Sally opened her eyes. The room around her was dark and still, but she could hear footsteps outside, and the sound of Riley whispering to herself. She had been doing a lot of that lately. Was something wrong? Was Riley more on edge? Did it have something to do with Sally? Sally sat up slowly. She hadn’t spent any time with Riley in a while.
Why? Why did things need to be so horrible all the time? She had only just now found her sister, but now she never got to see her. This wasn’t fair. This was the one little bit of family that she had been allowed to keep with her, the one little chunk that she hadn’t lost. But what was the point in having a family if they were never there for you?
The lady had always been there for her. Then the lady had turned her back on Sally. But first she had given her Riley. Riley… who was this girl who looked so like her but talked so differently? Sally hadn’t really known what having a sister would be like. But family, that was a nice warm word, a word full of love. But she couldn’t love Riley, she hardly knew Riley. She wanted to know her.
But how could she get to know her if they couldn’t even talk to each other? The floor was cold under Sally’s feet. She made her way softly and gently across the floor. Sally put her ear to the door and listened. She couldn’t understand what Riley was saying, but she did indeed sound frustrated and angry. She did like Riley's voice. It was comforting, sturdy, strong, but also quiet and fearful. Sally closed her eyes and thought back to the day she had first met Riley
"This is your sister. We finally found her for you!" Sally's heart skipped a beat. This couldn't really be happening! This was just too good to be really happening. This was the sort of magical, too perfect thing that was saved for dreams, and dreams alone. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, but in the most delightful way that you could possibly imagine.
"Really? Like... my real-life sister?" The lady flung back her head, laughing.
"Well, what else would she be? A robot?" Sally laughed along with her, although that had been her first thought upon seeing the girl. She was just so like Sally, a perfect replica. But the more that she looked her over, the more Sally realized that wasn't the case. It took a little bit of frowning and squinting, but Sally could make out the slight differences.
"Does she have a name, Ma’am?" Sally asked.
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"Yes, Riley." Sally smiled; she liked that name. It was so bright and cheery, despite having a somewhat scruffy sound to it.
"Are we by any chance twins, Ma’am? We do look very alike." The lady smiled.
"Well, all sisters end up looking something like each other." That did make a lot of sense. “But no, you are not twins. She is a few years older than you."
“Ma’am, can I… can I- “
“You want to meet her?”
“Yes! Please!”
“Well, of course! Why do you think I brought her here? We’ll pay her a nice visit after lunch!”
“Thank you, Ma’am! Thank you so much!” It was taking every ounce of Sally’s strength to not hug the lady. She could cry. She was so happy. But she did not cry. Instead, she just laughed and laughed and hurried along with the lady to go have lunch. Sally nearly choked on her sandwich she was eating so fast.
“I guess I just don’t feed my pets enough,” the lady teased. Sally cleared her plate, then waited calmly and silently as the lady slowly ate and cleared her plate. “Alright, dear. Shall we meet your big sister?”
This was really happening; she was about to meet her own sister. She was waiting for her on the other side of this door. Sally found herself shaking as the door opened, but not with fear, with joy and excitement. She was nervous, but it was that wonderful buzzing kind of nervous that was really closer to feeling ecstatic than to feeling afraid. She let out a little gasp as her eyes met with a similar pair of amber eyes. The girl inside the room leaped to her feet and dashed to the corner furthest from the door. She shrank back into the shadows as Sally and the lady entered the room. Aw, she was frightened. Sally had been hoping that Riley would be happy to see her.
But looks of surprise, recognition, and shock began to mingle on Riley’s freckled face as she slowly stepped forward. The lady had offered to translate for the girls. But Riley had refused to talk. Sally had been very hurt by that at the time. Now, looking back, she understood. Riley had simply been frightened of the lady. Riley had known the truth and been far wiser than Sally. Sally would never forget that look of fear she had seen on Riley's face during their first meeting.
Sally stepped back as the door opened. Riley entered the room. She paused upon noticing Sally. She took Sally by the hand and led her back to the bed. Riley did seem to be less frightened here. She still looked unhappy most of the time, but she didn't seem as on edge. That was good. Sally curled up next to her sister. She wished that there was a way for her to ask Riley if she was alright. If only there was some way for her to comfort her sister. Oh well, there wasn't much she could do. There were so many things that Sally needed to tell her. Riley didn't even know that they were half Forma. But Sally knew there was no point in worrying and stressing. It didn't fix anything. She closed her eyes and listened to the soft sound of Riley's snores as they filled the room.