Mirror, Mirror | ✓

•Day 26• Holly

He wrapped me in an embrace. "I love you, Holly." I smiled, satisfied. "Much better."

• • •
"Holly?" My sister whispered, disbelievingly. I managed a weak smile. "It's me."

The door was open only a sliver, but when I said that, she threw it wide open. "I'm sorry for what I said," I stammered, right when she opened her mouth to say something. She looked like she was going to tear up, but instead, she chuckled.

"Come here, you little weirdo,"she said, wrapping me in a hug. I joined in the laughter and rested my head on her shoulder.

"I'm more sorry,"she whispered, running her hand through my hair. Eve was the only motherly figure in my life. I never met my real mother, and when I was little, it was always Eve who looked after me when Dad wasn't around. 

She taught me how to braid my hair, how to paint my nails, and later, she was the one I could rant to about Will, the only boy I've ever had eyes for.

As we grew older, we had our many disagreements, but I knew she'd always be there for me. The day she left the house, though, that's where she crossed the line. I didn't know what to do without her. She was the one who I could depend on, more so than my father. He was always working, but Eve was around full-time. I wouldn't go as far as to say she understood me-because she never had- but she dealt with me. She listened to me. That was enough.

After she went through her own set of problems, Will's brother James being one of them, she chose to turn her back on Dad and I, and left the house for good. I saw that as a betrayal and refused to acknowledge her as the sister I'd grown up with. Ever since then, we did nothing but fight when she came home to visit. I didn't even know why she bothered trying to maintain her relationship with me. 

"I wanted to come down there myself and apologize to you, but I didn't think you'd accept it,"she confessed shyly, avoiding my gaze. "Why did you leave us, Eve?" I asked softly. 

I wanted to know the answer. I wanted to know why she did what she did. "I couldn't stay in the home she'd lived in for so long. Everywhere I looked, there were signs of her, Holly. I don't expect you to understand because you never met her, but I had to leave the first chance I got,"she whispered, her eyes welling with tears.

My expression softened. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

She heaved a sigh. "I didn't think you'd understand. I didn't want you to think that I loved you any less. It's just that I still love her. I always will. So long as I live in that house, I'll be caught up in the past. I thought that by leaving, I could carry only the piece of her she'd want me to carry: her passion."

But that could only mean.... "You're learning ballet?"I asked, incredulously. She smiled bashfully. "The school I'm studying in has the best performing arts unit in the district. Dad doesn't know I'm taking this course and I thought it'd be best if I kept it from you too. At least for a while. Mom had to give up her dream so that Dad could continue his, and so that I could be born. I was scared that Dad wouldn't approve of what I wanted to do."

I pulled Eve into a hug. "I'm so, so proud of you,"I whispered. A tear escaped down her cheek. I smiled. "I know she is too."

"Come with me,"Eve said, making her way down the stairs two at a time. I made to follow after her. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace special,"she replied. Somewhere special it was indeed. 

That day, I got to see my mother for the very first time. Staring at the slab of stone on which her name was engraved, I felt her presence so strongly, I could envision her standing before me. 

"This was the school she went to when she was my age. I thought that by being here, I could finish the dream she started,"Eve said. I turned to face her. "How did she meet Dad?"

Eve smiled to herself, as if that was a story she'd loved to retell. "They met at a supermarket. Mom worked as a cashier in order to pay off her bills. She didn't have a proper job yet, being only an aspiring ballerina. Apparently he told her a joke, and she laughed so hard she asked his name. That's when it all began."

That's when it struck me. I'd heard this story before. The only difference was that the woman in the story I'd heard was not my mother, it was Ted's.

Feeling sick, I sank to the ground beside Mom's grave and rested my head on my knees. Eve looked at me with worry. "Holly? Are you alright?" she whispered, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. I nodded numbly, unable to think about anything but the day Dad and I had gone to the supermarket the last time Eve had come over and the conversation Dad had had with the cashier. 

He later told me that the two of them started dating, but broke up after Daisy and Ted showed strong opposition to the relationship. I was a bit uneasy about the exchange myself, at the time, but hearing Eve's story opened my eyes. 

Dad finally had his shot at rewriting his and Mom's love story, and I was the one standing in his way. Somehow, I needed to convince not only Ted, but Daisy too, that this was the right thing for the both of them. I didn't have any sort of plan on how I was going to achieve this, but realization was the first step. I was going to move on from there.

I let Eve help me to my feet, told her I was just overwhelmed at having finally visited Mother's grave and dusted myself off.

Together, we placed a shrub of holly on her grave, and on that cold winter eve, I bid her goodbye for the very first time. 

. . . . .

A/N How's Holly going to tell Daisy that this is the right decision for Dad? Will Ted comply to her wishes? Are things with Eve going to be relatively normal from now on?

I'd love to hear what you all think in the comments!

~Via <3