Secrets
by;michimichiro
Chapter 17
The air in the chapel was thick with the scent of lilies and the weight of unspoken words. Zia lay in the coffin, her face serene, but her absence was a gaping hole in my heart. I sat by her side, my fingers tracing the outline of her cold hand, wishing with every part of me that this was just a bad dream. But the reality of her absence was a cruel, unforgiving truth.
"Eli, stay strong." Margot's voice was a whisper, a gentle breeze in the storm of my grief. I looked up to see her standing a few feet away, Sarah besides her. I wanted to send Sarah out, to banish her from this sacred space, but I respected Mr. Loire's decision to allow her to come.
"We are not that close as siblings," Margot continued, her voice laced with sympathy. "But always remember that I am always here for you. Please don't think you are alone now. There are still many people who love you. Your mother and the people who love you are here."
I looked at her silently, my heart too heavy to speak. The words were hollow, a feeble attempt to soothe the gaping wound in my soul.
"No matter how many of you love me," I finally choked out, my voice raw with pain, "you still can't show the love that Zia has for me."
Margot let out a deep breath, her eyes filled with understanding. "Of course, the love that comes from the person you love is different. But you have to let her go, Eli. She's no longer with us. Do that for yourself and Zia as well. We both know that Zia wouldn't want to see you hurt and sad."
At that moment, Sarah approached me, her face etched with a mixture of guilt and hope. "Eli, I know you can't forgive me right now because of what I did to Zia, but I hope that one day you can give me the forgiveness I'm asking for."
I looked at her, my eyes filled with a pain that ran deeper than any physical wound. "I know I owe you a lot, Sarah, for saving my life. But if it wasn't for you, Zia would still be alive today."
Margot, sensing the tension, took Sarah's hand and squeezed it gently. "Eli, it's not that I'm on Sarah's side, but maybe it's not fair for Sarah that you blame her for the accident that happened to Zia."
"Why, Margot?" I asked, my voice sharp with anger. "Who else can I blame? Ever since Zia went to Brielle's house, she was always out of her mind. You once witnessed how Sarah mistreated her sister."
Margot's expression softened, her eyes filled with a sadness that mirrored my own. "Maybe Zia's brain was very messed up when the accident happened, but Eli, do you know that even if she didn't have an accident, she would still die?"
My heart stuttered, the words hitting me with the force of a physical blow. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"She hid her true condition from you. She has leukaemia, Eli. Stage 4. I talked to the doctor when I noticed something strange about her body, and he told me that he had spoken to Zia's doctor. Zia strictly instructed him not to let anyone know the true state of her health."
My mind reeled. "That's impossible," I whispered, my voice filled with disbelief. "We had so many dreams. If what you say is true, why didn't I even see her struggling sometimes?"
"You're not with her all day, Eli," Margot said gently. "You leave the house early and come home at night. Do you think you would notice that she was struggling?"
"No! Zia is healthy. I know when there is something wrong with her health!" I insisted, my voice rising with a desperate hope that Margot was wrong.
"Here, for you to believe that I'm not making this up just to save Sarah," Margot said, her voice soft but firm. "Sometimes, we think we know the person we are with all the time, so we are complacent that they are okay. But what we don't know is that they are just trying to be okay in front of us because they don't want to add to our worries. That's exactly what Zia did to you, Eli."
My body trembled as Margot handed me a file. It was Zia's medical records. The truth, cold and undeniable, stared back at me. She had been checking up for several months, her condition worsening, without me knowing.
"You can't blame Zia for why she chose to hide her true condition from you," Margot said, her voice filled with compassion. "Maybe she had a reason why she did it. And you can't blame Sarah for the accident because you only add to the guilt she feels now."
"Eli, I know you're smart, and I also know you're strong," Margot continued, her voice filled with admiration. "You've been through so much in life that if it happened to me, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to handle it. But you're brave, Eli, and I admire you so much."
"Everything I've achieved in life is because of Zia," I whispered, my voice cracking. "No matter how much I was struggling before, I still tried to fight because I knew Zia needed me. But I never thought that all my hard work would come to nothing because she left me. She will never come back to me."
My tears flowed freely, a torrent of grief and regret. I had been so focused on my struggles, so oblivious to the silent battle Zia was fighting within herself. How could I have been so blind? How could I have been so selfish?
"Don't lose your hope, Eli," Margot said, her hand resting gently on my shoulder. "Know that someone will come for you, and that person will be with you for the rest of your life."
Her words were meant to comfort me, but they only served to deepen the ache in my heart. Zia was gone, and no one could ever replace her. The love we shared, the dreams we had, were now just echoes in the space she left behind.
As I looked at Zia's still form, a new wave of grief washed over me. It wasn't just the loss of her that hurt so much, but the realisation that I had never truly known her. I had loved her, yes, but I had loved her based on the facade she had created, the perfect image she had presented to the world. The real Zia, the one who was battling a silent, deadly disease, had been hidden from me, a secret she kept to protect me from the pain.
And now, I was left with the crushing weight of that secret, a truth that would forever haunt me. I had loved her, but I had never truly understood her. And that was the most painful realisation of all.
The chapel was silent, except for the soft sobs that escaped my lips. I looked at Zia's face, her features serene, her eyes closed as if she were merely sleeping. But I knew this was goodbye. A final farewell to the woman who had filled my life with love, laughter, and light.
And as I sat there, surrounded by the scent of lilies and the weight of my grief, I knew that I would never be the same. Zia's absence was a wound that would never fully heal, a constant reminder of the love I had lost and the secrets I would forever carry in my heart.
E N D.
A/N:
"Want more of the drama, romance, and maybe a little bit of chaos? Follow michimichiro on FB for new story updates! Your support keeps the words flowing. 😉". Thank you so much!
