Last Chapter of The Unwanteds (Alternate Ending)
It had been two months since Alex had spoken to his brother and he did not intend on doing so any time soon. Aaron's loyalty lied with Quill and Alex's loyalty lied with Artime along with his peers. None of his friends returned to Quill after the war, which had become a faint memory. Everything that was damaged had been fixed, most wounds had healed, and the dead grieved over and long since buried. Lani and her father saw each other whenever Gunnar came to Artime in the evening after classes, which was more often than ever before. Everything was almost back to normal and going just the way Alex wanted it. Until one day when he got a message from his blackboard, Clive, saying that Aaron wanted to see him to discuss something.
The next day Alex met Aaron outside of Artime. He was standing next to his old jalopy jeep as Alex approached.
"You wanted to speak with me?" Alex asked with a touch of sarcasm.
Aaron stood tall as he answered, "Yes I did. I just got word that Father isn't doing well."
Alex's face did not relay the twinge he felt in his stomach at the mention of his father. "Oh," he replied, "why did you ask me to meet with you just tell me that?"
Aaron sighed. "Because I was going to go see them and I wanted to know if you would like to accompany me?"
Alex thought about that for a minute. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to see his parents again and he was worried that a single visit wasn't going to be a recurring thing.
A few moments pasted while Aaron just stared at him. Finally he said, "Ok. Well, I know this is weird for you because it's weird for me too. But, to be honest I don't think I can do this alone."
Alex thought about it for another minute and then finally said, "Alright. I'll go with you." Aaron smiled at him and then started to walk around to the driver's side of the car. "Wait." Alex said.
Aaron stopped and look back at him and asked "Is there a problem?"
Alex raised an eyebrow at him and said "This...this isn't a trick right?"
Aaron went around to the other side of the car before he answered, "Of course not, Alex. Why would you think that?" He smirked and stepped into the car. That made Alex even more uneasy, but he walked over to the car and got in with Aaron anyway. They drove around for at least an hour before another word was spoken between them.
"Aaron, we should be at their house by now."
Aaron said nothing in return. He just stared ahead at the road.
"Aaron. Where are we really going?"
Still no answer. Alex was starting to get concerned but recalled that he brought a ball of clay along with him, just in case, and that gave him some reassurance. He reached into his pocket to make sure it was still there and when the cold, putty came to the tips of his fingers, he wasn't as concerned about where his brother was taking him. Not long after that, the twins came up on the wall that was there to keep High Priest Justine's "enemies" out and to keep all of the people of Quill in. It was in the process of being torn down. The part of the wall they were approaching was on the far side of the city, so the workers had not gotten to it yet. Alex thought that surly they were going to turn before reaching the wall, but Aaron kept on driving at full speed. Alex started to panic.
"What are you doing?! You're going to hit the wall!" he said frantically.
Aaron just glanced over at him, smiled, and sped up. Alex closed his eyes and braced himself for an impact that never came. He slowly opened one eye and saw that they were speeding through a long, dark tunnel.
"Wha..." Alex started to ask but couldn't finish his question. Aaron was grinning from ear to ear, but still did not say a word.
After driving for a little while longer, a thought came to Alex's mind. "How are we still driving? Most cars would've broken down by now."
This time his Aaron did respond. He said without taking his eyes off of the road. "Gunnar Haluki and I have started the trading process up again. One of the first things we traded for was fuel to keep the cars running longer."
"Did you trade with the other islands?" Alex asked, suddenly very interested in talking with his twin.
"Yes. That's where we're going now."
Alex thought about this for a moment and then asked "I thought we were going to see mother and father?"
Aaron smiled again and said, "We are."
Neither of the boys said anything else for a long while. Finally, Alex could see the end of the tunnel, but it was too bright to see what was on the other side of the opening. As they rode out of the tunnel, Alex saw that they were on a bridge over a body of water. Aaron finally explained what was going on.
"Ok. So, a couple weeks after we started trading, our parents came to meet with me about moving to one of the other trading islands."
Alex was surprised. "I didn't know that was possible. What did you tell them?"
"Well," he said, "I told them that I would speak with the closer islands and that I would get back with them. After about a week I heard back from the island we're going to now. They moved there about 3 weeks ago."
Alex was stunned. His mouth was open but no words were coming out. There wasn't a whole lot that surprised him nowadays, but this was very surprising. He was going to see his parents...on a strange island. He wasn't sure if he should be excited, nervous, scared, or happy about the situation since he was feeling all of those things. So, he just went along with it without saying a word and with his head held high.
Soon after getting off of the bridge they turned onto a road with houses that lined either side, each one getting bigger as they went along. Finally they arrived at their parents' house. It wasn't as small as their house in Quill, but it wasn't very big either. It was just the right size for the two of them. As they were getting out of the jalopy, their mother saw them out of the window. She threw open the front door, her face alight, and started running down the stone pathway leading up to the house that had fresh, green grass growing on either side.
