Forget

She was dreaming of brown and green, two significant colours that reminded her of the forest by her childhood home. Colours that were so plain and abundant that created a familiarity for the locals who were still mesmerised by its beauty. She knew the dream too well. She was about to get to the good part where her childhood best friend Yup, a golden retriever with luscious brown fur followed her, yapping at her feet as she bounded about the forest. This was the part where she'd finally – finally – meet him and like every other dream, it ended right there when the phone rang. Sleepily, Allison reached wearily over her mattress with half lidded eyes and located her phone on the bedside table. Her phone usually didn't ring until six on normal mornings and she would never answer it before that time, but nevertheless she answered thinking that it was the school.

She was wrong.

"Hello?" she yawned into the phone.

"Allison Williams?"

For once, she wished that weren't her name as she noted the business-like tone and the shuffle of feet in the distance on the other end. "Yes."

"I'm so sorry Allison. Amanda Williams, she didn't make it," the male's voice murmured out.

Holding a hand to her mouth to keep from screaming, Allison's eyes began to brim with tears. "When d-d-did she…"

"Around two this morning." With the automatic snap of the answer Allison shook her head, dispelling the idea that her beautiful older twin and only sister had just died. She couldn't imagine it. She didn't want to.

"Callum he's- is he- "Freaking out, she finished and robotically got out of her now cold and uncomfortable bed. "I'll be there in ten minutes." Hanging up the phone she tossed it somewhere within the room and before she could even think of getting changed and brushing her hair she grabbed her keys and flew out of the house.

Later, after she had gotten out of her red 1969 Mustang Flashback, Allison would realise that driving at 120 kilometres per hour was not the smartest thing to do. Not when your sister had just died. Not when you had to go to the hospital to get your four year old nephew. The last thing you wanted was for him to be by himself whilst you were being shovelled with distaste onto the back of an ambulance truck and becoming a statistic for reckless driving.

White. White. White. As she ran down the hospital corridor the colour bounded across her vision, a splash of watered down greens and blues and yellows escaping as she made her way to the front desk. A woman in her mid-thirties stood behind the desk, filing away manila folders while a phone rang within the distance. "C-C-Callum, where is he?"

The nurse looked at her weirdly. "Who?"

She sighed. "Cute kid, blue eyes and brown curly hair and reaches just about this high," she motioned with her hands at her chin and the nurse continued to stare at her blankly. Clenching her fists, a tear frustratingly trailed down her cheek. "Callum. Somebody called me just a couple minutes ago and-"

A slight tugging on her pyjama pants drew her blue eyes down towards the figure. She laughed in relief and knelt down to pick little Callum up. Hugging him to her chest, she murmured, "I'm so sorry Cal."

The little boy gazed into her eyes questioningly, his innocent blue eyes not understanding the situation but knowing that somehow there was something wrong with this little situation. "Ally? Where's mummy?"

She smiled sadly, lips trembling as she eyed the tears dropping past his plump cheeks. Six weeks ago he had turned four and still held the innocence that he'd been born with. Growing up, he had only had his mother, Amanda, to fill in the position as both mother and father and yet Amanda had succeeded in creating the most adorable, quiet and happy four year old that Allison had ever had the chance to meet. When they were eighteen, Amanda had found the road to the local bad boy's heart, Sam. Allison could almost recall every piece of praise the boy had gotten from Amanda and knew that without a doubt he was not a bad boy and was in love with her twin. Months later Sam had begged for Allison to help him look for a ring for her twin and when he was planning to propose, he was gone. Just like that. Sam was dead in an instant leaving Amanda, two months pregnant distraught and lonely.

Ally felt the four year olds hands smoothing out the tears that had escaped from her eyes. "Where's Mummy?"

She shook her head. "She's not here bud," she whispered and almost to assure herself she repeated, "She's not here." Flashbacks of Amanda going through bouts of chemotherapy and sickness triggered the assurance that Allison needed and she winced, not wanting to remember her twin like that. Never like that.

"Home?" Cal whispered to her, a childish grin appearing upon his face.

"Yeah," she mumbled, "let's go home." Clasping their hands together, she raised their joined hand to her lips and kissed his hand tiredly watching her tears roll onto their hands.