On an early spring day four years ago, an unusual anomaly took place in the Neswitt residence. The day was still young, but to Eyvonne, it couldn't have stretched on any longer. Just as she heard the door to her parents' room creak open, she rushed out of her own and almost tackled them by the stomach.

"E-Eyvonne?!" Alice almost shrieked when her daughter charged in front of her, "Why are you up so early in the morning?"

"Mum!" the girl cried, excitement clearly oozing out from every crevice of her intonations, "You won't believe it!"

Alice struggled to reply. Hans, befuddled as to why his wife stood stuck by the doorway, exclaimed from behind. "Honey, what is it?"

"Um, I'm not very sure, Hans," said Alice. "I think Eyvonne has something to show."

"What is it?" the man mused curiously.

"You two should see for yourselves," said Eyvonne. Her giddiness was abnormal; the girl is usually calm and cool in her demeanor. What could possibly rouse her up so much to this point?

"Wait," Eyvonne suddenly said as she stopped in her tracks, "I'm forgetting someone. ERNIE!!" she bellowed, pounding on her brother's door. The poor eight-year-old was still sleeping, but not even his trance could block out the absurdly loud bangs on his bedroom door.

Ernie's eyes slowly squinted open, evidently unsatisfied that his peaceful sleep was disrupted. How unlucky did he have to be to be awoken so early on a Saturday like this?

He groaned as he rubbed his eyes, simultaneously yanking his blanket away before sitting upright by the side of his bed. Groaning, he stood up and pulled the drapes on his bedroom window open, letting the very faint morning sunlight brush his face. The world was still half-covered in darkness.

The pounding went on, but he couldn't care less about it. If his precious sleep was disrupted this way, then he'll play petty and make whoever is destroying his door wait. It's only fair, right?

Ernie took his time and stretched his body, but even after half a minute the pounding did not cease. He sighed in resignation, slowly making his way to unlock his bedroom door. Whoever is trying to bazooka their way into his room, he'll get some good payoff later. For now, to avoid a headache, he clicked open the door and slowly opened it.

"...What?" he snarled, one eye peeking out of the small crevice he made with the door. Before an answer could arrive, though, he was taken aback by the door suddenly blasting open, almost flattening his nose if he had not flinched back.

"ERNIE!" —was the first thing Eyvonne said when the door slammed open against the wall. Ernie couldn't help but scowl at the face of his sister. So she's the one making all this noise? he thought. She's already done enough damage ruining his life, but now she's even ruining his sleep?

"What?!" Ernie repeated his question, annoyed by the fact that his sister is so happy for some odd reason. Is she really that ecstatic about disrupting his sleep?

"You have to see this!" Eyvonne grasped Ernie's hand and pulled him out of his room. As he toppled to catch up, he noticed both his parents looking at the bizarre scene unfold, flummoxed as he is. He raised an eyebrow as they made their way to Eyvonne's room.

The first thing Ernie noticed when he stepped foot inside was the odd, twinkling object standing in the center of his sister's room. It looked unreal—it didn't look solid, liquid, nor gas. It was like... light itself had solidified to look like this. He squinted suspiciously as he examined the thing.

"Eyvonne, is this some kind of scientific experiment?" Ernie took a wild guess, but little did he know how wrong he was. Eyvonne furrowed her brows at Ernie's unamusing reaction. She had expected more.

The two siblings' relationship had only grown more distant as time went on. Eyvonne noticed that her brother had taken a liking to insulting her when he got the chance. She knew why, but the realization came way too late. She won't be around to fix this relationship anymore.

"No," Eyvonne replied flatly. Alice and Hans entered the room behind Ernie, startled as they noticed the white, flowing veil of light shining and glimmering in the middle of her room.

"What's this, Eyvonne?" Hans asked. Alice was holding tight onto Han's right arm. She had a very ominous intuition as she observed the white veil closely.

"I'm not sure," said Eyvonne, "but I think it's a portal."

"A portal?" Hans repeated in confusion.

Eyvonne nodded. "It happened earlier this morning. A twinkling light floated into my room through the window and displayed a message. It was something like 'You are a Chosen One' and 'Come to the Other Side.' Looked like magic to me."

"Eyvonne... is this... what I think this is...?" Alice weakly let go of her husband's arm, walking closer to the veil of white light.

"What do you mean?" Eyvonne tilted her head sideways.

"No..." Alice's voice was full of horror. "This is what I think it is."

"What is it, dear?" Hans asked in concern of his wife.

"Surely, you must've heard before... Eyvonne," she turned to her daughter, "did the message say something about a Gate?"

"A Gate?" Eyvonne thought back to the message she saw earlier, and confirmed that such a thing was mentioned. "Yeah, it did. Told me to step through the 'Gate' to get to the Other Side."

Alice almost collapsed. Luckily, Hans held her up in time before she could hit the ground in a hard impact. "Alice!" the man shouted as he scuddled to hold his wife up. "Alice, are you alright?"

"I-I'm... I... I honestly don't know..." Alice shook her head slowly.

"Is something the matter?" Hans asked worriedly.

