[Legacy of a Martyr #2] Liberation from the Masquerades (A Key Keepers novel)

Episode 13: Shedding Tears

I woke up around five or six. Alain was still out like a light. Whatever happened to him yesterday wore him out. He was asleep when we had dinner. Lie was too, but that was because I spelled her.

I needed air. Being alone was suffocating. Alain would tell me it was okay to wake him, but he needed the sleep since he didn't sleep much under the best of circumstances.

Wandering into the kitchen, I found Ms. Sarah at the table with a coffee mug and newspaper.

"Everything alright, sweetie?"

"Just feel sort of tight this morning. Don't really know why..."

I was out of that wretched place. That shouldn't have happened. Having either of my brothers next to me was usually enough.

"Feels strange, doesn't it? Could you be missing Cece?"

Cece? I never brought that up in front of her. Had Alain? Wait. Why did she need to hear that from us?"

A chill charged through me. "Kayleigh! Sarah?"

Ms. Sarah come and wrapped her arms. "I'm just sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. I didn't want to overwhelm your friends and I was afraid of how you'd react."

I didn't blame her. This couldn't have been easy to tell me.

"So, you're my Aunt Sarah?"

"I am. I was still in school when you were born. If Lany and Phoenix weren't born so close together, I probably would've visited then."

I leaned into her. "You wanted to meet us?"

"Of course. Atsushi thought I'd pop from too much excitement each time I found out each of you were going to be born."

"Was it just hard because of the divide between worlds?"

"If I could've, I would've been there when you were born."

Ms. No, Aunt Sarah wasn't lying. Her warmth assured me of that.

Aunt Sarah had tears in her eyes. "Leon and Noelle made a grave for her, right?"

I nodded. I'd only seen it once or twice. I never liked the idea of a grave. It was an eerie place. Just because it was where the body was didn't mean that was where the rest of the person was.

"Could you take me there?"

"I need to see if Noelle can get us through. My brother seemed exhausted, so I'd rather not wake him." The winds around me woke up. "Does he know?"

Aunt Sarah shook her head. "I didn't realize you were Cece's kids for a long time. Leon never told me that he visited you before that time came. He was too afraid to say anything cuz he knew the story was really out there."

It definitely was. As a big sister, my heart ached knowing I put him through that.

"I accepted it, because I spent my early years watching Cece and Noelle's bond grow on Engrada. When he finds out, my husband will probably think I had a bad dream or something."