Living in the Past

Chapter 21(Last Chapter)

Elena had put together a search party and started looking for Esteban. Everyone had went in different directions to cover more ground. It was dark out which made it harder to find him. But that didn't stop her from looking for her cousin. She was worried, she had no idea where he was and the last time she had talked with him she was 99% sure was he was depressed. As she was looking the sun began to rise but there was still no sign of Esteban. But she wasn't giving up just yet, she was going to continue looking for him.

Soon enough she noticed a horse near the cliff. After focusing a bit more she realized that it was Estaban's horse. She frantically started looking for her cousin when she saw a person falling down the cliff. She asked the jaqouin to take them closer so that they can save the person, while all the time hoping that the person falling wasn't Esteban. But as she continued to dive she could see his face and there was no doubt about it that was her cousin, and the tears she was trying to keep at bay started coming out of her eyes. She caught him and started to bring him to safety when he passed out.

She decided it was best if she waited for him to wake up and talk to him before taking home so that he is not bombarded with their worried grandparents. After the Jaquoin set them down, Elena told his to tell the others that she found Esteban and that they can go home. After the Jaquoin left Elena sat down next to where Esteban was lying and began sobbing her eyes out.

'Did I really do such a bad job at making him feel welcome, that he tried to kill himself? Why didn't press him further when I knew he was struggling? Why did I let it get to this point? Why didn't I do something earlier?' Elena kept thinking to herself

But one thing she decided was she was not gonna repeat her mistakes. She will make sure to help Esteban. To tell him how much he means to everyone. She was going to make sure he never felt like an outsider again.

After a while, when Elena had calmed down a bit, Esteban started to wake up. Elena helped him sit up a bit.

"How are you feeling?" Elena asked him.

"Why did you do that?" Esteban asks back with annoyance in his voice.

"Excuse me, I should be asking you that" Elena answers back.

Esteban had remembered what had happened, how he was finally going to do the right thing, how he finally felt some happiness seeping through him, when Elena ripped it away from him.

"No, I asked you, why would you do that?" Esteban asks again anger starting to seep through his voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry but I wasn't going to watch as one of the most important people in my life was falling to his death." Elena answers back.

"You had no right to do that, it was for the good of everyone." Esteban answered back while standing up and starting to walk away.

"How is you dying good for anyone? Did you not think about anyone? Me, abuela, abuelo, Isa? How do you think we would have felt if we found that you were dead?" Elena asked

"I did think of you all, I kept you guys in mind when deciding on what to do. You guys would have been relieved, that you don't have to put up with me anymore. I would have finally gotten the punishment I deserved for killing Tio and Tia. You would have been glad that the person responsible for your parents death is dead." Esteban shouted.

"No, the person responsible for my parents' death, Shuriki, is already dead. Esteban we forgave you." Elena says while coming closer to Esteban but he moves away.

"Just because you forgave me doesn't change what I did." Esteban says, his voice lower and head down with guilt.

"Esteban, you made a mistake." Elena says her voice softening as well.

"I mistake that cost them their life. I mistake through which you and everyone in our family was stuck for 40 years." he answers back the guilt of what he did drowning him.

"You were the one who helped us defeat Shuriki." Elena counters back.

"We never would have needed to do that, if I didn't betray my family. And no matter what you say it is not going to change the fact that I killed my tio and tia" Esteban says.

"Esteban, were you the one that cast a spell on them that killed them?" Elena asks

"No" Esteban

"Did you want them to get hurt, did you want them to die?" Elena continues

Tears had started to leak out of Esteban's eyes and it was breaking Elena's heart.

"Of course not. They were my family." he answers back.

"Then you didn't kill them." Elena says

"But they still would have been alive if I hadn't helped Shuriki, so it is my fault." Esteban says

"Maybe yes they still would be alive, but Shuriki was still going to attack Avalor whether you helped her or not, so everything could have been exactly the same if not worse." Elena says

"I was mad at you when I found out you helped her. But, I know that you will never deliberately hurt our family. I know how much we mean to you, so we have to move forward. We can't keep living in the past. My parents aren't here anymore but we are and we need to make the most of it before we lose each other too. Because I know I am not ready to lose any one from my family, including you." By this point both of them were crying there eyes out.

"So please Esteban, come home. We'll figure this out. You have a family who loves you and cares about you. We want you, we need you." Elena says while going up to him and hugging him.

This time instead of backing of Esteban hugged her back.

"I am sorry, I am so sorry." Esteban says

"I know, and I forgive you. We'll move past this." Elena says while holding onto her cousin.

They stayed like this for a while and when the finally calmed and started going back to the castle, they both felt a heaviness being moved from their hearts. It wasn't going to be easy but they were all going to try and work through this. Esteban finally felt comfortable with the thought of being around his family, and Elena was happy to have her favorite cousin back.

As the went back Esteban looked at the surroundings and realized after so many years he felt a sense of calmness and he was kinda of excited to go home.

He was going home.