Laurel and the Twins
By Tala Bar
They were twins, though no one could tell by looking at them. They certainly were not identical, as they were not even of the same gender. The female, called Artesia, was tall for a woman, with silver blond hair cut short and dark brown eyes; the male, nicknamed Lonny, was medium size as a man, so that they were of the same height. Lonny had night black, straight long hair and feral golden eyes, emphasizing the contrast in their looks.
The greatest contrast between them, however, was in their attitude to gender; though both heterosexual and quite active in that sense, neither of them was too fond of the opposite sex in the social context, each preferring spending their time among their own. Until the day a girl named Laurel came into their lives.
Laurel was a delightful girl. She was very feminine in appearance, medium height and curvaceous, with wavy, reddish brown hair and laughing green eyes. She was definitely attractive, and had good friends of both genders. No wonder both Lonny and Artesia fell in love with Laurel as soon as they saw her.
It was Artesia who noticed her first, among her many girl friends; she immediately took her aside and befriended her, spending some time showing her around. Unfortunately, it was at that time that Lonny spotted the two of them, and immediately decided that he wanted that girl for his own amusements.
Approaching the two women as they were sitting in a small garden on a stone bench amidst shrubs and flowers, Lonny said to his twin sister, "Hey, Artesia, how've you been? And why don't you present me to your lovely friend?"
"This is my rude brother Lonny," Artesia told Laurel, "but don't pay any attention to him, he's not worth it, Laurel."
"Why, that's much ruder than I have ever been to you, sister!" he cried out. "Is that your name, Laurel? Look, wouldn't you prefer the company of a handsome man to that of a vulgar woman like my sister?"
Before the girl had a chance to reply, Artesia shook her blond hair and a shower of silver arrows flew around. Laurel ducked automatically, but one of the arrows hit Lonny on his shoulder.
"Ha, if it's war you want then a war you'll get!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes wide and shooting a bunch of golden arrows, one of which hit Artesia on the cheek.
"Are you out to disfigure me, Brother!" she shouted, shaking her silver hair again and shooting more silver arrows. Lonny replied with another shower of golden arrows and the war was on, seriously.
"Well, and I'm right in the middle of it all!" Laurel thought. "That won't do!" Without rising from where she was crouching on the ground, she crawled into a thicket of trees that stood at one corner of the garden. There she stood up and raised her arms. "Help me, Mother!" she cried out. "Let these two fight their war but get me out of it!"
"Come, Laurel, my girl," she heard the voice in her mind; "I'm going to plant you in a more beneficial environment." She felt a breath of air blowing and lifting her, carrying her up and away above the tree tops; from there she could see gold and silver strips flying here and there in the garden, adding a fantastic glow to the green shrubs and colorful flowers.
Laurel was never seen again, and many legends sprung up at her disappearance. Some people said she was taken by the wind to a remote forested area, where she was planted in the shape of the Laurel tree. That, of course, was pure myth, as no one had ever heard of a human being turning into a tree; but people won't leave a mystery alone without trying to solve it.
As to the twins, something changed in their feelings and attitudes. When they finally tired of their futile battle and discovered that its subject had disappeared, they were filled with remorse and decided it was time to cease the animosity toward each other. From then on there was no rivalry between them, and in the long run they became the best of friends; each one of them tried to compensate the other for the loss of the girl they both craved. They began appearing together in society; and if before this event their looks were quaint enough to attract people to them separately, now that they were together, their contrasting forms and characters made them a center point in any group they chose to be part of.
END
I am a writer and artist and I live in Israel. I studied Hebrew and English languages and literature and I hold a Master of Philosophy degree in literature from London University. I taught these subjects before before becoming a full time writer. I am interested in anthropology in general and in mythology in particular and I write accortdingly; but I am also interested in fantasy and science fiction and have written many stories and essays, some novellas and three books in that genre, many of which have been published in print and/or on the Net, both in Hebrew and English. A list of my published works in English can be found here.
