James woke up faster than normal as the day was not a normal one. It was his birthday, his thirteenth birthday to by precise. He was finally becoming a teenager and couldn't contain his excitement. However despite this milestone all the attention would not be given to him alone. He looked across the room and saw that Guy, his twin was still fast asleep.
Light was just now streaming into his room and he rushed over to wake up his brother.
" Wake up Guy! Wake Up!" James shouted rustling his curly brown hair.
The audible moan from under the pillow showed that only one sibling was happy it was their birthday. James quickly dressed himself and noticed that pretty soon his clothes would no longer fit, he was becoming a man. He threw similar clothes onto Guy's bed and marched out of the room down the hallway and into the kitchen. He went through his chores; put on the kettle, start boiling eggs, start the fire, brew the coffee, feed the dog, check on chicken coop and cows.
When he returned to the house he saw Guy was dressed and was helping himself to a cup of coffee. Even though they were only thirteen, the coffee was usually meant for their grandfather. Guy had more and more often found it appealing. When the siblings met eyes both exchanged a " good morning" first and a " happy birthday " second. Both boys enjoyed some eggs, bacon, and toast. Grandpa only slept in on Saturdays letting this be the one day a week both boys had to make breakfast on their own. The creaky floorboards from the hallway suggested that their guardian was awake.
James turned to see the old man in the hallway. The kind old man had a spark in his eyes and extra joy in his smile when he looked at his only grandchildren. They both rushed to hug the old man.
" Happy Birthday Boys!" he said with a laugh of joy.
While the man in his late seventies ate his breakfast he talked to the boys about their present.
" I wish your mother could have seen how you two turned out. But today is about new life not about death. I must confess boys how sorry I am to not be able to offer you a better gift. I am telling you this with a heavy heart, today is the day I die."
Both boys looked shocked.
" Don't protest there is no you use. From the moment your grandma and I saw the two of you in the nursery we both knew my days were numbered. Our family has a blessing and a curse. Every other generation a set of twin boys is born no matter what. Once that set reaches the age of thirteen the set before them will die. But with this loss comes a gift as well. You two, like my late brother and my grandfather and his brother before him have the gift of sharing age. "
The boys still looked shocked. James didn't know what to say, Guy would fix that.
" So you are gonna die?" He asked
" Yes but in time we will all be together once again." the old man said
" What will we do all alone?" James asked
" I asked the same question when I sat just where you are over sixty years ago Jim. You will not be alone. You have each other and that is important. I know this is hard but every generation of our family has made his way. There is more than enough money in the bank to keep you boys alive for a long long time. You have the farm which I'm sure by now you know how to run. But what I really want to show you is how to control this new power. Now you can take or give age between the two of you." he said looking at them both urging the twins to stand up.
The three of them got in a triangle and their grandfather spoke two them.
" This takes a lot of deep concentration at first but you can master it quickly. Guy put your hands on Jim's forearm. " Guy moved his arm over to his brother.
" Now Guy I want you to reach deep inside and feel the warmth of Jim's body. I want you to urge that warmth to come to you."
Guy closed his eyes and tensed up. His grip on Jim's arm tightened and he felt a little dizzy. He looked up and saw that Guy was a little taller than him. Which was odd Because both boys had grown in everything together at the same rate. James saw his grandfather get taller too. He then realized that Guy was taking his age with it his height.
" That's enough now Guy." I'd say that you are about 15 and you are around 11 by the looks of it. The best part is that only people in our family notice the change and the world will change around your new age. Now James I want you to grab a hold of Guy's arm."
James had to reach further but grasped his brother's more muscular arm.
" Concentrate on Guy's warmth. Feel it. Now will it to come to you."
James felt the warmth of his arm and urged it to come towards him. He felt a tingle in his fingertips. He felt the warmth spread all over his body. He opened his eyes and saw he was growing. He stopped right when he was at eye level with Guy."
" You two are excellent! But I can feel it. It is time for me to go."
" Grandpa no stay with us" They both said
" I love you two boys, I wish you had someone else here to watch over you. But you two need to look to each other, protect each other, love each other, you are each other's only family now. Now give me a hug."
With tears in all three of their eyes they embraced. The grandfather got up, straightened his shirt, looked in the mirror, fixed his hair( it was at this time James noticed that his grandfather was nicely dressed. He wore a collared shirt, a dress watch, his church pants, and formal shoes). He gave each one of them one last look and walked out the door. Five seconds after it closed there was a bright flash from the windows. Both boys ran and threw open the door. The agrarian space was laid out before them but it was absent of there mother's father. Both boys looked at each other and embraced each other.