The black car glided through to the suburbs,its tires barely making a sound on the damp earth. A child could be seen at the window looking curiously.
The iron gates creaked, their hinges groaning like a mournful sigh as they swung open, revealing the dark, tree-lined path that led to the burial ground.
A woman emerged, her black dress a stark contrast to the white flowers clenched in her hand,her face calm but her eyes carried a lot of emotions . She moved with a quiet purpose and precision, her eyes fixed on the compound ahead, the only sign of life in the otherwise still forest.
"It looks haunted though"she laments quitly.
She stood at the edge of the overgrown path, the weight of memories bearing down on her like the branches of the ancient trees looming above. The family burial ground, hidden away in the heart of the forest, was a place she'd avoided for years. But today, she felt drawn to it, like a moth to a flame.
She needed answers to her questions.
The trees parted, revealing the crumbling mansion in the distance, its grandeur shrouded in ivy and shadows. The compound was eerily still, the only sound the distant hum of cicadas. Lena's eyes drifted to the four graves, three weathered headstones bearing the family's name, her parents and her daughter the fourth one stark and new. Ava's. The fresh soil a painful reminder of what could've been,but there are no if's.
As she approached, a figure emerged from the shadows – an old caretaker, his eyes cloudy with age and grief. "Welcome, home," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "You finally came."
She looked at him lightly and with a hum she brushed past him, the white flowers trembling in her hand, as she made her way to the graves ahead. The caretaker's words hung in the air, adding pressure to the existing one, she was irresponsible and unfilial, and she new that .
The hum of the cicadas grew louder, a mournful serenade as she stopped before the fresh grave.
Ava's name stared back at her, the epitaph 'Beloved Daughter, Sister, and Friend' etched beneath. Lena's eyes lingered on the words, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. She knelt, placing the white flowers on the mound of earth, her fingers tracing the outline of Ava's name. The wood felt cool beneath her touch, a stark contrast to the turmoil raging within her.
A fragile droplet trembled on her lower eyelid, hesitating, as if weighing the burden it would unleash.
Slowly, it detached, tracing a glimmering path down her cheek, navigating the contours of her face. The tear lingered on her jaw, a tiny, salty pearl, as if hesitating and refracting the emotions swirling within her – grief, guilt, resentment, anger, and a love that refused to die.
As it hung suspended, Lena's eyes closed, and the world around her dissolved. Memories of Ava even though little, of her daughter and parents laughter, whispers, and shared secrets, flooded her mind.
The unbreakable twin bond and myth surrounding it, so she thought, now a complex, aching knot.
The tear, a tiny vessel, carried the weight of a thousand unspoken words, a silent testament to the unresolved tension between them.
Her eyes locked on the photo and for a moment ,she was taken aback.the face staring at her was her own,same piercing eyes same jawline but with a different kind of mockery edged in her smile.It was Ava,her twin.
The one who unfolded everything. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she gazed at the photo, memories flooding back whispers of a past she tried to burry, memories she never wants to recover and secrets she'd thought she'd never uncover
The weight of grief and memory settled in. All the graves, all the anniversaries, converging on this one day. Lena's eyes drifted to the other headstones – her parents, her daughter, and now Ava. A family's worth of loss, all in one place.
She stood there, frozen, as the past washed over her. Memories of laughter, tears, and goodbyes lingered like the shadows on the trees. The wind picked up, rustling the flowers, and Lena felt a shiver run down her spine. Was she here to remember, or to let go?
When the words echoed in her mind like the a mantra. A cold calculated promise. Forcing her to remember the painful past.
Lena's fingers trace Ava's name, the edges sharp with resentment.
"You left me to pick up the pieces," she whispers. But the grief creeps in .
"Or did I push you into it?"
Lena's eyes linger on Ava's name.
"Why did you leave me?" she whispers, the cicadas eating her words. She recalls their last fight, the words left unsaid...
Lena's eyes close, and she's back at her apartment,her eyes scanned the message, her heart sinking.
"Ava's apartment. Now."
She burst through the door, a dread creeping up her spine. The silence hit her like a wall. However much she loathed Ava she never wished for something to happen to her not on this cursed day or any other day.
She barged into Ava's apartment,a letter on the table, her name scrawled in Ava's hand. Lena's fingers trembled as she read the words – the twisted revenge, the pain, the apology. Her eyes blurred, tears mixing with rage and grief._
And then she saw her. Ava, slumped on the couch, a knife still clenched in her hand. The world narrowed to that single, awful fact. "Why?" Lena whispered, her voice lost in the emptiness.
Then she saw him,Ava wasn't alone. A small figure stood by the window, watching her like he expected it. Dressed in full white, hair raised in a ponytail,with big blue eyes like Ava's,sharp cute nose and pursed lips. He was an exact replica of her deceased daughter. Lena caught her breadth .
"Her son" she exclaimed inwardly.
She could remember him even if he turns to ashes.
"At last you finally came, Mother" he said, his voice like Ava's, but with an eerie calm. Lena's knees buckled, and she fell to his level, tears streaming down her face.
"Yes baby and youu knew she wasn't your mother?" she choked out. The boy looked at her, Ava's eyes in his face, like a fool she was.
"She told me," he said simply. Lena was shocked question swirling in her mind but for now she did what she always dreamed of.
Lena's sobs racked her body as she pulled her son into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, her tears soaking his hair. "I never knew."
The boy was stiff in her arms, but he didn't pull away. He looked up at Ava's body, his expression eerily calm. "She's at peace now," he said, like he'd accepted it.
