and headed back to the house to continue studying. She looked back once while walking along the path and noted that they had not begun speaking. Moments before Marcy made her way inside, she looked back again to find Emily sitting in the same place but clearly leaning towards Jane.
Back at the pagoda, Emily looked at the marble sigil and recognized it. They discussed what Jane had begun discussing but had never finished speaking on with their father, how close Emily had always been to their father, and how Jane's growing understanding of architecture had distanced her from the Emily and their father. They then discussed one of the main subjects that had been a recurring source of pain for the both of them - their mother. Tears and resolution fell from their mouths as healing words tied them together. Emily appreciated her sister a bit more and Jane's heart broke and the two of them patched up wounds that had never healed. Jane was still resolved to be able to finally make their parent's home safe, or learn enough to enable it to be so, whereas Emily continued to focus on keeping the family farm afloat. They said their goodbyes, and Jane walked her sister to her car. They hugged and Emily drove off, and the car made good time as the sunset carried off Jane's sister.
Marcy looked out the window at the lake, the pagoda, and the archway; the sigil seemed to glisten slightly as the rain fell gently on the apex of the archway. The raindrops seemed to bounce off the lake in a rhythmic pattern, eschewing the bottom of the archway.
Narrative on this post
Jane had taken odd jobs, found the cheapest safe places she could, while spending her free time researching colleges that would offer a sufficiently dynamic architecture program to guarantee preparation in her struggle against her stated foe. After selecting a college, she mapped out how much money a path toward a graduate degree in both civil and mechanical engineering, with whom she would need to communicate, what classes she would need to take each semester, who her instructors needed to be, a mentor who could keep her focused, and how much it would all cost. Once the final number and path was mapped out, she dedicated her heart and mind toward accomplishing her educational goals.
Thus, it was not a pleasant gathering when Emily finally found Jane five years later. Jane was in the middle of her sophomore year, had just finished her last class for the day, and was heading toward home. Emily found Jane power-walking off campus, eyes focused with a perpetual glance to her periphery to catch traffic or distractions, and tried waving her down. Emily's efforts went unnoticed (or at least disregarded). Emily tried jogging to catch up and found herself quickly out of breath as Jane's efforts pushed her at a rather marked clip. After a few minutes Emily went back to her car, turned the ignition, and followed Jane on the road, trying to get her attention. Several miles later, Jane turned to Emily, gave her a quizzical look, and walked at a slower pace, stopping at the nearest bus stop. They engaged in dialogue, Jane got in the car, and the two drove to the house.
Marcy was in her room, studying something or other, when she heard a car door slam; turning toward the window, she noted Jane walking with someone else. She remained focus on studies, finishing up the chapter and made her way to the kitchen. Jane had finished making soup and was serving up two bowls. Offering Marcy a bowl, Jane served the three of them and they sat down at the dinner table, exchanging pleasantries.
Marcy found that Emily liked much of the same things, though never felt she had any kind of scholastic bent. They chatted about wind instruments, fret-positions, composers, and seemed to get along famously. Jane watched quietly, and went unnoticed as she placed her bowl and spoon into the sink. Marcy looked up, realized Jane had already left, and told Emily about the lake. Offering to show her where the stair entrance to the lake, Emily declined, indicating she had to discuss something important with Jane. Marcy nodded, spoke quietly about a few more things while taking the dishes back to the kitchen, and then went to investigate Jane's location. They found her sitting on the porch in the pagoda. The view was quite lovely, displaying the lake on one side, the house on a second side, a strange archway that Jane had been constructing in her spare time. Jane had special-ordered a piece of marble with the phrase "McGuffin" and placed it at the top of the archway. Most of her attention was focused on the archway when Marcy and Emily made their way to the pagoda. As they approached, Jane turned toward them, closed her eyes, sipped her coffee, and turned her head back, moving slightly toward the wall. Marcy realized that Emily was being offered an opportunity to speak with Jane, indicated as such to Emily, and headed back to the house to continue studying. She looked back once while walking along the path and noted that they had not begun speaking. Moments before Marcy made her way inside, she looked back again to find Emily sitting in the same place but clearly leaning towards Jane.
Back at the pagoda, Emily looked at the marble sigil and recognized it. They discussed what Jane had begun discussing but had never finished speaking on with their father, how close Emily had always been to their father, and how Jane's growing understanding of architecture had distanced her from the Emily and their father. They then discussed one of the main subjects that had been a recurring source of pain for the both of them - their mother. Tears and resolution fell from their mouths as healing words tied them together. Emily appreciated her sister a bit more and Jane's heart broke and the two of them patched up wounds that had never healed. Jane was still resolved to be able to finally make their parent's home safe, or learn enough to enable it to be so, whereas Emily continued to focus on keeping the family farm afloat. They said their goodbyes, and Jane walked her sister to her car. They hugged and Emily drove off, and the car made good time as the sunset carried off Jane's sister.
Marcy looked out the window at the lake, the pagoda, and the archway; the sigil seemed to glisten slightly as the rain fell gently on the apex of the archway. The raindrops seemed to bounce off the lake in a rhythmic pattern, eschewing the bottom of the archway.
Narrative on this post
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