Chapter 7 - THE RAIN AND THE CROWN
“Amelia!” Victoria screamed, breaking away from Daniel.
But the twelve-year-old was already gone, her small figure vanishing into the dark, stormy night beyond the massive wrought-iron gates of the estate.
“I’ll get her!” Daniel yelled, sprinting toward the door, but a hand grabbed the sleeve of his tuxedo.
It was Lily.
She was soaking wet from her own journey here, shivering slightly, but her eyes were fiercely determined.
“Let me go,” Lily said, her voice surprisingly steady for someone who had just survived the most traumatic night of her life.
“Lily, it’s freezing out there, you don’t have a coat—” Victoria started, moving to stop her.
“She needs me,” Lily said simply.
Before either parent could argue, Lily turned and sprinted out the front doors, her muddy sneakers slapping against the wet pavement.
The rain was coming down in sheets, cold and unforgiving. Lily pushed through the heavy iron gates, the wind whipping her dark, matted hair across her face. She scanned the long, tree-lined driveway.
There, sitting on a stone bench beneath a massive oak tree, was Amelia.
The beautiful white silk dress was soaked through and stained with mud. The crystal birthday crown was sitting in a puddle on the ground. Amelia had her knees pulled to her chest, her face buried in her arms, sobbing so hard her entire body shook.
Lily walked over slowly. The sound of the rain masked her footsteps, but she didn’t want to startle her.
She stopped in front of the bench.
“That’s a really nice dress to be wearing in the mud,” Lily said quietly.
Amelia looked up. Her makeup was running down her face in dark streaks. She looked at Lily, then quickly wiped her eyes, deeply ashamed.
“You should go back inside,” Amelia choked out, her voice trembling. “It’s your house. It’s your family. You deserve to be in there where it’s warm.”
“It’s our house,” Lily corrected, sitting down on the cold stone bench right next to the girl who shared her exact face.
Amelia shook her head violently. “No, it’s not! Don’t you get it, Lily? I stole your life! Every birthday cake I ever ate, every present I ever opened, every time Mommy kissed me goodnight… it was supposed to be you! I took everything from you!”
“You didn’t take anything,” Lily said softly, turning to face her sister. “That evil woman took it. You were just a baby. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But look at you!” Amelia cried, gesturing wildly to Lily’s torn sweater and broken backpack. “You lived in the dirt! You were hungry! And I was complaining this morning because my birthday balloons were gold instead of pink. I’m awful. I don’t belong in that house anymore. You do.”
Lily reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. It was completely dry, protected by a plastic sandwich bag. She carefully unwrapped it and handed it to Amelia.
“What is this?” Amelia sniffled, taking the paper.
“Open it.”
Amelia unfolded the paper. It was a child’s crayon drawing. The edges were frayed from being folded and unfolded a thousand times.
The drawing showed two little girls holding hands. One had dark hair, and one had blonde hair. Above them, written in sloppy, childish handwriting, were the words: Me and My Sister.
“Martha told me when I was six that I was a twin,” Lily whispered, staring at the drawing. “She didn’t tell me who you were, or where you lived. But she told me you existed. I used to look up at the moon at night, and I’d pretend you were looking at it too. Whenever I was cold, or scared, or hungry, I’d pull out that picture. I survived because I knew you were out there.”
Amelia stared at the drawing, fresh tears spilling over her eyelashes.
“You were my hope, Amelia,” Lily said, her voice cracking for the first time. “You didn’t steal my life. You saved it.”
Amelia let out a breathless sob. She dropped the paper and threw her arms around Lily.
For the first time in twelve years, the two halves of the Blackwood soul collided. Lily wrapped her thin arms around her sister, burying her face in Amelia’s wet silk dress. They sat there on the cold stone bench in the pouring rain, holding onto each other as if the world would end if they let go.
Footsteps splashed against the pavement.
Daniel and Victoria came running down the driveway, holding a massive umbrella and two heavy winter coats.
When they saw the two girls holding each other on the bench, Daniel stopped. Victoria covered her mouth, weeping silently at the beautiful, heartbreaking sight of her twin daughters finally together.
Daniel stepped forward and wrapped one of the heavy coats around both of their small shoulders at once.
“Let’s go home,” Daniel whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “Both of you.”
Amelia looked at Lily. She reached down into the puddle, picked up the muddy crystal crown, and gently placed it on Lily’s head.
“Happy birthday, sister,” Amelia whispered.
May you like
Lily smiled, wiping the rain from her eyes. “Happy birthday.”
Victoria wrapped her arms around them both, pulling them up from the bench, and together, the four of them walked back toward the glowing lights of Marble Hall.
