Celeste 

I am sure my name Celeste means heavenly. Though I’m not sure why. But I can see why they named my twin after the goddess of discord. I don’t remember much about her when she was born, but I do remember a lot of noise. 

As I layed there slightly asleep in Ma’s arms, my twin screamed loudly. The doctors described it as something we’ve never had before. But I'm sure they weren’t just talking about the disrupting sounds coming out from that small mouth. She was also beautiful, it looked like she had a makeover before she arrived. Her eyes were huge with long eyelashes, while I had smaller brown eyes, though our hair grew to be the same brunette wave. 

We were placed together to get a picture taken for a living room picture. We wore matching onesies, with one lemon and one lime. I had a little lemon while my twin had a lime. Though I never really thought much about why my parents chose those two fruits. 

Anway, everything was going pretty well. 

We had a cozy house in a tranquil neighborhood in Montana. Dad worked hard but still had enough time to spend time with the rest of the family on the weekends. Ma’s alfredo pasta was still as delicious as ever. We would eat at least three servings of it when Ma made it every Thursday. 

So I should’ve known something was bothering Ma when she stopped cooking pasta for three Thursdays straight. Dad even didn’t play board games with us each Saturday. The small house was constantly filled with small whisper-shout arguments at night when Ma and Dad thought that I couldn’t hear them. 

It took me down a lot when Ma and Dad told me they were filing for a divorce. But I knew that whatever is going to happen, Eris and I will get through it together. 

Eris 

I just had to be named after the goddess of discord, I know that my name means strife and trouble.

But sometimes I feel like maybe being named Eris matched me. When Mom and Dad split, I slammed my room door and locked myself in for hours, not eating or talking, until Celeste came in and comforted me. 

Celeste was only two minutes older than me but she always felt much more mature. When I told her that, she smiled and pointed at my face. Look how pretty you are, I would give anything to be like that. I guess that made a really big difference. 

Celeste 

What happened with Ma and Dad still makes sometimes hard, but I have matured, and decided that I wasn’t going to let this alter what I still had in front of me. 

Afterall, I still had a certain Eris to look after, and I was proud of that. 

On the weekdays after school, Ma comes to pick Eris and I up in her red minivan, and drives us to her apartment, which is always adorned with succulent plants with tips of red and purple. These plants grow with little water, making them strong and fierce, just like you two. Ma would always say that. 

Later on, we would look through photo albums, with Ma having a story to tell about each little piece of paper. The photos were usually of younger me and Eris, playing together. I saw that in almost every picture, Eris had a little beanie or a hair clip with a lime on it and I had a matching one with lemons. I asked Ma about it more, and she always said that I would understand soon. 

Eris 

On weekends, Dad picks us up from Mom’s apartment and Celeste and I would sit together in the back of the car, usually talking about a book or a project that was due at school. The thing is, Celeste and I are inseparable. We do everything together. We would talk all the way until we reached Dad’s house. 

At Dad’s house, he would also take out photo albums of the younger me and Celeste. But unlike Mom, who talked non stop about each picture, Dad sat there, flipping quietly through the memories. Celeste asked me later on, “Why do you think we were always wearing matching lemon and lime outfits?” I never answered. Because the truth is, I never noticed.

I felt ashamed of myself for letting Celeste be the one to realize first. And besides, I wanted to know too. 

So I asked Dad if we could meet with Mom. 

I held my breath until he smiled and said, “I think that would be a great idea.” 

Celeste 

I couldn’t believe we were in Dad’s living room with Ma. Celeste and I sat on the carpeted floor while Ma and Dad sat on two chairs near the fireplace. I clutched Eris’s hands as Ma started talking. 

“Your Dad and I knew that we were going to have twins and we were ecstatic about that. We wanted to have something memorable, something so similar but also so different. We thought of lemons and limes. Limes are more round in shape, while lemons tend to be more oval.” Mom smiled. 

“But even though limes have what seems to be a prettier shape, limes are more bitter. Though lemons are sweeter.” 

Dad added, “We knew from the moment you were both born that Eris was going to be beautiful, but also quite the little troublemaker. But Celeste was going to be a caring older sister. With both of you, it would make this family balanced, with a little bit of mischief and a lot of love.” 

He grinned at that, and Ma smiled. I took their hands with Eris and said to Ma and Dad: “Eris and I will always be your lemon and lime, and you two will always be the sugar cubes, making the perfect lemonade and limeade.”