Lily put some order in her frizzy black hair. She hid the lower half of her face under an embroidered black muffler and pulled her red rood over her head before leaving the building. The air outside was brisk and sneaky. Lily immediately stuffed her hands in her pockets to minimize the area of skin she exposed to the cold Parisian spring. The streets were as dead quiet as they had been for the past seven years. Fear and war would do that even to the City of Light. The only way to lure the French out of their houses nowadays was a national holiday, because it came with the promise of the military standing at every corner of every street, their eyes sharp and their hands resting on their armed rifles. Today wasn't one of those days. There was light coming from every other window and silhouettes keeping busy behind them. Lily's only company as she headed down her street to the metro was her own shadow.

    Five years earlier, Lily would never have thought that she would be the one picking up her sister from prison. Even when Sarah and her were still small girls browning up under the hot white sun on the beautiful island their mother came from, Lily had always considered herself the rebellious one. Sarah was a quiet, introspective child. The questions she had for the world stayed mostly unheard as she seemed to search for answers exclusively in books, while Lily came home late every day because of yet another argument with a teacher or a fight with a classmate.

    As time went on, Lily took the natural path of the outcast she had decided to be the moment she had first questioned her place in the world as the only two year-old in the kindergarten to refuse to choose between dolls and trucks. Sarah wasn't all that popular either, more for lack of interest in others than sheer, open rebellion. The sisters spent a lot of time together in and outside of high school. Even when Lily met some equally marginalized friends for protests and pot-induced discussion of their soon-to-be conquest of the world, she always came back to her sister at night. Then, the two of them spent hours discussing books, movies and society, with chocolate and beer from their hidden stash on the top right shelf of their wardrobe to keep their stomachs as busy as their minds. They had both grown up to be smart young women with a realistic view on the world they lived in, but nobody would have predicted that Sarah would be the one to go to prison over her beliefs. And she shouldn't have been. Lily had been the one raising hell over the government's recent political decisions. As a multiple offender, she should have been locked up for a long time.

    But Sarah and Lily were twins.

    The street opened on a vast roundabout surrounding the deserted Place de la Nation. Lily crossed the large road and swiftly passed the Triumph of the Republic. It had been a long time since that statue had meant anything at all. The first night she had spent in a cell was because of it.The only open access to the metro was right across. The policeman guarding it simply pointed at Lily's backpack and asked for her ID. Lily handed him both and tried to pretend she didn't notice him scrutinizing her for a good five minutes before he gave her back her possessions. She went through the same process with the other policeman stationed on the quay while she waited for the metro. The wait stretched over a few minutes. Long enough for Lily to think some more. Her heart was beating a loud, heavy rhythm in her chest. Hopefully, it was the last time she had to go to the Prison de la Santé.

    On the opposite quay, a man in a large coat sat on a chair, lost in his own thoughts. A nervous woman carrying a tote bag appeared on Lily's side of the station, preceded by the sharp sound of her high heels on the concrete. The subway arrived soon after in a tired rattle. Lily noted that the woman made sure to not board the same wagon as herself. She must have grown weary of strangers, as had most people. Just as well. On another day, Lily might have minded enough to be loud about it. Today, she stayed quiet.

    Station after station, Lily tried to hide from her own state of nerves. She searched for the coolest way to greet her sister when she would step out of the prison but anything she found felt too awkward to even really consider. The only word you could say to a sister that went to prison for you lied somewhere between sorry and thank you. The latter felt almost insulting, even after years of continued political guerilla that could only go on thanks to Sarah’s sacrifice. The former, Sarah had been avoiding since her very first day in La Santé. Lily had lost count of the number of times she'd brought up the subject, only to have Sarah immediately interrupt her. The reason for Sarah's sacrifice, as well as her refusal to even acknowledge what she'd done for her sister eluded Lily to this day. A small part of her hoped to finally get an answer from her now that she would be able to move around and speak freely. The other part just wanted to get a beer with her sister and take a fresh start from there.

    Saint-Jacques. The surroundings of the station were empty, but once she arrived on the right street she saw a few vans parked near the prison and a little less than a dozen people standing around the entrance, all photographs, cameramen or journalists holding labeled microphones. Lily put aside her thoughts and braced herself. Her walk to the entrance of the prison was determined, her gaze straight ahead. She ignored the journalists who turned to her, microphones raised, in order to get a comment. Minutes passed as she stood in silence, refusing to show her face to the hungry eyes of the nation. She wouldn’t allow them to see her. She wouldn’t allow them to know.

