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elder brother’s. Vincent hadn’t changed, except for the addition of a
small thin moustache on his upper lip. This had achieved the
impossible and rendered him even more handsome than he had
been twenty years prior. The serenity of his features had not travelled
to his eyes, however, which darted around nervously, as though
anticipating theft or indecency. As it turned out, Heph’s brother did
not share his gift for resourcefulness.
‘…in a hurry to get out of that god-awful rainstorm, you see, by the
time the doors had shut, I realised I had boarded the wrong bullet
train! Of course you know these corkscrew lines travel so god
damned fast these days… The next thing I knew I was
here
,’ he spoke
the last word in a whisper, as though his business superiors would
somehow hear him all the way from The Top, a distance of four
cities above their heads.
Heph and his estranged brother found the directory as one,
associating with one another for the first time in twenty years, all the
while indulging Heph in the plans of his multimillion dollar project
to create a giant, invisible ‘umbrella’ over Volantis, to reduce flooding
and water pollution. ‘The key is to keep the rain
out
and the sunlight
in,’ he had said, as though explaining the concept to a small child. At
the end of the transaction, Vincent struggled with his words for an
instant, his mouth forming a perfect ‘o’ shape.
‘Well Heph, you’re looking… well,’ he lied. It was clear that Heph’s
limp had only worsened. His hair, having greyed prematurely, gave
him the look of a much older man. His basic, shabby attire formed a
stark contrast to his brother’s sleek suit. His condition prevented
him from earning much, but he made do. His hands ghosted over his
disfigurement; all it had taken was the union of two recessive genes,
a one in four chance. He remembered the last time he had seen his
mother, cursing her heterozygous nature, mourning a son still living.
The shouts from that day seemed to continue to echo through the
intervening years.
The two brothers parted with awkward nods, however Heph’s
muddy eyes were now bright, his reasons for coming here
consolidated in his mind. In the last two years he has found a second
chance: a government-run programme for free miracle surgery. The
waiting list was long and there was no certainty that it would be over
anytime soon, however, along with the rain came a sense of
anticipation. His time was near. He had taken the corkscrew down
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