CHAPTER II

How tired I was of this stupid rain, which sometimes started and could not end in any way. Death-bearing drops began to cover my protective suit and trickle down the lenses of the breathing mask, preventing me from navigating in space. Yusha was always afraid to go out alone and preferred to move around with someone by the hand. I never refused her this service, as I considered myself an older sister, whose duties included protecting the younger one.

Our house was like a black cube illuminated by neon lights. Its smooth surface perfectly tolerated the onslaught of dust storms and acid precipitation. There was an additional life support system box on the side, which was connected to underground tanks intended for water and air. Our chief architect did not like windows, so if you find yourself in our area, you will not see a single porthole.

We walked along a rough metal path between the faceless houses where our neighbors lived. The path was illuminated with a dim green light from stationary lamps, and signs with designations helped travelers navigate the colony. For me, they were meaningless, since I knew these parts like the back of my hand.

The school was a few kilometers away, so we quickly got to it. The educational building differed from our house only in size and was rectangular in shape. And so it's the same black parallelepiped without a single window. When we got through the airlock, a spacious hall with storage chambers and lockers for personal clothes was waiting for us. Here we changed into a uniform, presented in the form of a gray dress with a knee-length skirt for girls and a suit with trousers for boys. Nothing special, but these clothes did not restrict movement, and the fabric was soft and pleasant to the touch, so we loved our uniforms.

"Hello to the inseparable twins," the head of the group met us before entering the study room. "Why are you late?"

"Have you seen what's going on outside?" I tried to find an excuse.

"Oh, the usual acid rain," she shook her head. "You are lucky that our supervisor is late."

"Is something wrong?"

"She was called to a meeting. Most likely this is due to our specialization," the head allowed us to enter the study room.

"And here are our lovebirds!" the peers greeted enthusiastically.

"That's enough for you! We're just sisters" I couldn't get used to these tortures in any way, and all because my sister and I wore malachite rings on our ring fingers and were inseparable from birth.

I sometimes wondered why we needed these green mineral things, but Mom and Dad never talked about this topic. Yusha also considered this jewelry a miracle that binds us into one whole, as if we were some kind of Siamese twins.

No sooner had we settled down at our desks than the supervisor flew into the room. Her name was Marta Ironstone. A middle-aged woman with dark hair and very poor eyesight. She had to wear glasses with thick lenses on her nose, which looked very funny. We loved her because Martha took care of us and always stood up for us when someone got bad grades on a test or exam. She always worked late and was happy to answer any questions of concern to us.

"I'm sorry, children, for my tardiness," she said quickly, straightening her hair with her hand.

"Group number twenty-four! Stand up!" the head of the class ordered in a commanding voice.

We obediently stood up.

"So… Good morning, children," the supervisor looked at us.

"Good morning, Martha Ironstone!" we greeted her in chorus.

"I see that everyone is assembled. That's very good, you can sit down."

"Martha Ironstone, is something wrong?" one of the sycophants sitting in the front row addressed her.

"It's okay," the woman smiled. "By the way, let's each of you name your profession and purpose in turn."

"I want to answer first," another student, who always tried to be the first, pulled his hand.

"All right," Martha nodded.

"I want to become a geodesy specialist!" he was almost shouting.

"Oh, a good choice, and what will you do when you become a surveyor?" she asked.

"I will measure the terrain, determine coordinates, and most importantly create topographic plans and maps for the development of minerals!"

"That's a great answer. I'm glad for you," smiled Marta Ironstone.

Our colony was mining, so it's not surprising that almost everyone chose technical professions. Few became teachers, doctors, and military. The military was particularly in demand, as we were often raided by space pirates.

I wanted to become an engineer and follow in my father's footsteps. Therefore, I told an inspiring story about how I was going to work for the benefit of our settlement. But my sister just killed me with her desire.

"I'll be a biologist," she said happily. "I hope to make our world green so that we can watch the sunrise and sunset, not through the lenses of a breathing mask. So that real animals would walk through green meadows, and we would no longer have to eat synthetic food and breathe artificial air."