"Boys!" She yelled as she was running. Neither of them had seen their mother use so emotion, but Alex wasn't surprised since he had been around this for over a year now. Aaron on the other hand, was a little startled because he was still new to any emotion at all, especially from his own mother. When she reached them, she scooped them both up into a big hug. From the look on Aaron's face, Alex was sure he had never been hugged before. It made him laugh a little bit. After their mother pulled away from the twins, she said "Oh, how big you boys have gotten! I've missed you both so much." A single tear ran down her cheek, and as she was wiping it away she said, "Well, come in and say hello to your father." As she turned around to lead them each up the pathway to the house, they could see faint grey streaks starting to appear in her hair.
When they got into the house, Alex realized just how big it was. The living room ceilings were high and the room itself was fairly large. There was a long dark leather couch against the wall facing them, and two large, comfortable looking chairs on either side of a heavy wooden coffee table. The three of them walked past the living room into an open kitchen with black cabinets, white marble counter tops and a large, rectangular island situated in the middle. To the left of them was a bar with four tall stools on the other side. Three little steps right next to the doorway of the kitchen led down into a little sitting area that had windows all along the wall that looked out on to an expansive yard filled with lush flower gardens. Alex smiled thinking about the hours his mother must have spent creating this little beautiful masterpiece.
The boys followed their mother up the stairs and into a large bedroom where their father was laying in the biggest bed either of them had ever seen. It looked like he was sleeping, but, when he heard them come in he opened one eye, smiled and said softly, "Boys. What are you doing here?" in a raspy, tired voice.
Aaron was the first to answer, " We came to see you. I got word that you weren't doing well so I sent for-"
"Me," Alex said finishing his sentence. "We wanted to come see how you are...to see if we could do anything for you."
Their mother was the next to speak "That was very generous of you boys, but I don't think there is anything you can do. This might be his last day according to the doctor." Alex could see tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Mother," Aaron said, "Would you like us to stay until.. until.." He couldn't say the words, but he didn't need to. Their mother just nodded.
So, that's just what they did. They stayed there until their father closed his eyes and didn't open them again. Their mother cried over their father for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Aaron told her that it was time for them to go but that they would return soon to help her with the arrangements for their father's burial. As she hugged them each goodbye, she pretended not to notice the difference in the each of her son's ability to show affection. There was no difference in the level of love she felt for them.
On their way home, Alex realized that even though it is hard to find the positive in his father's death, he knew that good would come from it. It would bring what is left of their family together. Alex smiled softly through his tears as they went on their way, and he knew Aaron was thinking the same thing, because he smiled knowingly the whole way home as well.
Now, Alex thought, everything was perfect.
It had been two months since Alex had spoken to his brother and he did not intend on doing so any time soon. Aaron's loyalty lied with Quill and Alex's loyalty lied with Artime along with his peers. None of his friends returned to Quill after the war, which had become a faint memory. Everything that was damaged had been fixed, most wounds had healed, and the dead grieved over and long since buried. Lani and her father saw each other whenever Gunnar came to Artime in the evening after classes, which was more often than ever before. Everything was almost back to normal and going just the way Alex wanted it. Until one day when he got a message from his blackboard, Clive, saying that Aaron wanted to see him to discuss something.
The next day Alex met Aaron outside of Artime. He was standing next to his old jalopy jeep as Alex approached.
"You wanted to speak with me?" Alex asked with a touch of sarcasm.
Aaron stood tall as he answered, "Yes I did. I just got word that Father isn't doing well."
Alex's face did not relay the twinge he felt in his stomach at the mention of his father. "Oh," he replied, "why did you ask me to meet with you just tell me that?"
Aaron sighed. "Because I was going to go see them and I wanted to know if you would like to accompany me?"
Alex thought about that for a minute. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to see his parents again and he was worried that a single visit wasn't going to be a recurring thing.
A few moments pasted while Aaron just stared at him. Finally he said, "Ok. Well, I know this is weird for you because it's weird for me too. But, to be honest I don't think I can do this alone."
Alex thought about it for another minute and then finally said, "Alright. I'll go with you." Aaron smiled at him and then started to walk around to the driver's side of the car. "Wait." Alex said.
Aaron stopped and look back at him and asked "Is there a problem?"
Alex raised an eyebrow at him and said "This...this isn't a trick right?"
Aaron went around to the other side of the car before he answered, "Of course not, Alex. Why would you think that?" He smirked and stepped into the car. That made Alex even more uneasy, but he walked over to the car and got in with Aaron anyway. They drove around for at least an hour before another word was spoken between them.
"Aaron, we should be at their house by now."
Aaron said nothing in return. He just stared ahead at the road.
"Aaron. Where are we really going?"
Still no answer. Alex was starting to get concerned but recalled that he brought a ball of clay along with him, just in case, and that gave him some reassurance. He reached into his pocket to make sure it was still there and when the cold, putty came to the tips of his fingers, he wasn't as concerned about where his brother was taking him. Not long after that, the twins came up on the wall that was there to keep High Priest Justine's "enemies" out and to keep all of the people of Quill in. It was in the process of being torn down. The part of the wall they were approaching was on the far side of the city, so the workers had not gotten to it yet. Alex thought that surly they were going to turn before reaching the wall, but Aaron kept on driving at full speed. Alex started to panic.