"No, I'm fine..." Alice stood up slowly as she faced the white portal again. "But this..." She had a hard time speaking out her words.

"This looks familiar," said Ernie from the sidelines. He'd been completely ignored since his parents entered. He's used to it, though, so he didn't mind it much.

"You've seen this before?" Eyvonne asked in earnest.

"Not seen, but heard," Ernie replied. "You should know as well."

"I do?" Eyvonne raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Grandpa told us something like this before, hasn't he?"

"Grandpa... Oh." Eyvonne's eyes widened as she realized. "Oh. So that's what it is."

Ernie nodded. In contrast to his calm attitude, his mother was concerned beyond comparison. She didn't want her precious child to leave so soon. She couldn't accept that fate had chosen her prized posession to be taken away from her grasp.

"I can't allow this...!" Alice cried, hands clutched in fists. "You mustn't leave, Eyvonne!"

"Mum, what other choice do you think I have?" Eyvonne's words were heavy. She couldn't face this reality either. As much as she yearned to see what's on the other side ever since that day her grandfather told her and Ernie about this 'Gate' anomaly, she couldn't possibly leave behind her parents. And Ernie. She couldn't just leave him alone.

"Please, Eyvonne, stay with us!" Alice exclaimed.

"I can't, mum," Eyvonne averted her gaze in shame. "The message warned me. If I didn't go, something will happen."

"Then let that something happen! You'll know how to deal with it, I'm sure!"

"I don't want to take any risks!" Eyvonne changed the flow of the argument, now taking the offensive. "You know what this... Gate can do. If it can make a portal to another dimension, I'm sure killing me off for not accepting would be a piece of cake. Surely, you're not asking me to die?"

Her words were carefully chosen. She knew how to argue, spit out the right points and seal away the openings. Despite being thirteen, she could stand against her parents.

"Of course not! But Eyvonne, we don't have any evidence that such a thing would happen."

"The evidence is right in front of you. That white mist is the very proof of this thing's power."

Eyvonne crossed her arms. She definitely didn't expect such a development to occur.

"Alice, my dear, calm down. We should let Eyvonne make her own decisions," Hans offered softly. He didn't fully grasp the conversation, but even he could see that his wife is overreacting.

"How can I?!" Alice shouted. "Hans, tell me. How can you so blatantly accept your daughter disappearing off into a different world forever? We won't ever see her again. How can you possibly want that?"

"I don't want such a thing to happen—not now, nor any time. But wouldn't you say letting her go would be much better than seeing her potentially dead? At least we'll know she's alive and well, even if we won't see her again."

"That's... unprecedented. Anything could happen on the Other Side. Nobody knows what's there."

"Eyvonne can manage, dear," Hans explained slowly. He is practically used to cooling down his wife. "I'm certain of it."

"But... our daughter... our prodigy!" Alice cried.

"Hmph," Ernie snarled.

"Is this what you wanted, Ernie?" Eyvonne asked after noticing him glowering. Her eyes were cold as steel. "To see me gone?"

Ernie didn't answer for a while. He only smirked. Then, he said, "You could say it's a dream come true."

"How could you..."

"It's for your own good," Ernie continued. "You can't seem to see, can you?"

"See what?" Eyvonne raised an eyebrow.

"That you're the cause of my troubles? Kind of pathetic, to be honest—both me and you. I suffer from such a stupid thing; and you, so very blinded by your own greatness, ironically can't even see that you're causing other people problems."

"You don't know a thing about me!' Eyvonne retaliated, her voice cracking from the overly loud tone. Even Ernie was caught off-guard. "You're an ignorant little brother! You say I'm blinded, yet you can't even see your own sad state? You're blinded as well. Admittedly, not only by my own choices, but yours as well."

"What do you mean...?"

Eyvonne sighed with disbelief. "You're a real narcissist, you know that? You blame me for being ignorant, when you can't even see that I'm trying to do something. I've tried being open with you, tried to help you, but you seem to just push me away every time. You're arrogant, Ernie. You can't accept me because I'm the cause of your problems. I try to turn over a new leaf for you, but you're just too petty to realize that.

"I'll admit I realized your problems too late. In fact, it was only a few months ago. I understand I'm the source of your problems, so I tried helping you, but no. You're so fixed on shunning me away that it led to you shunning yourself from everyone else. How idiotic. Frankly, I would like to laugh, but even now I'm trying my hardest to help you. But let's ignore all that. You're just too pathetic to accept."

Eyvonne's daggered words continuously pierced at Ernie, with no fluctuations in sight. She was deadset on making her brother open his eyes. This is possibly the last time she'll see him, and if she doesn't say anything now, then there won't be a next time.

Eyvonne finally understood Ernie's worries after her many fruitless efforts of prying into his heart. She was genuinely concerned for her brother. She saw something that not even her parents could.

But her realization came too late. She found out the root cause to be herself, but it had grown too deep. It was nearly impossible to cleanse his heart of such darkness. For years, Ernie had lived in despair from the constant comparing to Eyvonne. The latter only realized it a month or so ago. And that was too late, for she had to leave now.

