The beginning after the end.
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.
The black car glided through, its tires barely making a sound on the damp earth.
Lena emerged, her black dress a stark contrast to the white flowers clenched in her hand. She moved with a quiet purpose, her eyes fixed on the grave ahead, the only sign of life in the otherwise still forest.
Lena 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.
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, the fourth one stark and new. Ava's. The fresh soil a painful reminder of what could've been.
As she approached, a figure emerged from the shadows – an old caretaker, his eyes cloudy with age and grief. "Welcome, Lena," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "She's been waiting."
With a hum she brushed past him, the white flowers trembling in her hand, as she made her way to Ava's grave. The caretaker's words hung in the air, sending a shiver down her spine. "She's been waiting..." 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, refracting the emotions swirling within her – grief, guilt, 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, of laughter, whispers, and shared secrets, flooded her mind. The twin bond, once unbreakable, 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?
She closed her eyes as a scene which she wants to forget and remember at the same time comes to her mind.
Lena's 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._
_The 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 gun still clenched in her hand. The world narrowed to that single, awful fact. "Why?" Lena whispered, her voice lost in the emptiness._
_But Ava wasn't alone. A small figure stood by the window, watching her. Lena's breath caught. Her son._
_"At last you finally came," 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._
_"You knew she wasn't your mother?" she choked out. The boy looked at her, Ava's eyes in his face._
_"She told me," he said simply.
For now she didn't want to Know when and why she told him everything she did what she wanted to do the most.
_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.
"She said that's the only way to pay for her sins." He said calmly.
_Lena pulled back, searching his face. "What's your name?" she asked, her voice shaking._
_"Ethan," 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 manipulated, used as a pawn._
_She hugged him tight. "I'll never let go again," she promised, 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._
*"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."*
_Lena's breath caught. Ava's way 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 brother-sister bond she'd lost, and the mom she'd just found._
_She glanced at Ava, peaceful in death. "She wanted us to be a family," Lena whisperd.
😔 Let's dive into Lena's emotions.
_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 Ethan knew about his aunt, about the sister she'd lost._
_The grief was a weight, but it was mixed with a weird sense of relief. Ava's gone, but I'm not alone anymore._