Lena pulled back, searching his face. "What's your name?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"Ethan...Ethan Hector" he whispered. "She named me."
Lena's heart twisted. Ava had kept her son from her, but she'd given him a name.
Suddenly, Ethan's eyes locked onto hers. "You left me," he said, his voice small but piercing. Lena felt a jolt of guilt , he'd been waiting maybe for too long.
"No baby,it isn't like that," She hugged him tight. "But I promise I'll never let go again," her voice fierce.
Lena's grip on Ethan tightened, her mind racing. Ava hadn't used him as a tool , she'd kept him like he was hers, like family.
Family!
"Ethan, what did she tell you about me?" Lena asked, her voice soft.
Ethan looked up, his eyes Ava's mirror. "She said you'd come. That you're my... other mom." He paused"my real mum" he continued.
Lena's breath caught. What was Ava thinking,keeping him away from her but telling him about her,Lena,was it away of giving her a second chance?.
"Do you... want to stay with me?" she asked, her heart in her throat.
Ethan nodded, his expression serious. "I waited."
Lena's tears fell again, this time for the sister-sister bond she'd lost, and the son she'd just found.
She glanced at Ava, peaceful in death. "She wanted us to be a family," Lena whispered.
Lena's emotions swirled like a storm, grief for Ava, guilt over the years lost, but mostly, a heavy dose of regret. Regret for not seeing Ava's pain sooner, for not understanding.
She thought about their childhood, the separation, the myth that drove a wedge.
"We were twins," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "We should've been there for each other."
Ava's desperate choices replayed in her mind the revenge, the manipulation, the ultimate sacrifice. Lena's heart ached; she couldn't shake the feeling that she failed her twin.
But amidst the sorrow, a spark of determination ignited. "I'll make it right," she vowed silently. "For us, for Ethan, and for Ava's memory."
Lena's thoughts swirled back to the happy memories , playing hide-and-seek as kids, Ava's giggle, the twin bond that was supposed to be unbreakable. The contrast to her current reality was brutal.
Guilt gnawed at her. Had she been too caught up in her own life to see Ava's despair? The "what-ifs" piled up, what if she'd searched for Ava, what if she'd reached out, what if she'd understood.
Lena's eyes drifted to Ethan, sleeping peacefully in the next room. Ava's way of giving her a second chance, maybe. A lump formed in her throat. She'd make sure that he knows the in's and out of the matter concerning Ava,the clan rules and myths with beliefs and punishment.
The grief was a weight, but it was mixed with a weird sense of relief. Ava's gone, but I'm not alone anymore.
The cold stone etched with Ava's name, the words "Beloved sister" feeling like a cruel joke. Lena's fingers traced the letters, her mind still reeling from the memories.
"You should've told me," she whispered, her voice lost in the wind. The grief still lingered, but it was morphing into something else,acceptance, maybe, or a weird sense of closure.
Ethan's small hand slipped into hers, snapping her back. He looked up, his Ava-like eyes serious. "Mom?" he asked, testing the word.
Lena's heart swelled. "Yeah, kiddo,I thought you'd stay in the car but since you came let me introduce you." she whispered, pulling him close.
"That's your grandma and grandpa, that's Your twin sister,Ava,I named her after your aunt and lastly that's your aunt"
"Momma, Papa, Ava meet your grandson and brother, Ethan,"she said quitly,he is stuck with me. Looking at her son she repeated.
"Ethan you are stuck with me."
The sun broke through the trees, casting a warm glow on Ava's grave. Lena smiled, a weird sense of peace settling in. Ava might've taken her own life, but she'd given Lena a gift ,a second chance, a new family.
As they walked away, Lena leaned down. Whispering to herself
"Yesterday was once tomorrow while tomorrow will became yesterday,I hate second chances the most but this one I will make it right. Even though you left me with so much resentment and without answers, I don't need to think about the ones who are dead, instead, I'll focus on the ones who are alive. Thanks for giving me a second chance to be a mother; however selfish your motive was, I'm happy. Talking about forgiveness is hard, but since you're no longer around, I have to let go. Rest In Peace, Ava."
"He'll tell me about you, Ava. The good, the bad, and the crazy."
They walked hand in hand, the cemetery's quiet fading into the city's buzz. Lena's phone buzzed ,Simon, checking in. She smiled, feeling a sense of normalcy she hadn't had in years.
"Hey," she answered, Ethan looking up curiously. "Yeah, I'm good. Found something... unexpected."
Simon's voice, warm and familiar, asked if she was okay. Lena glanced at Ethan, her heart full. "I'm more than okay," she said, smiling.
As they reached the car, Ethan tugged her hand. "Can we go see the stars?" he asked, his eyes wide. Lena's chest squeezed , Ava her daughter,used to say that.
Memories of her daughter swirled back but she needs to forget and treasure what she has now.
"Sure, kiddo," she whispered, buckling him in. "We'll go stargazing."
The city lights blurred as they drove. Lena leaned back, Ethan's head on her shoulder.
Lena smiles softly, squeezing Ethan's hand. "You know, kiddo, I think Ava wanted us to have this – a fresh start."
Ethan looks up, his eyes like Ava's. "She told me you'd understand."
Lena's heart swells. "I do. And we'll make sure to tell stories about her, okay?"
Ethan nods, snuggling close. "I'll tell you about her, Mom."
"You okay?" she asked softly.
He nodded, sleepy. "I still have you and Papa."
Lena's eyes pritched. She hugged him tight. "You do, kiddo. You totally do."