"Why is Celine acting weird?" Eiji whispered into Ichika's ear.
Usually, Ichika would brush off her twin's annoying question, yet she was also curious. Their family outing to the festival came to a quick end when Celine and Hala had returned to their meeting point an hour late. Even their mother, who had accompanied them until she decided to walk ahead, was confused. Hala and Celine had returned with swollen eyes as if they had cried. Since no one was hurt, everyone walked home in dreary silence.
The following week, Celine was visibly sullen while Hala sighed ever so often. Even Zakai warned the twins not to disturb the women and their mother scolded them for being too nosy.
"Everyone knows what's wrong but us!" Eiji continued.
They had observed Celine leave early in the morning and return late at night. She had increasingly busied herself with work and spent long nights outside in front of Yasna's memorial stone.
"At least she's not screaming anymore." Ichika noted.
On the first night, the mansion had echoed with the sounds of stomping and hysterical screams. The family was silent as they listened to the inaudible noises Celine had yelled out.
The twins shrugged and eventually forgot about their worries, for they were busy with their studies and playtime.
****
"How dare he? After all I went through to raise him! Why am I the only one who possesses the memories between us! Why?! " Celine's bitter tears quickly transformed into tears of frustration.
Thankfully, she calmed herself before her emotions became out of control. She remembered his eyes clouded with confusion and unfamiliarity. His eye circles had darkened, as if he hadn't slept well recently.
At least he suffered a little bit.
Celine had tried to ignore their last conversation for the past 4 years, often recalling their sweet memories instead of their parting memory. After all, Akihiko had always been there for Celine, never failing to notice her change in emotion. She had lost such a dear friend, and there had been no closure between the two. She was upset for many days, until Celine finally limited her time of grief. She had been sulking for way too long, which didn't help the situation at all. However, when night came, Akihiko filled her mind once more. She felt as if she would keep losing her loved ones, and the idea haunted Celine greatly. Sometimes, the reality of life would feel rather burdening than exciting. Her heart would pound anxiously as life became too disorderly.
Celine began to dread the setting sun. She didn't want to feel broken and succumb to anxiety.
Hala fussed over her for many days, but Celine resumed her work. She had been commissioned to give a young bride a makeover. The young woman was bright and lovely, although her mother had tagged along.
The mother nagged Celine as she painted the young bride's face.
"Shouldn't you marry soon? Many men would be lining up for you." The mother scanned Celine's appearance, and she shifted uncomfortably.
"Would they like me?" She smiled politely, filling in the girl's eyebrows with dark powder. "My appearance is quite different from the women here and may not match their taste."
"In your case, looks don't matter. Anyone would want to marry into a family like yours." The mother interjected.
"Mother, don't speak to her like that. She had helped father find a job and prevented many of my friends from ending up in the streets." The young bride frowned slightly, before smoothing her face again to prevent wrinkles from the makeup. "Anyways, Celine is the most beautiful woman I've met. Surely, she must have a man in her heart." The bride smiled.
"It's been too long since I had a man in my heart. Although, time truly did heal heartbreak, for I hadn't thought of him in a while." Celine chuckled. She clicked her tongue, feeling as if her words were cliche and pathetic.
"Really? How could you possibly move on from the love of your life?"
Celine tilted her head. "It takes many years, but eventually humans forget the pain. A broken human can never be healed completely. Just like a deep wound, it will scar. A practical person should accept the circumstances and continue to live earnestly. Life doesn't stop for you, so you have no choice but to move on."
Celine had moved on from her original family, Yasna, and even accepted the loss of Zayden. She hadn't necessarily gone crazy from the pain nor drank the sorrows away, but she also didn't allow the emotions to swallow her up. Celine's mentality was very strong, for she still wanted to survive and never give into anxiety. She was scared to drown in her worries and spiral downwards. It was scary to think about.
However, she had been strong for many years, and the burdens of life only grew. Would she continue to remain steadfast? Celine sighed inwardly in exhaustion.
"Still, you can't just forget your greatest love. You simply haven't experienced true love then." The girl blushed and giggled, believing that Celine had much to experience. "You should try to find a man then. You can't be single forever!"
"A woman like me should never be in a relationship." Celine's eye twitched slightly. I can't afford to be broken by love again, and you don't know what I've been through.
"Hmmm?"
"I prefer not to marry in this life.""
"You can't be serious. You can't even imagine loving someone?"
"Nope."
"You haven't met any man who you've been at least slightly interested in?"
Celine paused. "All the men I've met are like brothers to me."
The young bride felt saddened by Celine's firm decision. She believed Celine was wasting her beauty!
"Here's my advice to the new bride." Celine gently applied blush to her cheeks. "You mustn't be too reliant on your man. If you depend on him too much, you'll begin to lose yourself. That's why I was never truly lost when my love left. I was never too dependent, which balanced our relationship well. When I made the decision to submit to my husband, he also submitted to me. I mentally grew stronger around him, so my mind was always in the right place." Celine winked.
"What nonsense are you saying! You must submit to your husband completely! He will be working to keep you alive so of course you must depend on him!"
The bride and her mother scolded Celine for many hours, believing that her words were far too ridiculous.