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

Episode 95: Connelia and Rebirth

Eni and I had split off from Lie and the others. He was walking in front of me right now. My baby brother seemed to be rather energetic today.

"Hey, Ain?" Eni looked back at me. "Are you excited to see your friend again?"

If I was being honest, I wasn't sure... I hadn't seen her in fourteen years. I knew she was probably nothing like she was when we were kids. I was pretty sure I changed a lot, too. Not to mention that we would technically be just showing up on her doorstep.

My heart was racing. My flames were frantically coursing through my body. I was pretty sure I was sweating. Hopefully, these things weren't worrying Eni too much.

I almost regretted doing this. Sure, we helped Lie reunite with her big brother, but we also wound up hurting him in the process. I couldn't take that lightly. No telling how her parents would react to seeing her again.

For all I knew, Vanny would be angry with me for ruining her life then "trying to tear her away" from the one she built for herself.

T was right to say I shouldn't go to do this by myself. It might have been a good idea for Eni to come along. Still, in that moment, I wished one of the others could've come too even though I knew that was sorta selfish...

Duke and Marshall had to stay back. One of them probably had to help with Zane while the other went with Lie. T wanted to try and treat the injuries; I knew that by a look. Maybe Recah could've come, but I didn't want to be greedy or anything...

"Ain." Eni grabbed my hand. "Let's go see her. Didn't your mommy say she wanted to see you, but you already came to find us by then?"

Mama did say that Vanny wanted to reconnect with me. But that was well over a year ago... She could've changed her mind. Who knew what she went through since she was sent here?

If she found out this was kinda my fault, she probably wouldn't want anything to do with me... Most wouldn't I didn't think...

"It'll be okay!" He grabbed my other hand. "Mommy told me so!"

Mommy told him so? What was he talking about? I didn't think he would've just said Mommy if he meant Mama. There was no way he meant Cece, right? Kayleigh called her back before his fifth birthday...

I had to admit his optimism helped a little bit... Was this why T wanted him to go with me?

***

We went on our way after that. What I thought was Vanny's house was closer to where we split up than I originally anticipated.

Once we saw it, I got nervous again. I felt like that little boy who'd hide beneath a blanket on a couch in his Mama's office...

Eni smiled, went up to the door, and rang the doorbell.

Did he really just do that? We were just showing up at the doorstep. She wouldn't be expecting us. She could have just taken a shower or something.

Since he did that, I had to join him. We were here because of me...

The door opened and a pair of girls poked her heads out. They said, "Hi."

Eni waved at them.

"I'll take care of this," a third girl said. "And you shouldn't both crowd the doorway. You might get stuck."

"Yeah, right!" they said.

I had a feeling I wouldn't want to be friends with those first two girls, but I wasn't quite sure why.

The girls got out of the doorway. "Bye!"

There was a sigh.

The door opened all the way. The girl had flowing red hair and verdant green eyes. She was just a bit taller than me.

My eyes got big. Vanny was right in front of me. She grew up, but she didn't look that different from when we were kids.

"Sorry about my friends." She sighed. "They're sisters who like to bicker sometimes."

"You're fine..." I said.

She put her arms around me. "I'm glad we got to meet again." She looked at Eni. "Why don't you both come in, so we can talk?"

Since he went straight in, I couldn't turn her down.

Looking for some sort of comfort, I grabbed Eni's hand. "We grew up like brothers, but this is my cousin, Eni."

"It's nice to meet you, bud." Vanny led us to a decent sized kitchen. "I usually have people call me Vanna."

"You have a nice name," Eni said.

She laughed. "Thanks. I like it, too."

We sat at the table.

"Would you like anything to drink?" she asked.

"I'm okay," I replied.

Eni smiled. "Me, too."

"How did you find this place?" Vanny got out a coffee mug and little bag. "I know this isn't the easiest place to find. I certainly didn't know this was here three years ago."

My flames pooled in my cheeks. "We came here looking for something else."

"Oh?" She emptied the contents of the bag into the mug. "Have you seen Cha-Cha lately?"

"Yeah... I know she misses you..."

She poured in water and stirred it. "Yeah... I miss her a lot, sometimes."

"Would you want to see her again?" Eni asked.

"Of course, I would. I'd love to hug her again."

I perked up. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but we could help you do just that."

"How could you do that?"

"There is a gate we can take you through if you want."

She set the mug down. "There's a way for me to go home. I wanna be back with my family. Of course, I wanna take it. I might never get another chance."

"You sure?" I averted my gaze. "We won't be able to go straight home since we have to meet up with our friends."

"It's been two years. What's a few hours?"

I guess so...

***

We left after Vanny said bye to her friends. I had a feeling the others were working toward reuniting. Soon after that, we met up with T. She had come to find us while the boys went to find Recah and T.

My siblings got ahead of us, so Vanny and I were effectively alone.

Vanny glanced at the white that was supposed to be the sky. "I'm happy to be going home, but I'm gonna miss this place."

She might not recognize this place if she ever came back... Taradita will be no more after this day. No matter what history comes to say, today was the "birthday" of Connelia. Today was the day of rebirth for so many people...

Lie's family and Vanny's included...

***

And the last numbered episode has drawn to a close! Thoughts on it? The only thing left is the epilogue.

~Shino out!