    The gate opened in a loud creaking noise. It closed almost immediately, leaving a near spitting image of Lily standing on the sidewalk. Lily waved at Sarah. At the same time, the journalists submerged the sisters with flashes and questions. It got so loud so fast that Lily barely realized that Sarah was standing near her.

    "Let's go," she said, pressing.

    Lily nodded. The two sisters started walking without even addressing another look to the journalists. They heard their frenzied steps behind them until they entered the nearest metro station.

    When they were alone, Lily and Sarah breathed deeply, taking some time to appreciate the silence. They boarded the metro calmly, like they were going back home from a sisters' day out. They sat side by side, Sarah taking everything in like she was just discovering the world. Lily examined her hands for the longest time.

    "It sure is quiet around here," Sarah said.

    "Yeah," Lily whispered.

    A moment passed in complete silence, until Lily gathered enough courage to speak.

    "Hey, look," she started.

    "So, what's up?" Sarah said at the same time. "Finished your thesis yet?"

    "I really want to apologize..."

    "Are you still with Andrea?"

    "Sarah!"

    "What?"

    The sisters stared at each other, none of them ready to let go.

    "Let me apologize, okay?" Lily shouted.

    Sarah grunted, which considerably annoyed Lily.

    "You know, sometimes I wonder if you enjoyed it," Lily said.

    "What? Prison?" Sarah said.

    "You're not back from summer camp," Lily spat.

    "I’m just going to ignore that comment."

    "Then why won't you hear my apologiez?" Lily asked.

    "Because there's nothing to apologize for, damn it," Sarah replied.

    They were at Nation. Before Lily could say anything, Sarah jumped on her feet. Lily followed her out of the metro and across the plaza.

    "You're not escaping this conversation this time, Sarah," Lily warned her sister. "I was the one supposed to get locked up."

    Sarah let out a phenomenal sigh as she finally stopped walking. She didn't look at Lily. Instead, her eyes were on the Triumph of the Republic.

    "When we were six or maybe seven..." Sarah began.

    "Come on," Lily groaned.

    "Do you want an explanation or not?" Sarah asked dryly.

    Lily crossed her arms and clenched her teeth.

    "When we were six or seven," Sarah said, "there were those kids in our school who teased me because I got reading glasses."

    They both had them, but Lily didn't read quite as much as her sister at the time.

    "You told them to fuck off," Sarah continued, and the memory made them both smile. "Literally. You said that. And then you punched one in the face. It was the first time you got called to the principal's office that year."

    Sarah sat at the foot of the statue, her eyes looking somewhere toward the horizon. Lily didn't dare move. She didn't want her to stop talking now.

    "When we were teenagers, it got worse because I wore ugly sweaters and I was still more interested in books than people. Still am. You, you went to all those protests, you stood up for yourself and for everyone who needed help. I never did anything, but you never held it against me. Every time I was in trouble, you were there. Even if it was nothing serious. You were always there. And you never asked for anything in return.”

    Sarah eyed Lily. Lily just stood there for a minute, trying to make sure she understood what her sister had just revealed.

    "So," Lily said, "you went to prison to be even with me?"

    "No!" Sarah said. "I did it because I thought it was right. I was there on that day, remember? I also thought the government was fighting a war we had not asked for. I was devastated when they turned our country into barely more than a military state. They sent the army at us because we wanted peace."

    "It was your first offense."

    "I’m just a dreamer, Lily. You’re a doer. I wanted you to keep doing your thing."

    "But..."

    "It was my decision. I made it, I suffered the consequences, and I knew you would be there for me the whole time. I chose to trust you. And myself."

    Lily walked up to her sister and hugged her tight. Sarah let herself go in her sister's arms. Lily pretended she didn't hear her sob and respectfully looked away while her twin wiped her tears off her cheeks.

    Lily couldn't really say she understood why her sister would sacrifice five years of her life, but she couldn't pretend she didn't know where she was coming from. Sarah's sacrifice had allowed her to keep fighting for peace and equity. If Sarah had a dream she wanted to come true, Lily would have turned the whole universe upside down to help her. She had never realized that Sarah would do the same for her.

    "So," Lily said. "How about you tell me what you want to do now, for a change?"

    A half-strangled laugh escaped Sarah’s lips.

    "I want beer, chocolate, and a book," she said. "And then well, maybe I’ll join the fight for good."

    Lily nodded. Sarah elbowed her.

    "You’re paying for all of it, though," Sarah said.

    This time, Lily laughed, out loud, like she had not laughed for five whole years.

    "You got it," she said.