The room was filled with fervent laughter, as it was a pure unattainable utopia. Just a little girl's dream. I felt ashamed for my sister inside of me. Today she clearly went too far. I could read bewilderment on her face, which was quickly replaced by fear. She didn't understand why her peers were laughing at this crazy idea.

"Quiet!" Martha Ironstone stopped the general merriment. "This is a wonderful goal, Yusha Iridium. I hope you will make every effort to implement your plans, and, perhaps, a monument will be erected in your honor."

"Thank you," Yusha bowed and sat down at the table.

Yes, whatever you say, but our supervisor was a kind person and knew how to find ways out of any situation.

At lunchtime, I was called to the administrative building to help fill out the study documents, since my handwriting was considered the best in the academy. No one could write as beautifully as I could. After a while, the head of the class came running to me and said:

"Maya, your sister is being bullied there."

"What has she done again?" I sighed.

"Nothing!" The girls started making fun of her, and the guys also joined in.

" Things are bad, we need to help out."

I found Yusha surrounded by students, and ridicule, insults, and evil words were showered on her from all sides. What can you do, but society in our time was cruel, and your friends could become enemies at any moment. They always made fun of Yusha, but when it went beyond the bounds of decency, I intervened.

I had to go to the breach. Pushing everyone in different directions, I was able to get to my sister and covered her back. To stop further attempts to harm Yusha, I look at my peers angrily.

"Who is it here decided to make fun of Yusha?!" angry words burst out of my mouth.

I wanted to rush into battle and show these fools that I could tear anyone to pieces.

"Maya, you have to bring your sister down from heaven to earth!" they turned to me. "What kind of biologist is she going to become?! What kind of landscaping?! Let her become a normal engineer and not show off in front of everyone!"

"Shut up! If I hear ridicule from someone again, then I will show everyone that I can bend iron with my bare hands. I'm not afraid of any of you! Understand?!"

My words sounded convincing, so the fellow students began to disperse to their places. I took Yusha by the hand and led her to the exit. Once in a quiet and secluded place under the stairs, we managed to calm down a little.

"Thank you," Yusha muttered with a drooping head.

"Yusha, please think about when you're going to say something," I took a deep breath, trying to cope with the rage bubbling inside me.

"But I really want to become a biologist and try..." she whispered.

Tears glistened on her cheeks in the rays of the red lamps. She couldn't help but cry. Soon there was a squelching and sniffling, and her voice trembled:

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault," I couldn't stand tears, and when my own sister cried, my heart was torn apart.

"Um... okay..."

"Stop crying," I tried to calm her down, putting my hand on her shoulder, and began stroking her head with the other, as my mother usually did. "Calm down."

"I'll try to be strong... like you…"

"Just don't overdo it, otherwise you can tear your back or become a cripple."

"Why... are you so rude?" through tears she mumbled.

"I don't know," I answered her honestly. "Come on, calm down. There's another lecture ahead."

"Yes…"

The next day everything went smoothly, but at the end of the week, there was a new problem. Yusha missed the last lesson as if she had disappeared somewhere. I felt sick at heart, my heart ached. This always happened when my sister got really bad.

After class, I ran to look for her and found a lost soul in the toilet. For some reason, she locked herself in a booth and did not want to come out.

"What happened?" once again I tried to reach her.

"Nothing! Go away, leave me here," Yusha's plaintive voice was heard.

"Have you been offended again? Who did this?! I'm going to kick his ass right now!"

"Don't do that. It's too late to change anything anyway…"

"So tell me, what happened?!"

"Nothing," the sister began to cry again.

"Open the door or I'll break it down! Can you hear me?!" I began to pull on the door of the stall.

"Okay," after a while, Yusha gave up.

She appeared before me in a torn form. It was already too much!

"Yusha, who did this to you?" I looked at her sternly.

"I won't say, because it will lead to more violence," she shyly covered her chest with one hand, and her tear-stained face with the other.

"No, this is called causing harm, hooliganism, and is punishable by law!" my blood began to boil inside me.

