We Thought We Were The Only Ones

Leaving the bodega on the corner of Bushwick and Myrtle, a brother in all black, crossed the street headed down Bushwick. David is in a rush to get back home, a rundown brownstone, that was beautiful and spruced up in the late '80s. Now it is in need of a new roof and renovation. He’s in a rush to get back home so he can meet someone who is helping him with something very important. As he arrives home, he puts his bag of snacks filled with vegan cookies and an 8-ounce green tea on the kitchen counter. He then grabs his little black book, which has a soft cover with rounded corners and ivory-colored pages; along with an ‘In case of loss’ notice to record your contact details and offer a reward to anyone who finds your precious notes, which in David’s case would be warranted if he ever lost this precious little black book.

The doorbell rings, David quickly tucks the little black book under the seat of the couch. He walks towards the door and yells out, “Who is it?”. A woman in a soft yet stern voice said, “It’s me David open the door.” David unlocks the door and turns the knob, letting the mysterious woman inside his home. “I’m sorry Kasey. I was so engulfed in studying the pictures in the notebook that I almost forgot you were coming.” Kasey looks at him and says, “How could you forget I was coming when I called you to tell you I was on my way over”, as she holds up a medium-sized black leather bag that seems to be heavy. She drops it on the floor behind the couch in the living room. David is wondering why she has that bag but doesn’t say anything. “We have to talk”, said David. Kasey looks at him intrigued while slowly sitting down on the couch. “So because you work at a top government agency with highly classified information you can help get this leaked to the media. They will believe you!” Kasey rolls her eyes. “A government official that ‘tells all’ about extraterrestrial beings that live in the earth. C’mon! We have to do this. There are so many different beings depicted in this little black book, the world will be shocked to know this. Everyone needs to know this, we have to…. “. Kasey holds up her hand and says, “Stop David. I’m not doing that. Do you know how bad this could be for me? I could have people after me trying to take my life because of this information.” David stands up and begins to pace back and forth. “I work for this government, our government, so I know what they’re capable of doing.” The two just look at each other in silence. David says, “I know sis. It won’t be easy but dad told us he wanted us to get this information out right before he died. What else are we supposed to do?”

Kasey gets up from the couch and walks into the kitchen. She is in need of some cold water to cool down and calm her nerves. It’s her life and reputation on the line so she must decide what to do next. I mean after all the only reason she came over was to tell her brother that he had to go through with this alone and that she didn’t want to be the one to do this. The plan has always been for Kasey to leak the information about there being extraterrestrial beings living inside the earth and then the two of them disappear completely to keep her safe. But Kasey is terrified and has never liked this plan. She has changed her mind.

“David, I don’t want what happened to dad to happen to me.” David looks at his sister and nods his head in agreeance with what she said. “So you do it”, says Kasey. David can see how serious Kasey is and he can’t help but to understand. He knows that it’s a huge decision to make and Kasey is more stable and successful. She has built a life for herself. She has a daughter, a husband, a family. While he is just living life day to day with no stability, no career, no family. What has he got to lose. He’s ready for the challenge. “Kasey you are my twin sister. I have always protected you and always will, so I will do this. You have a daughter to take care of.”

Kasey looks at David, she sighs and says, “Do this, for dad.” “For dad.”, says David.

Kasey walks to the door to leave, right before she opens the door she says, “The black bag on the floor is for you. There’s $20,000 in there so you can stay afloat.” David is in shock. He knew his sister was well off but he didn’t know she would ever give him $20,000. He knows it’s her way of saying sorry for backing out of the plan. He wasn’t expecting this money but is happy to know he’ll have money to get away from the frenzy he is about to start.