"What are you doing?! You're going to hit the wall!" he said frantically.
Aaron just glanced over at him, smiled, and sped up. Alex closed his eyes and braced himself for an impact that never came. He slowly opened one eye and saw that they were speeding through a long, dark tunnel.
"Wha..." Alex started to ask but couldn't finish his question. Aaron was grinning from ear to ear, but still did not say a word.
After driving for a little while longer, a thought came to Alex's mind. "How are we still driving? Most cars would've broken down by now."
This time his Aaron did respond. He said without taking his eyes off of the road. "Gunnar Haluki and I have started the trading process up again. One of the first things we traded for was fuel to keep the cars running longer."
"Did you trade with the other islands?" Alex asked, suddenly very interested in talking with his twin.
"Yes. That's where we're going now."
Alex thought about this for a moment and then asked "I thought we were going to see mother and father?"
Aaron smiled again and said, "We are."
Neither of the boys said anything else for a long while. Finally, Alex could see the end of the tunnel, but it was too bright to see what was on the other side of the opening. As they rode out of the tunnel, Alex saw that they were on a bridge over a body of water. Aaron finally explained what was going on.
"Ok. So, a couple weeks after we started trading, our parents came to meet with me about moving to one of the other trading islands."
Alex was surprised. "I didn't know that was possible. What did you tell them?"
"Well," he said, "I told them that I would speak with the closer islands and that I would get back with them. After about a week I heard back from the island we're going to now. They moved there about 3 weeks ago."
Alex was stunned. His mouth was open but no words were coming out. There wasn't a whole lot that surprised him nowadays, but this was very surprising. He was going to see his parents...on a strange island. He wasn't sure if he should be excited, nervous, scared, or happy about the situation since he was feeling all of those things. So, he just went along with it without saying a word and with his head held high.
Soon after getting off of the bridge they turned onto a road with houses that lined either side, each one getting bigger as they went along. Finally they arrived at their parents' house. It wasn't as small as their house in Quill, but it wasn't very big either. It was just the right size for the two of them. As they were getting out of the jalopy, their mother saw them out of the window. She threw open the front door, her face alight, and started running down the stone pathway leading up to the house that had fresh, green grass growing on either side.
"Boys!" She yelled as she was running. Neither of them had seen their mother use so emotion, but Alex wasn't surprised since he had been around this for over a year now. Aaron on the other hand, was a little startled because he was still new to any emotion at all, especially from his own mother. When she reached them, she scooped them both up into a big hug. From the look on Aaron's face, Alex was sure he had never been hugged before. It made him laugh a little bit. After their mother pulled away from the twins, she said "Oh, how big you boys have gotten! I've missed you both so much." A single tear ran down her cheek, and as she was wiping it away she said, "Well, come in and say hello to your father." As she turned around to lead them each up the pathway to the house, they could see faint grey streaks starting to appear in her hair.
When they got into the house, Alex realized just how big it was. The living room ceilings were high and the room itself was fairly large. There was a long dark leather couch against the wall facing them, and two large, comfortable looking chairs on either side of a heavy wooden coffee table. The three of them walked past the living room into an open kitchen with black cabinets, white marble counter tops and a large, rectangular island situated in the middle. To the left of them was a bar with four tall stools on the other side. Three little steps right next to the doorway of the kitchen led down into a little sitting area that had windows all along the wall that looked out on to an expansive yard filled with lush flower gardens. Alex smiled thinking about the hours his mother must have spent creating this little beautiful masterpiece.
The boys followed their mother up the stairs and into a large bedroom where their father was laying in the biggest bed either of them had ever seen. It looked like he was sleeping, but, when he heard them come in he opened one eye, smiled and said softly, "Boys. What are you doing here?" in a raspy, tired voice.
Aaron was the first to answer, " We came to see you. I got word that you weren't doing well so I sent for-"
"Me," Alex said finishing his sentence. "We wanted to come see how you are...to see if we could do anything for you."
Their mother was the next to speak "That was very generous of you boys, but I don't think there is anything you can do. This might be his last day according to the doctor." Alex could see tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Mother," Aaron said, "Would you like us to stay until.. until.." He couldn't say the words, but he didn't need to. Their mother just nodded.
So, that's just what they did. They stayed there until their father closed his eyes and didn't open them again. Their mother cried over their father for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Aaron told her that it was time for them to go but that they would return soon to help her with the arrangements for their father's burial. As she hugged them each goodbye, she pretended not to notice the difference in the each of her son's ability to show affection. There was no difference in the level of love she felt for them.
On their way home, Alex realized that even though it is hard to find the positive in his father's death, he knew that good would come from it. It would bring what is left of their family together. Alex smiled softly through his tears as they went on their way, and he knew Aaron was thinking the same thing, because he smiled knowingly the whole way home as well.
Now, Alex thought, everything was perfect.