Prologue

Nicole

Morning cup of coffee with the view on busy Manhattan streets and sun arising above the city which never sleeps is my favourite morning routine. While I drink my coffee I am going above everything I have to do today and I am thinking about my work. Yes, you read it right, I am obsessed with my work because my social life is nonexisting.

'Good morning, miss.' -My handmaid comes into my room and greets me with her smile.

'Good morning Magda, how are you today?'

'Fine, the day is beautiful.'

'Yes, I agree with that, the most beautiful seasons in New York are autumn and winter.'

'That's right, they are stunning.'

'That's why I love this city so much.'

'I can see that I observe you every morning while you're looking through the window and enjoying your coffee. You're doing that every single day, without exception, you're waking up before the alarm and enjoying your routine.'

'It became my habit, I almost don't even need the clock anymore.'

'I admire you. I will continue with my work now, do you need anything?'

'Actually I do, may I ask you to go shopping instead of me this time? I really have a lot of work to do today and I am not sure if I would make it. I know its not your work, but it would mean a lot to me.'

'Of course I will go, miss, it's not a problem for me.'

'Thank you, Magda, you saved me.'

'You're very welcome, I know how much both you and Stefani are committed to your work and I certainly don't have many obligations today. And I wanted to let you know that the room you asked me to clean up is ready for use.'

'Did you? Thank you for that, the money and the shopping list are on the table, I hope I didn't forget something.'

'I am leaving now, I will be back soon.'

'You don't have to rush, enjoy such a beautiful day.'

'I will, see you later miss.'

Magda is a middle-aged woman in her late forties which helps me to maintain my apartment, she is very pleasant and hardworking. I hired her three years ago because she needed a job to feed her family and I don't regret it. I used to do everything on my own and you don't understand how much help at home means when you spend twelve hours at work and sometimes even more. Not to mention that I live with my younger sister who doesn't clean anything but her room and even that can't go without her nagging.

'Miss, I almost forgot, I have something for you. I found it while I was moving boxes yesterday and I taught you would want it.'-Magda came back to the room holding something in her hand.

'What's that?'-I asked and Magda gave me an old photo which began a storm of emotions inside of me.

'Is that you and Stephani?'

'Yes, that's my sister and me, almost fifteen years ago.'- I answer while my throat tightens and I start tearing at the sight of the picture.

'You two look really happy in that photo.'

'We were, that's from the family trip with our parents. Trips like that were rare because our parents used to wok a lot and when they would take us somewhere ou happiness had no end.'

'Stephani didn't change at all, she is still a little girl in her sister's arms.' -Magda says with a smile.

'If only she was...'- I say with a sigh. 'If only she was that little girl I would worry less about her.'

'Stephani is good, like her sister. You just worry too much about her, she's just young and full of life. Well, you were like her, weren't you?'

'Yes, I was'- I say with a slight smile even though it wasn't true.

'I didn't know this photo would make you sad, I am sorry I brought it up. Why are you sad?'

'No, I am not sad. Thank you for finding it, I forgot we even have it.'

'Why are you crying then?'

'I am not crying, only that image took me back to childhood. I am okay, you can go to the shop.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes Magda, don't worry about me.'

Magda left the room and I looked back at the old photo. In the old yellowed picture, I see two smiling children's faces, two sisters embracing and being happy. The older girl in the picture is me, I was just as old as this photo in my hands. I was standing under a tree and hugging my nine-year-old sister in a pink knee-length dress. I was laughing at the camera as she was looking at the little kitten in her arms. From an early age, she was very gentle and attentive to everyone, especially to the animals.

Against my will, I go back to the day the picture was taken, I remember my father's smiling face and my mother's voice while she yells at Stefani to stop squeezing the cat.

'This is my kitty' -I remember her telling that to our parents and our father hugging her after that.

That day is one of those days that you should always remember. A family trip near the Hudson town where I was born and raised.

My father was an ordinary repairman, while my mother was a doctor at the city hospital. Stephanie and I were happy girls born as a result of a great love between our parents. I have always been proud of them and they of us, they had a peaceful and beautiful marriage, and we had a happy and beloved childhood until it lasted.

A family trip that was supposed to be just one in a series of fond memories of my childhood was my last memory of my parents and the day the fifteen-year-old girl grew up overnight. The perfect day turned into the biggest nightmare of two carefree girls.

The picture fell out of my hands and ended up on the floor while my whole body was shaking and I knew what was happening. I knew because it had happened before and I couldn't stop or control it.

I found myself in that car again, it was night and we were returning home from the trip all happy except my father. As Mom and Stephanie sing a song, I look at my father's worried expression, which seems to sense that something bad is going to happen, or is just worried about the heavy rain that made it difficult for him to drive. I looked at my father's face as if seeing him for the first time and studied every line on him carefully. Just at that moment, the strong light of the opposite car illuminates us and I hear the suffocating squeak of tires on the road. I hug my younger sister tightly and close my eyes as my mom's scream freezes the blood in my veins. After that strong blow, I feel a sharp pain in my back and Stephani screams under me, and then darkness.

