Worlds Apart

Chapter 25 - Who Am I?

I pulled back and stared into my grandfather's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me right away? Why the secrecy, why kidnap us?"
"I've never been good at communication, I guess," he laughed, a sheepish look on his face.
I took in his greying hair, and realized that it must've been much darker when he was younger. "Who do I look more like?"
"Definitely your mom... you're a spitting image of her."
For some reason that made me smile. "When can I meet her?" I asked eagerly.
My grandpa sighed. "I don't know where she is."
"Wait... If your last name is Landersun, that means my dad's last name is Landersun, which means..."
"Yes, Ava. Your full name is Ava Evelyn Landersun. Your middle name was named after your mom's mother."
Nald is the only tie I have to my mother. He's my last grandparent. "Well, can I meet Jerome? Uh, I mean, my dad? Or my aunt?"
Suddenly, as if it was a flood, tears streamed down Nald's face, his body racking with silent sobs.
"What'd I do? Did I say something?" I asked frantically.
"N-no. I'm sorry, Ava, but my son, your dad, is dead."
****
Back on Earth
Third person perspective

Violet sat in Ava's room, what her sister said sunk into her brain.
I found out that I'm different than everyone else. Apart from Melissa, I'm the only one who can teleport from each place to place. I'm special. It's my duty to protect Earth and Desridore from being destroyed.
Violet clutched onto her sister's pillow, quietly crying. Where are you, Ava? Come back... Please, come back to me...
****
"Dead?" I whispered, my voice cracking.
"I'm almost positive. I haven't seen him the day since he went after your mother."
Suddenly, I could hear my sister's cries, her pleas.
She must be so alone, so helpless.
Exactly how I felt when I was trapped in that dark room.
"I need to go back home!" I exclaimed.
"No, Ava. Don't you see? This is your home."
"Just because I was born here doesn't mean it's my home."
"Just because you grew up on Earth doesn't mean it's your home."
Ouch. I should've seen that one coming. "What about Violet? She deserves to know the truth."
"Violet's not even your sister!" Nald yelled. "You owe her nothing!"
My mouth dropped open. So it was true. Violet isn't even related to me.
Jason shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
I knew he was feeling awkward about this, but I didn't care. All that mattered was to know the bits of pieces I still don't have of the truth. Its like a puzzle - and nothing fits because I had the wrong pieces. Now that I know more of the truth, I still don't have all the pieces needed to complete the puzzle.
"Violet might not be my sister, but she's important to me. Who do you think stuck by me when I was younger? Even now she still believes in me and trusts me! She has my word! And that means I owe her everything!"
"Ava, you lived here, in Desridore for longer than you'd think. You only came to Earth when you were about four or five years old."
I gasped. So I'm wrong again? I actually grew up here? At least for a bit?
I squeezed my eyes shut, a tear falling to the floor. "I have no memories here, though. My memories are of me playing with Violet - swinging on the tire swing in our backyard, climbing trees, making up stories." I blinked back more tears. "And you? I don't have any memories of you! Of my mom, of my dad! Home is where all my memories are! You can't just take away memories!"
"But you can, Ava. That's what they did to you."
"Who's 'they'?"
"Your adopted parents. They wiped your memories, stripped you of them. That's why you don't remember me at all."
"I-I... Did they come from Desridore too?"
My grandpa sighed. "Yes, but they gave birth to Violet on Earth. So Violet belongs there, and you belong here."
"I'm not some kind of property, Desridore doesn't own me, I don't belong here!" I struggled to breathe as I gasped for air. I jumped off the couch and darted past Jason and Nald, running out the door.
Tears streamed down my face as I dashed outside through the door, and straight into the foresty maze.
I zigzagged around the tall trees, careful not to trip on any of the roots as I sprinted off, not having a particular direction I was heading.
All I knew was that I needed to get away.
And fast.
Before I knew it, I reached a clearing, a pond slightly hidden by rocks along with some little rabbits.
They hopped off as soon as they heard me approaching.
I sank to the earthy ground, feeling my heart racing, listening to its each and every quickened beat.
"I don't belong here," I whispered, laying on the ground, staring up at the clear sky. I don't even know who I truly am.
"I don't belong anywhere anymore."