For as long as I can remember, Taiga and I have always been together. Back when we were wee little lads, around 10 years old, the whole family, me, Taiga, Mom and Dad were all joking around in the kitchen.
"Yeah, you might be smarter than me- might- but I'm wayyyyy stronger it ain't even funny - ask Mom if you don't believe me," my younger self proudly proclaimed.
"Shut it you animal. Brain beats brawn any day of the week, ask Dad if you think I'm lying," replied the snarky Taiga
"Well luckily for me I don't think you're lying I know you're lying - bleuh!" I responded while sticking my tongue out, like a true animal.
"That's more than enough, you two. Your mother and I both think you guys are just as good as each other and, if you were to fight, the bout would go on forever and ever. You both are twins after all." Replied our father gently.
"Daddy, what does 'bout' mean?" I asked innocently
"Nice one doofus," interrupted my brother, "it obviously means someone who bows down a lot - bleuh!"
"Unlucky boys," entered my mother as she made an X with her arms, "both of you guys have answered incorrectly. A 'bout' is another word for a fight it can also be used when talking about any sort of competition between two people".
"Even like dancing?" We asked in unison
"Yes, even dancing." Answered our mother
"Alright boys," inserted our father in a cartoonish deep voice, "Mr bed time has arrived and he's here to take you to your beds!"
We screamed as we bolted upstairs and hid under our favourite purple blanked, with Taiga even bringing along a wooden spoon from the kitchen to defend himself. Then, we waited excitedly for Mr bedtime to come and put us to sleep.
Minutes went by, and Dad still hadn't come up. Assuming he was talking to Mom downstairs and had just forgotten about us, we slowly made our way through the house. It was a big house, not a mansion by any means, but we definitely had some leg room. We jumped down from our beds and turned on the hallway lights outside our room. Surprisingly, the light from down the stairs was off.
"What kind of super secret conversation could Mom and Dad be having?" I asked
"They're probably feeding the birds to the bees, I heard heard some big kids at school talk about it at recess" Replied the ever so innocent Taiga
Tiptoeing down the creaking staircase, almost tumbling near the end, we reached the light that controlled our spacious kitchen.
*CRASH!*
We jumped from the sound of a glass shattering onto the ground. The glass must have fallen from a great height because a small shard reached our feet. As Taiga clenched my arm harder, a terrifying thought crossed my young mind.
'This is the downstairs kitchen, the only one me and Taiga are allowed to go in. Mommy and Daddy only keep plastic tableware and glasses in here for safety reasons. What was that?'
With the rapid racing of my young heart, I slowly reached for the kitchen light. As my hand grew closer, my heart pounded faster, my arms got weaker, my fears grew louder. That was before I turned on the light and saw-
*JOLT!*
"What'd I miss?"