Hunter's POV.
"Everything I knew about my family was a charade." He says with indignation.
"Surely you don't mean that." I try saying, but he holds up his finger and I stop talking.
"How can I not? I mourned my aunt for years without having the real knowledge of her death. She was very important to me Bow. To lose her like that; and not have them tell me how or why except a cooked-up version of my family's explanation of her passing. It did a number on me.
I idolized my grandpa, he was my hero you know? Honest, hardworking, and God-fearing. Could he be the same person that caused all this? And my grandmother? She was the kindest and most accepting soul I'd ever met. My mother loved her sister and never got over her death till she left this world. But none of that was real, was it? It was all an act! A charade! They were all guilty of something like this but they looked me in the eyes and lied to me each time. Again and again!" He's pacing from one end of the room to the other. Lips quivering as he talks from anger or the tears flowing from his eyes. Probably both!
"How could they do that to her?
She must have been so lonely. Gosh! How could I have been so dumb not to have noticed anything? I'm just as guilty as they are." He says while gripping his hair tightly. I'm afraid to say no words can undo more than two decades worth of damage. But I try to comfort him the best way I know how by saying.
I know you're upset and confused about what you've just uncovered, but please don't let that erase all the wonderful memories of you and your family. Your childhood memories of your aunt and everything you two did before your sister came along don't just disappear because of some secrets that were kept from you." His pacing stops as he comes to stand in front of me.
"Your aunt wouldn't have faked who she was or everything she did when you two were together; If not for anything at least believe in that."
Poor guy, he's trying so hard just to keep everything in.
"You might not want to believe it right now because you're hurt, but I think your family thought they were protecting you from the burden of guilt. Your mother didn't seem like she was having the time of her life with such knowledge, did she?" He finally let himself collapse on the couch while hugging the journal close and sobbing quietly.
Thousands of thoughts must be running through his mind right now; none of which I could understand of course. But being here for him right now is better than understanding what he is thinking. The journal said the aunt had a child; but not where the child was. His mother said she saw her on 11-11-2011. Hmmm...I still can't figure out why that date bothers me so much! Then again; I haven't been able to remember much lately.
"How do I find her; is she even alive?" Since he's looking at the journal with such kin interest, I assumed he was referring to his aunt's child.
"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question. Unless by some miracle we find something else in the box that can help us." I tell him.
He sighs while rubbing his face before saying. "I've searched the whole box, nothing new except that photograph in there." Did he say photograph?
"What photograph?" I ask and he searches through the box again before holding a paper up to me. Collecting it from him, I hold it up to my eye level to get a good look. It's a photograph of a young lady wearing a black dress with curly hair just like mine. But none of those matters as my attention was drawn to something else, the ring on her finger. It looks familiar!

Too familiar for my liking. "Who is this? " I ask him. First, it was the cemetery, the diner, the date, and now this? I'm feeling uneasy about this whole thing.
"I have no idea. It was on the same page as my mom's entry. But the lake is the same as the one we had at the back of my family house in Greenville." He says and I hum. This doesn't make sense at all. There has to be an explanation for all this I'm sure.
Holding my left hand up before me, I lift the photograph to its level while inspecting it properly as Hunter says. "Wait! There's something written behind it."
He takes the photograph from my hand and starts reading. "I saw her again today sis! Of course, I wasn't able to say anything apart from thanking her for coming to mom's funeral. But I'm ecstatic about the future! She's married now. Did you know that? Of course, you did. Your little girl is all grown up and starting her very own family sis; I know you would be very proud." Hunter finished reading as he looks up with shaking hands while saying.
"What is this?" He asks while looking at me. That's what I will like to know; I thought while twirling my medallion wondering why something like is written behind a photograph without a face.
But he scrambles towards the box and brings out what seems to be another photograph as he exclaims happily. "I knew I'd seen it before!" He hands it to me and points at the person's image. It's a lady in her late twenties. She's wearing skiing gear while leaning on a car smiling at whoever took the photograph.
"Seen what before?" I ask not seeing what got him so excited. "The medallion! It's identical as the one you have on you." He says while pointing at the medallion I'm twirling in my hand. What? That's impossible, right? I mean this was Mrs. Witkins' last gift to me; there's no way it could be the same as this one.
Taking off mine; I place it close to the image on the photograph to get a clearer view of the markings. Everything looks similar except my medallion looks older than the one in the photograph.
"When was this taken?" I ask Hunter while tapping on the photograph. He takes it from me while glancing at it before saying.
"Well this was my aunt Kayla, so I'm guessing more than two decades ago? A medallion of this quality would look like mine right now if it has lasted for two decades, I thought while twirling it but I stop in shock when I glance at another side of the medallion.
No! No! Please tell me I fell asleep while helping Hunter find clues about his family's secrets and now I'm dreaming about it. But that isn't the case though. Because as I pinched myself, I wince in pain. Ouch! Wrong move. what in God's name is going on here?
"Hey! Talk to me. Is everything okay?" He says worriedly. Shutting my eyes tightly; I inhale deeply before telling him what I'd found.
"There's K.R.W; engraved behind my medallion." I'm impressed I said that without stuttering.
"What?" He asks eyes wide.
Author's Note
Thank you all for the votes and reads. Your supports means a lot to me. 😘😘😘
YOU ARE READING
BROKEN VOWS
Non-FictionA lot was said in the unsaid. Is everything really what it seems? Rainbow thought being abandoned by her birth parents was the worst thing that have or would ever happen to her until she fell in love and realized that not all vows are kept.