I don't know how many days I lay in the hospital, but I know that when I woke up the room was empty; just like my life from the moment the doctor told me my parents were dead and my sister was still unconscious, although out of danger.

I lost my childhood that day, but I did not lose my strength and will to live. My strength was that little girl on the oversized hospital bed and then I vowed that my whole life would be dedicated to her, that she would never be left alone and unprotected as long as I breathe I will be breathing for her. My little Stephani...

That little naughty monster has grown into a beautiful girl and sister's pride. She almost graduated and was the true personification of her mother, only much younger and of course crazier. That's why I was there to control her madness and get her on the right track. Whenever I think I succeeded in that, she did something stupid and made me change my mind.

A lot has changed since that day. After the death of our parents, we left our family home and went to live with our father's mother, who was our only salvation. I soon finished high school and wanted to keep working so I could provide a decent life for myself and Stephanie. Luckily, my grandmother prevented me from doing that and forced me to enrol in a college, and not just any college, but the one I dreamed of. Money was not such a problem because I received a scholarship from the first application, and my grandmother supported us financially. The problem was Stephani, because I had to be separated from her, and in the end, I did it with a heavy heart.

I enrolled in dentistry and separated from my sister in order to fulfil my goal and become successful, thus helping her live the life she deserved. I lived less than a year away from her and that was hell for me as well as for her. Admit it or not, Stefani endured our sudden separation as badly as I did, which is why I decided to take her with me.

Stephanie went to school while I was studying and did a little bit of any part-time job I could find, we had exactly as much money as was enough for us to live and survive, but we were happy. It was an additional motivation for me to fight even harder to get us out of poverty. It was very difficult to endure all that, but with my will and my sister's support, we finally succeeded. Although very young and immature, Stephani has always understood me and she understood the sacrifice I sometimes had to make because of us. She also understood the days when I didn't have enough money for a decent meal and new sneakers like her friends did. She also understood why I was so tired at the end of the day and why I didn't have time to play with her. She always had her bugs that I had to fight, but in the end, she would always listen to me because she knew that everything I do, I do for her good.

After a couple of years of suffering, I finished college, and as one of the best students of my generation, I immediately got a job in the capital of the world, New York. I worked hard and inexhaustibly, and I caught the eye of many famous doctors with my work. This created a lot of connections for me in the business world of dentistry that allowed me to progress faster than most. I finally had enough money to live on a high leg and to pamper my sister. By then, Stefani was already obsessed with medicine, which she finally decided and enrolled even with my disapproval. Because I knew how ungrateful this job was, especially for women. But in the end, that little devil made me agree to it. I couldn't even refuse, Stephanie looked so much like my mother that deep down I knew she would be a very good and responsible doctor like our mother was.

I have been very ambitious since I was a child, and my sister always supported me in that and was my support in life. As I proved to be a very good dentist, I decided to advance and enrol in a residency.

I started residency in maxillofacial surgery and became one of the best maxillofacial surgeons in town. Today I have my clinic and a couple of people working for me. Fifteen years later, I am more than able to provide myself and my sister with everything we need and much more than that, even though she no longer needs my financial support. She grew into a very beautiful and successful young lady, she graduated, started working and enrolled in a residency, which I, as her guardian, am very proud of.

Although she has almost become a successful woman, in my eyes she is still the little girl who needs her big sister's protection.

I kiss the photo and put it in the drawer and get up and head for the bathroom. After showering, I will be like new and ready for all the obligations that await me today. I prepare breakfast for myself and Stephani, who didn't even remember to send me a message to notify me that she would stay longer at work, and as usual, her phone was turned off. So I can die sick from worrying about her.

I hear the key in the lock and I know by the sound that it is my clumsy sister. Stephanie, a tall and attractive blonde in a blue hospital uniform, enters the apartment with headphones in her ears and a smile on her face. Believe me, I know my sister very well and that smile hints at trouble, or better to say, at my headache.

When she notices me, she turns around and that smile gets bigger, that's not how a girl who comes back from the on-call shift in the hospital looks like and who didn't get proper sleep for who knows how long. This is what a girl looks like when she is determined to drive her sister crazy and send her to a psychiatric hospital ahead of time.

I hope I'm wrong, but such a smile can only be on her because of a man. Knowing my sister, I was prescribed a headache today, and I just thought this would be a nice day.

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Hello guys, thank you so much for reading this story. Please let us know what you think about it and leave a vote if you liked it.

This is first story me and my BFF @Dream_Nela wrote together and we really like it because Stephanie and Nicole are similar to us.

In this story we want to focus on the love and relationship of two sisters who have only one another. We put in it a lot of humor, love, tears, the search for love and the search for a better life.