"Nothing. I have a spare uniform," my sister sighed. "But Dad will be very angry with me since my ring is no more. Now I can't go home."

The malachite ring given by our parents no longer sparkled on her ring finger. Now it's clear why she was crying here and couldn't get out in any way.

"Was he drowned in the toilet?" I suggested.

"Yes."

"Okay, then I'll have to get rid of him, too!" I said decisively and, going into the next booth, made a rash act.

"No! Don't..." my sister tried to stop me, but she was too late.

The cherished ring fell into the water and floated through the pipes into the collector. I felt much better without him as if I had lifted a heavy load from my soul.

"Now we won't be one," Yusha lowered her head.

"Yusha, think carefully with your head. We are ordinary sisters, even though we are twins. They just look like each other, but completely different inside," I tried to explain to her.

"It's a pity. I knew you hated me.…"

"I didn't say that!"

"A few years ago you changed," Yusha tried to find the right words. "You've become ashamed of me. It's like I've become a stranger to you, not a sister, not a relative, but just a girl who needs to be protected."

She was right about something. I saw my sister's sad eyes as she pointedly turned away from me and walked away. My hand tried to stop her. Suddenly my eyes were blinded by a bright flash, and something bit my finger painfully. A current discharge ran up my arm and hit me right in the heart, and I put my hand on the bare electrical wire.

"It hurts!" at once we screamed.

"Hey, stop hitting me with the static current!" it burst out of me.

"You hit me yourself!" Yusha frowned.

We thought about the static electricity that liked to accumulate on the school uniform.

"Okay, let's try again, just to start removing the discharge," I suggested and touched the metal pipe through which cold water was coming.

My sister followed my example. Our palms began to approach each other again. As soon as they were close enough, an electric spark appeared between them. She hit her fingers painfully, forcing me to pull my hands back.

"What was that?" I was surprised.

"It looks like we're soulmates!" Yusha gasped.

"Soulmates, what is it?" I didn't understand her.

"These are two souls who once confessed eternal love to each other a long time ago. And they are doomed to everlasting torments in search of each other in this boundless world."

"Are you kidding me?!" my eyes widened.

"Yeah, an unexpected twist," she agreed with me.

"It's like some kind of fairy tale," I shook my head. "We are not only sisters but also girls."

"And what's the big deal here," Yusha smiled. "Intended for each other can be of any gender."

"Did you find out everything from your friends from Flora?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Yes... no!" my sister panicked. "How did you find out about Flora?"

"I guessed it," I began to evade the answer. "Only they ignore the general rules of behavior. The commander-in-chief said that love can only be between a woman and a man."

"Yeah, you read my diary," Yusha frowned. "And you can keep your stories about the commander-in-chief to yourself. He has been lying in his sarcophagus in the central cube for a hundred years, like some kind of museum exhibit."

"The great synthesis. My sister was brainwashed. Soon people in red spacesuits will come for us and throw us into outer space," I grabbed my head with both hands.

"You don't have to worry about your ass. I won't tell anyone about this," tears appeared in Yusha's eyes again.

"What's wrong with you?! Are you crying again?"

"None of your business!" she said and ran out of the toilet, leaving me in proud solitude.

I couldn't think that my sister was capable of speaking in such a tone. After all, she was a good girl who didn't even know how to hiss. And why is she offended again? I didn't say anything bad to her. If Yusha thinks that we should now love each other all the way to the sarcophagus, it's only in her sick fantasies. In our society, such relationships are prohibited, and they are punishable by law up to the death penalty.

When I returned to the study room, I found that Yusha's things were missing. She decided to leave without waiting for me. Oh, and I pissed her off with something. Maybe it wasn't necessary to talk about "Flora"? Now she will hide the diary and become Miss "X" for me.

"Decided to go home without me?" I tried to stop her in the locker room.

She hurriedly pulled on a jumpsuit and a chemical protection robe, without which it was impossible to go outside.

"You don't want to talk to me anymore? Well, okay, I'll be silent too."

It was the first day in our lives when we left the academy separately…