Kill it

"That creature is evil. We must end them both-"

"We will save one."

"It will ruin us all-"

"They might have been born two, split, an abomination but what will be left of that danger if one of them is gone?"

Why was I the one chosen to go? Was I not pretty enough? Not quite as plump or happy? Did I take too long or too short to cry? Was I too loud or too quiet? Does it even matter, anymore?

"This is a mistake-"

"And it will be one of many. This will not be the first time I've done this, only the first you will witness it. I raised you as my own and taught you my ways. If you do not want them to kill your mother, you will go and get me a good, strong stick. Make it thin and long and sharpen the edge as cleanly as you can. This should only take a moment."

What does it take to choose a life over another? To look between two and pick? Was it chance? Was it truly a decision at all? Was it fate? What drew you to me so much that you were certain I deserved to die? Was it a kindness, taking my life? Do you regret it? Did you ever care at all?

"Mother... I have returned."

"Good. Quick. Tell me, child... Do you trust me?"

"How could I ever not?"

"Then watch. Don't look away, either. You will learn how to do it, too. You will learn how to dispose of the body as well. This is the first twin born in some time... We will not let anyone end the boy for the sake of this girl."

Ah. So that was it. The thing between my legs. Someone else's business, even then, even now. Does it really change so much? The shape of me? Was it worth my destruction? Do you care? Does anyone care at all?

The woman presses the stake to the child's nose. The little thing has such a soft little head, so quiet, so unaware. It doesn't take too long. It hurts, certainly but only for a moment. Before it was ever really there, it was gone once more. A girl in a world not built for her. Perhaps it was better this way?

Who knows. Maybe in a past life, I was one of those twins in Calabar killed because double was seen as a curse, not a blessing. Humanity across the globe has and was and will always be so stupid in various ways. We will likely be the end of ourselves; this species. Those children did nothing to deserve it. All they did was live. We don't ask to be born by any means but it is a strangely difficult thing; to die. One would hope it is peaceful but perhaps the birthmark on my nose from the stake driven through my skull might prove otherwise.

Live your life until its end. This might just be all we get. A horrifying thought, isn't it? And yet, maybe it's the only wonder that can bring us back to a feeling of alive-ness once more. We are all little creatures after all, no greater than the animals, with a conflated sense of superiority to them. We're all just ants on a rock. But like a blade of grass and a cell in a body, you are a part of it all and that matters.

To exist or not to exist? Well... We're already here so why not give life a try, right?