The Mystery Appointment

Miranda and Amanda have been inseparable their whole lives. They took classes together, took the same extracurriculars, and shared a friend group. They were almost never not together except Tuesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Miranda never knew what Amanda did during that time and Amanda refused to talk about it. The twins never kept secrets from each (they even bought Birthday and Christmas presents together and exchanged them with each other like they didn’t already know what it was) except for this particular clandestine appointment.

It was aggravating to Miranda and it was the only thing the twins ever fought about. On a particularly blustery Tuesday morning, the twins were arguing about why Amanda was going to leave a very important choir rehearsal early for her appointment. They were in the middle of a very heated discussion while crossing a particularly busy intersection when a car blew through a red light and hit both girls then veered off into the distance.

It was three days before Miranda regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she saw her mother and father standing over her with worried but relieved expressions on their faces. But there was something else she was reading in their eyes that she couldn’t quite place. She mustered up all of the strength she could to ask the one question that was on her mind.

“Amanda?” she croaked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her parents simultaneously closed their eyes, as if they could wish this moment away. Her mother, Lucille, gently caressed Miranda’s hair while a single tear fell erratically down her cheek.

“Honey, I’m so sorry, she didn’t make it.” Lucille could barely get the words out, but Miranda had already known she was gone before her mother had opened her mouth.

Three Months Later, On a Tuesday

Miranda wasn’t doing great but she was getting by. She frequently chose to stay to herself, occasionally talking out loud to her departed sister, just wishing she could hear her voice one more time. But she knew that was impossible. She had been keeping herself occupied by investigating the secret appointment that Amanda had kept on Tuesdays but so far, she had gotten nowhere. No one seemed to know where she went or why. Until today.

The doorbell rang at exactly 4:00 pm followed by a single THUNK. Miranda pensively looked outside but she saw no one, not even a car drive away, all she saw was a small, brown package sitting on the porch and a drone flying away into the distance.

Pensively, she opened the door and picked up the package, examining it for any evidence of its contents or origin. When she couldn’t find any identifying features, she carefully brought it inside and showed it to her parents.

“No, honey, I wasn’t expecting any packages today, I have no idea what that is! Maybe ask your dad?” her mom replied when Miranda asked her about it.

Her father had the same response and gave her the blessing to open it.

Miranda’s heart was pounding while she carefully opened the package, holding her breath as if she expected something terrible to happen.

She peeled back the brown cardboard and audibly gasped.

Inside this unassuming plain packaging was a single key with a map and an envelope addressed specifically to her.

“Dear Miranda, I am so very sorry for the loss of your sister, Amanda. She was a beautiful soul, both inside and out and the world is surely a dimmer place without her. I am writing to you in case you would like to complete her mission, the one you likely didn’t even know about. She was recently diagnosed with Juvenile Huntington’s disease and was participating in a study to cure or slow down the progression of the disease. She was insistent that she participate so that she could find a cure since it is almost inevitable that you will one day receive the same diagnosis. She forbade me from telling anyone in your family, yourself included about her diagnosis or her participation in this study as she did not wish to worry anybody. I tried very hard to convince her to tell her family, but as she was 18 at the time of diagnosis, it was out of my hands. Even now, I feel bad telling you this, since it was expressly against her wishes, but I feel you have a right to know and the right to decide if you would like the opportunity to take her place in the study. If, by some miracle, you do not have the gene for Huntington’s disease, you would still be helpful since we could study what made your sister susceptible and not you. But I am not writing to you because you have to participate, I just thought you had a right to know what your sister was up to and why. If you are interested in checking out our facilities, or even just asking any questions you have, you are welcomed to visit us anytime, just follow the directions on the map and let yourself in. You may tell your parents, if you wish, but we are not ready to publicize our research just yet, so please don’t spread this around to the general public. I sincerely hope this letter finds you well and I look forward to one day speaking with you, if that is what you want. Sincerely, Dr. Katherine Shore”

Miranda read the letter three times before dissolving into tears into her pillow. She cried so loudly that both parents came running to check on her. Wordlessly, Miranda handed her mom the letter before returning to her pillow. While her mother read the letter, she rubbed Miranda’s back, occasionally gasping and with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her father read over her shoulder, repeating Huntington’s over and over again, trying to place where he had heard of that disease before. He finally announced he was fairly sure his grandmother had eventually died of Huntington’s disease but hadn’t realized that it was genetic.

The next few days were a blur to Miranda. At the request of her mother, she was tested by her primary physician for Huntington’s disease and was found to carry the gene. She joined the study and became fascinated by the whole process. She decided to devote her life to finding a cure for this incurable disease, but not for her, she wanted to find a cure for her sister because she knew that was her goal. She realized she hid this secret in hopes that she could find a cure before Miranda showed any symptoms and it was now Miranda’s goal to carry out her sister’s intent.