She tried desperately, more proactively than ever, to lift Ernie up from his sad state, but being the root cause of his troubles, it would only prove counterproductive. Ernie's mind is already tainted by the existence of her, and she can't possibly wipe such an ingrained thought away without adding more fuel to the fire.

Even so, Eyvonne didn't want to give in. She tried and tried, only getting more motivated as the refusals from her brother piled up, but in the end, she couldn't do anything. And now, on this day, she would be leaving for good. She won't be able to touch her brother's heart anymore.

Her heart panged with regret. If only she'd found out sooner. Something could've been done if the darkness hadn't spread so much. But the world seems to not want to heed to her request.

"I'm an idiot myself," Eyvonne said. "I'll admit that I'm blinded by my own achievements. I didn't care to look back at what I've done. I genuinely thought you were happy for me as well. How stupid of me to think such a thing was happening."

Ernie recovered. "You really were," he taunted.

"But that goes for you as well," Eyvonne retaliated without hesitating. Every word was cold and sharp, like a spear mere inches away from piercing into Ernie's chest. "You're a big fat idiot for being so stubborn. The aid that I so kindly offered was just blandly brushed off by you. If the only other person to know your inner problems can't even help, then nobody else can. You made that happen yourself. I'm not the cause of your problems anymore. You are."

With that, Eyvonne turned and waltzed out of her room, leaving Ernie staring at the floor dumbly. He was ashamed of himself, and didn't want to believe his sister's words, but they were undoubtedbly the truth. He'd been constantly denying the help his sister offered since who knows how long, and didn't come to realize that until now.

His throat felt dry, even if he didn't say anything. Alice and Hans went off to chase after Eyvonne, not even sparing Ernie a glance. He stood there pondering on his past choices, but in the end, he never changed. Not unless he could accept his sister, which would still be a long time to come.

***

Eyvonne was prepared for departure. Alice had been bawling her eyes out, evident from the red tint around her eyes. She still had difficulty accepting this harsh reality.

"Be safe now, Eyvonne," said Alice, trying hard not to sniff.

"I'll be fine, mum," Eyvonne said solemnly. A frown was forming on her mouth, but she fought to make a smile instead. What came out was something of an attempt at a smile.

"I hope you don't regret your decision, Eyvonne," said Hans. He felt apologetic despite not doing anything wrong. Was he regretting the punishments he'd rarely give to Eyvonne back then?

"I'll make sure I won't."

Eyvonne then turned her gaze to Ernie, who stood in the corner of the room. He was absently staring at nothing despite looking at Eyvonne's direction.

"See you, Ernie." Her voice tinged with regret.

Ernie didn't change his attitude. He then sighed, approaching her closer. "Eyvonne," he started, "I'll have you know one thing."

"Oh? What is it?" Eyvonne's brows arched up, but she was at least relieved her brother isn't sending her off with a cold glare.

"You certainly are better than me. But I can't accept that, and won't accept that until I'm better in one way or another. Even if you're gone, you'll still haunt me like a ghost. That won't end until I can finally say I'm superior."

Eyvonne frowned. Her brother was taking this incredibly personally. "Is this what the whole thing was about? A simple grudge? You're seeing me off like that?"

"I'm not trying to savor the moment, sister. You may think this is sad, but I think this is wonderful. I'll be blatantly honest if I want to," Ernie added when his mother was about to retort his statement. "That's why I'm declaing it right here and right now. You are the bane of my existence, and that won't change until I can prove to myself that I am one level above you.

"No matter if you're dead, separated, sucked off into another world or whatever else might happen, you'll still be vividly making my life hell. Your actions caused more damage to me than you think, and will continue to even if you're gone."

Eyvonne took a moment to reply. "...I see. If what I did to you caused so much pain, then I'll apologize. I'm sorry, Ernie. I didn't mean to do it."

"Of course you didn't. You were too arrogant to see. Nothing can be fixed, not unless—"

"No." Eyvonne said with full finality. "No. It can be fixed. If only you'd try, Ernie. You'll see that nothing is impossible."

"I'm not a perfect human being like you, Eyvonne. But even perfect things can be tainted with imperfection. I will be the one to do that," Ernie claimed as he used his thumb to point at himself, eyes flaring with determination. "I will make you fall."

"Then I'm eager to see such a thing happen," Eyvonne smiled. "But I'm saddened to say that I won't be able to anymore. This is goodbye."

"See you, Eyvonne," Hans waved.

"I love you, sweetie! Goodbye!" Alice shouted.

Eyvonne then turned to Ernie, half-expecting a farewell. What he said was something she did not expect.

"I'll come after you. Another world or not, I will find a way to beat you. This is not farewell."

Ernie's words were the most ominous thing Eyvonne had ever heard. Instead of flinching, she took up Ernie's challenge. "Then I'll be a good opponent. See you soon, Ernie."

Eyvonne laughed at such a statement, then treading into the white veil of twinkly lights. Before long, Eyvonne and her luggage disappeared, along with the portal, sucking itself into nothingness. A bitter feeling grasped at Ernie's heart; at the same time, travelling at light speed, and not at the same time, the same bitterness burned inside Eyvonne's heart.

This wouldn't be the last time they'd see each other.