Paradise Among Metal

Epilogue

Their apartment was similar to Meredith and Aurelio's: somewhat small, but cozy. The trio shared their bedroom, which had a set of bunk beds for the boys, the bottom bunk being a full bed, and a separate twin bed for Cora. The apartment had a closet filled with lacrosse and snowboarding equipment, and a balcony with a telescope for Cora. To the teens' delight, a lot of their personal things were in their apartment, like Cora's computer, Emerson's personal journals, and Jacob's signed poster of his favorite lacrosse team.

That evening, someone knocked on their door. Emerson opened it, expecting to see Aurelio or Meredith. Instead, a Japanese family, consisting of a middle-aged couple and a young girl about ten years old, greeted him.

"Is Cora Abbey here?" The woman of the family asked. Emerson nodded and called over his shoulder.

"Cora! Some people are here to see you!"

Cora hurried into the room. "Who is it?"

As soon as she saw the family standing in the doorway, she froze. "Um, I'm guessing you're relatives of mine?"

The man nodded. "I'm your grandfather, Cora. And this here is your grandmother and aunt."

As Cora's grandfather spoke their names, her grandmother and aunt smiled in greeting.

"You can call me Akiko. Or Aunt Akiko, if you want. I still feel too young to be an aunt," The young girl, Akiko, said.

Cora smiled at her, despite being lost in thought. She had seen Akiko and her grandparents in old photos, but her mother never talked about them much. They died when she was a teenager, but Cora never knew how they died. Her mother refused to discuss it.

They talked for a while, with Akiko and Cora's grandparents asking most of the questions. Jacob and Emerson chipped in a bit to the conversation, asking them where they were from and what Japan was like.

Cora noticed that some of her aunt and grandparents' answers seemed a bit clipped and rehearsed, like they had prepared for the meeting.

Finally, Cora decided to ask the burning question she'd wanted to ask them all evening: "How did you die?"

Her grandparents' faces grew stiff. Akiko flipped one of her braids behind her back.

"Oh, you know, we were-"

Cora's grandmother put her hand over Akiko's mouth, silencing her. "Akiko, no! We promised we wouldn't discuss this with her. Not until later."

"But-"

"No buts." She grabbed Akiko's wrist and stood up from the couch they were seated on, dragging Akiko towards the door. Cora's grandfather stood up as well, giving Cora an apologetic bow.

"I apologize for this, Cora. There's a lot you don't know about us, and we promised we'd tell you at a later date, after you've settled in. I hope you have a pleasant night, and we shall see you later."

He walked out the door behind his wife and daughter. The door shut behind them, leaving Cora, Jacob, and Emerson alone in their apartment.

"Well, that was a pleasant visit," Emerson said, breaking the silence. Cora leaned her head back onto the couch and sighed.

"First, I have the mystery of my father, and now I have them to deal with. If everyone could be honest with me, that'd be great."

Later that night, they got another visitor.

The three awoke to a scratching noise at the front door.

"What now?!" Jacob shouted, bolting upright in his bed. Cora sat up, blinking, and Emerson put his pillow over his head.