My Dear Lunar

19 - UNFOLD ♫

-♫-

Emir's silence hung in the air, thick and suffocating, pushing Sky's frustration to the breaking point. "What kind of secret have you been hiding from us?!" His voice boomed, loud enough to make several workers outside Emir's office jump, their heads snapping in the direction of the commotion. The shockwaves of Sky's anger rippled through the room, and for a brief moment, the atmosphere shifted from tension to a palpable sense of urgency.

Emir, his brow furrowed with worry, could see the fire in his sons' eyes. This wasn't just about a name; it was about a web of secrets that had woven through their family like a dark thread. The weight of what he knew pressed down on him, and the truth felt like a boulder lodged in his throat. He knew it was time to come clean, but the fear of how they would react loomed large.

With a deep breath, Emir finally spoke, his voice steady but laced with an undercurrent of gravity. "Let's head home. There's a long story behind this." The words slipped out, his gaze flicking between the three of them, searching their faces for understanding amidst the brewing storm of emotions.

As they arrived home, the tension followed them through the door, hanging heavy in the air. The trio—Sky, Moon, and Blue—sat quietly on the plush sofa, their thoughts racing while they waited for Emir to join them. The living room, normally a place of comfort, now felt charged with anticipation, the calm before the storm. Blue, sitting slightly apart from the brothers, shifted uncomfortably. He felt out of place, as though he were trespassing on a moment that belonged strictly to their family.

Unable to keep the thoughts to himself, Blue finally spoke up, his voice low. "Are you sure it's fine for me to be here? This... this seems like a family matter." His words hung in the air, laced with uncertainty. He wasn't used to being on the outside when it came to Sky and Moon, but the weight of this revelation, whatever it was, felt too personal for him to intrude on.

Sky glanced at Moon before looking at Blue with a small smile, his expression softening just a little amidst all the tension. "It's fine, Blue," Sky said, his voice gentle but firm. "Besides, aren't we like family? You've been with us since we were kids." There was warmth in his words, an unspoken understanding that Blue had always been part of their lives—brothers in all but blood. Moon nodded in agreement, casting Blue a reassuring look. "This involves you too, more than you think," he added, his tone filled with the weight of what was to come.

Blue, hearing their words, couldn't help but smile, though it was tinged with a mix of gratitude and nervousness. The bond he shared with the brothers went deeper than just friendship, and Sky's reassurance made him feel a little less like an outsider, even in this moment of looming revelations. He leaned back slightly into the cushions, preparing himself for whatever truths Emir was about to reveal. But despite the moment of comfort between them, the trio knew this calm wouldn't last long. Soon, Emir would come into the room, and the truth they had waited for would finally unravel.

After what felt like an eternity, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway. The trio sat up straighter as Emir finally entered the room, his presence commanding, but there was something different about him this time—he seemed weighed down, not just by the large, dusty box he carried, but by the truth he was about to reveal. The box was old, its corners frayed and worn, as though it had been tucked away for years, untouched and forgotten. Seeing the box only deepened the growing sense of dread in Sky, Moon, and Blue. They exchanged uneasy glances, their nerves visibly tightening. The air in the room thickened, and even Blue, who was usually calm under pressure, could feel his heartbeat pick up.

Emir set the box down with a soft thud, its weight reverberating through the floor. He stood there for a moment, looking at the three of them, his expression unreadable. His eyes, however, gave away a deep sorrow that had been buried beneath layers of secrecy. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as if bracing himself for what was to come. "Before I start," Emir began, his voice steady but laced with regret, "I want to apologize—for keeping this secret from both of you, for so many years." His eyes rested on Sky and Moon, his sons, whose faces were now etched with a mixture of confusion and apprehension. "I didn't know how to tell you... I didn't know how to begin. But now that you know about Lunar, there's no hiding it anymore."

He paused, his gaze shifting to the floor for a moment before returning to the trio. The silence that followed felt like a lead weight, pressing down on them all. "I've carried this for far too long," he continued, "and I realize now that I should've told you sooner. I just... I didn't want to hurt you. But the truth has a way of coming out, and it's time you know everything."

As Emir spoke, his hands hovered over the lid of the box, hesitant, as if opening it would release all the painful memories locked inside. The three of them, Sky, Moon, and Blue, couldn't tear their eyes away from it, knowing that whatever was inside would change everything they thought they knew about their family. The air felt stifling, the anticipation unbearable. Sky clenched his fists, Moon bit his lip, and Blue's mind raced with questions. What was hidden inside that old box? What was so big that their father had hidden it from them for so long? They were about to find out, and the gravity of that knowledge weighed heavily on all of them.

Emir gently wiped the dust off the picture frame, revealing an old photograph that seemed to capture a time long forgotten. The image showed two happy couples with three children—their family, once complete. He handed the picture to Sky, Moon, and Blue, though his eyes lingered on the faces in the frame. "This is me, your Mama, the chubby one is Sky, the cheerful face is Moon, and the little one... is Lunar," Emir said, his voice soft, almost wistful. "Lunar was only a few months old when this was taken."

As the trio stared at the photograph, emotions they hadn't prepared for hit them all at once. The sight of Lunar as a baby, nestled in their mother's arms, made it harder to reconcile the image of the lost brother they barely knew. Emir's expression shifted as he gazed at the picture—his usually strong, composed face now softened by a bittersweet smile. There was a glow in his eyes as he revisited those memories, but the pain of what followed was etched deeply in his features.

Moon, who had been struggling to keep his composure since they arrived, couldn't hold it in any longer. Seeing the old family photo, and more than that, seeing the sad smile on his father's face, broke something inside him. He started to sob quietly, tears spilling over as he covered his face with his hands. The weight of everything—the truth, the secrets, the years they spent without knowing about their youngest sibling—was too much to bear.

Sky, too, felt a knot tighten in his chest, though he tried his best to remain strong for his brother. His hand clenched tightly around the edge of the couch as he forced himself to look at the photograph. He noticed how young his parents looked, how full of life his mother seemed, and how little Lunar was. It was an image of a family that once had everything but had lost so much.

Blue, sitting beside them, felt out of place but at the same time couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of him. Even though this was about their family, Sky's earlier words lingered in his mind. We're like family echoed in his thoughts, making him realize how much he had become part of their lives, and now this revelation about Lunar brought him closer to understanding the deep, hidden wounds in their family history.

Emir, seeing Moon's tears and the silence of the other two, sighed deeply. He placed the frame down on the table in front of them, a symbol of the past that had been kept locked away for too long. His heart ached for his sons, for the truth he had shielded them from, and for the lost time that had fractured their family in ways they could never have imagined.

"I'm sorry," he said again, his voice barely above a whisper.

-♫-