Meet in The Space Between ✔️

35

One of us chased the day
And one of us faced the night
And all of us paved the way
To where we all are tonight
_____________________

EVIE HAD proudly started her own clothing line on campus, singlehandedly sorting finances and becoming very successful at the age of seventeen. And here I am struggling to tell left from right. Evie was completely over Doug. And while I have nothing specific against him, I wasn't that close to him either, so I didn't have much of a reaction when Jane told us he moved away. Evie was happy. And she was surrounded by people who reminded her how important she was. That's all that matters.

Jay was still with Lonnie, despite little ups and downs. His team won tourney game after tourney game and we didn't miss a single one to cheer him on. (Carlos and I would scream till our throats were sore or until Evie told us to shut up). Or maybe we just wanted to join the pizza party afterwards. Just kidding. He went on to become the best of all players and got a scholarship for college too. Again, much more successful than me. Every once in a while we'd joke about the rare appearance of his soft side. But in the end he was still the tough-exterior big brother of the group and that's exactly how we want him to be.

Mal continued being the most courageous and strongest person I've ever known. Ben spoiled her with an endless supply of books and paint (which I take from her sometimes but we don't talk about that). Occasionally we went on our adventures, taking Evie along if she wanted to. Hikes, joyrides, rafting, or just sneaking around past curfew. The best thing was that Ben could cover up for us whenever we got in trouble. What a good boyfriend to Mal. We talked about her family once and she admitted she would want to see her father again sometime. But when she was older. And if Fairy Godmother allows it. Also Fairy Godmother finally decided to teach Mal how to control her powers since "she would use it anyways". She'd rather Mal know what exactly she's doing.

Carlos. Where to start? Well first of all, he taught me how to drive. (It wasn't a pretty sight). He quit the tourney team- it was never really his thing anyway. Dude was a permanent resident in his dorm and a constant third-wheel. Two months ago Carlos went to vet school for a week and, needless to say, he found something he was passionate about. Once in a while we'd find the time to go to animal shelters and we'd laugh about how furious Cruella would be. Since our last... incident, we never kept another secret from one another. I had learnt to trust him completely. And he was just- God, he was just everything to me. I guess you could say we were still too young to know what we wanted. But right now, I love him to the moon and back. Even when he shoved me into a lake as payback. I'd rather be happy with him now than miss my chance. He goofed around when I needed a laugh, held me when I needed to cry. How did I deserve him? I'll spend the rest of my life wondering.

Emma settled into Auradon Prep pretty quickly, making good friends. Though she told me it was annoying to have to work her way around questions like "Why didn't I know you and Brae were related?". She joined literally every club that existed because she was so excited to be out of homeschooling. I obviously opposed that, worried that it would be too much for her. But she met her first real girlfriend in chess club, so now I can't argue. She also had cut her hair short on her birthday- a pixie cut. Evie declared she was adorable. I called her ugly.

As for me. Well, I've picked up a habit of writing. Or just simply jotting things down. Things that make me happy- otters, sunflower seeds, the word amazeballs, Carlos, fairy lights.. the list goes on. My first short story got published in the school newspaper and my boyfriend decided the best way to celebrate was with vegetable soup. I laughed so hard that day- it was clear he was joking.

In fact, I believe everyone has their own never-ending story. Every choice and every step they choose to take. Sometimes it feels like someone else is writing my story- my story about an orphan who found a family on what seems like the other side of the world. But I guess I'll never know.

There's no such thing as happily ever after because it never ends. Our stories intwine with each other's everyday. Our spirits live on to the people we've touched. It's incredible how the world works.

I think this is the part where Mal smacks me on the head and tells me I'm being unrealistic, reminding me "a little evil wouldn't hurt". She's not wrong- as long as you remember your roots.

"Here we are." I said lightly, pulling off my motorcycle helmet and running my hand through my tangled hair.

"Here we are." Emma echoed, stepping onto the sidewalk and taking in our surroundings.

The pavement under our feet was cobblestone with bits of turf peeking out from between the cracks. The sky was hazy today. Old townhouses and shops wrapped around the block. Signs swayed and creaked in the breeze. A familiar aroma lingered in the air. I spotted the bakery.

"You ready?" I asked my sister.

She simply smiled back at me. Something in her eyes said she was.

While we walked down the path a tall young man who was carrying a sack of flour almost tripped in front of us.

"You alright?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah. Sorry." He nodded promptly, "I'm just delivering this to the bakery down there." He nudged his head in the direction.

A bittersweet feeling crept up my spine when I realized Jake had forgotten who I was. It really has been quite a while.

"Well," I smiled at him, "have a good day."

He blinked at me, as if surprised a stranger would be so friendly on an early Monday morning.

"You have a good day yourself, miss." And he was gone.

We continued on. We only came for one specific reason.

The old store had a giant sign hung on the window. ON SALE. The curtains were still brown and gloomy. And the name of the store was peeling off after all the rainy days without maintenance. I peered through two of the blinds and saw the dust that carpeted the floor inside. A part of me was glad no one bought it. Maybe because it was such a small town with so little people. But I was hoping the little, once eerie, store was left alone respectfully.

I looked back at Emma, who didn't come close. She stood as far away as she could from the shop without stepping off the sidewalk. She stared intently, as if taking in the image of the store as a whole and trying to decompose and rebuild it in her mind.

Then I watched my sister creep up to it and touch the glass. I could feel her burning need to rip the ON SALE sign to shreds. It was her childhood home, after all. It shouldn't belong to anyone else. It was where it all started for her. And in a way it felt like it was where it all started for me too.

"You okay, Em?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just... learning to let it go." She answered faintly.

My mind wondered back to the time I gave up my Shan Yu's knife. But some things have to be let go. I was genuinely surprised she wasn't crying.

Her eyes lingered on the store, unblinking. "Let's go home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... I love you."

"I love you too, you little scrunch."

___________________
The end.
February 20, 2020
(You have no idea how many times I rewrote this chapter)

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