"My life is a lie, a dark place," Alyssa Pearson said, looking up at the sky with a heavy sigh. The weight of her existence was suffocating her.
"You are in a safe place, Alyssa. This is your home, and your life is as real as you are." He reassured...
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As the day of Thanksgiving arrived, the whole town of Mullinville prepared themselves to celebrate the holiday with their family, their loved ones. Everyone but two families - the two that had lost a lot in the last year and there was nothing, in particular, to be thankful about.
Their family was suffering, they had a rough year. How could they sit together around a table and give a toast about the year that took away all the happiness from their lives?
Who were they to blame? All of them were equally responsible for the misery they brought to themselves.
Landon woke up with a sweet memory of Alyssa, the memory of tradition they followed in the Pearson family. The memory of his sweet sister, the one - who once was the light of the house, now was just filled with dullness in her soul.
"Landon, I said no." Eight-year-old Alyssa ran after her Ten-year-old brother who was enjoying his Thanksgiving morning by annoying his sister. "We are not supposed to look at them right now."
"Whatever Ally. I can look at the pictures whenever I want. They are mine." He ran away from her. He was having the time of his life, he loved fooling around.
"No, they belong to everyone. We will look at them together." Little Alyssa was determined to follow the family tradition while Landon only focused on playing with her head.
Landon crashed into a body and when he looked up, his eyes met his father's. Alyssa stopped behind him and a grin appeared on her lips as she knew, her father would only side with her.
"What have I told you about the family tradition, Miles?" Keith asked placing his hand forward for Landon to give back the album. Landon sighed but handed the album back to his father.
"It is always she who wins. You always let her win, dad." He groaned. His father laughed at his innocence. Alyssa stood beside her brother, still carrying the grin on her face.
"She is my soul, Son." Keith ruffled his son's hair. "And you're my heart." He picked Landon in his arms, though Landon was not the same baby he once was. Now he was a grown kid and carrying him was a hard job for Keith. But he did anyway, taking the weight of his son on his arm as Landon wrapped his hand around his father's shoulder.
"If I'm your heart and Ally is your soul, what is Aurora then?"
"She is my everything." Keith declared. "Aurora is my firstborn. Let her have that leverage." Keith winked at his son.
"Aurora is only mine." Alyssa declared. "I'm not sharing her with anyone." She crossed her arms against her chest, challenging her father. Keith placed Landon on his feet and walked to his youngest child.
"You don't have to share her, baby. We all get to love her. That is what family is, right?" He explained to her. He took her tiny hands in his huge one's and she looked into her father's eyes - mesmerised by the brown eyes, the one's she loved the most. "We all love each other equally."
