Woven in Shadows (agatha x rio)

Nessa's Trial

Chapter twenty-four: Nessa's Trial

The air was thick with the comforting scent of freshly brewed coffee, a warmth that wrapped around Nessa like a soft blanket. She didn't know how she had ended up back in Eastview, but here she was, sitting at the kitchen table in the small house she had grown up in. The house was just as she remembered cracks in the walls from years of age, the pale green wallpaper peeling in places, but it still carried the familiar scent of home. The wooden floorboards creaked under the weight of memories, each sound triggering flashes of laughter and warmth. It was a space filled with fragments of her past, bits of her that she had once been forced to forget.

Across from her, her adoptive mother Margaret sat, her hands folded neatly around a porcelain coffee cup. The older woman's white hair, which she had always kept in a neat bun, now fell in soft waves around her shoulders, with a few stray strands framing her face. Her skin, weathered by time and kindness, still held a warmth Nessa remembered from her childhood. The soft wrinkles around her eyes were proof of the years spent smiling, and her veins, faint but visible, ran through her hands like a delicate map of a life well-lived. Margaret's eyes, though filled with the wisdom of her years, were still kind, and as they looked at Nessa, they conveyed a deep understanding, as though no time had passed at all.

Nessa hadn't known what to expect in this trial, but this—this was not what she imagined. She had been prepared for something dark, something painful, yet the moment Margaret's hands cupped her coffee cup, a sense of calm washed over her. The tension she hadn't realized she was holding in her chest slowly loosened. Her eyes traced the steam rising from the cup, the wisps of warmth curling into the air, and for a fleeting moment, she felt safe. She felt like the girl she once was.

"I've missed you, mom" Nessa whispered, her voice quieter than she intended, but the words felt right. They were honest. She had missed this—missed her, despite the anger that had festered before Margaret's death. Nessa could still feel the sting of that night, that split second where everything changed. But now, sitting here, it didn't feel so much like loss. It felt like peace.

Margaret smiled softly, her lips curling up in that familiar way. She set her cup down gently and looked at Nessa, her gaze warm and patient, as though waiting for the young woman to open up on her own. There was no rush, no judgment in her eyes.

Nessa took a deep breath, the words flowing freely now, as though this moment—this rare opportunity to be with Margaret again—was her chance to finally tell the truth. She needed to say it aloud, needed to speak it into existence. "I never really understood why you chose to raise me, you know? I always thought I was some kind of accident. You were just being kind, and I didn't fit. I didn't fit with you, with your life, with the world around me. But now... now I feel like I finally understand. I'm starting to understand what it means to be me."

She shifted in her seat, trying to keep her emotions in check, but the truth was there, sitting heavy in her chest. She continued, her hands shaking slightly as she wrapped them around her own coffee cup, holding it for comfort. "I'm not just someone's mistake. I'm not some weird experiment, not a freak. My abilities—they're not a curse. They're part of me, part of what makes me unique. I'm learning how to use them, and I think I'm finally starting to make my own path. And you... you always told me I could be anything I wanted, that I could make my own choices. I just never believed you. But now... I'm choosing to believe you."

Margaret's gaze softened, and she reached out, her hand coming to rest gently on Nessa's. The touch was warm, grounding. Nessa felt a soft pulse of reassurance as Margaret's thumb gently brushed over the back of her hand, the veins under her skin like little rivers, carrying memories of a life Nessa had once lived. Margaret's eyes were full of pride, her lips parting slightly, but no words came. It didn't matter. Her presence, her warmth, was enough.

"You always made me feel loved, Margaret," Nessa continued, her voice breaking with the weight of everything she had never said. "But I never felt like I deserved it. I didn't understand why you kept trying, why you kept choosing me. But now... I think I do. And I think I understand why you wanted me to know my real parents. Agatha... and Rio... they're my family, too. They've been there for me in ways I never knew I needed, and now I finally know what it feels like to belong. I know it doesn't make sense, and maybe it still scares me, but they love me. I love them. It's like... like I've finally found a place where I belong. And I hope you're proud of me. I hope you know I'm doing my best."

She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. It felt like there was so much more she wanted to say, but the words were tangled in her throat. She shook her head, chuckling softly. "You would've liked them, Margaret. Agatha and Rio. They're... they're complicated, but they love me. And I think that's enough for me. It's all I need right now. And I know you'd be proud of me for choosing them."

A calm, gentle smile spread across Margaret's face, and Nessa felt a weight lift from her chest. For the first time in so long, she felt free. It wasn't perfect, not by any means. There would always be things to work through, but for this moment, in this house, Nessa had everything she needed.

"I have a brother," she whispered then, her voice barely audible. "His name was Nicky. He was seven when he... when he left. I didn't know him. I don't even know what happened to him. But I think I understand now. I think he's out there, in some other realm, and I feel connected to him. I know I don't understand all of this, but I feel like he's watching over me. I feel like Agatha and Rio—they've been watching over me too. And they've been helping me find the family I never had."

Her voice trailed off, her eyes tracing the steam rising from her cup as she allowed herself a moment to collect her thoughts. She felt a calmness settle over her that she hadn't known in years. She had a family. Not the one she thought she had lost, but a new one. A family she had chosen. And in this moment, in the quiet of her childhood home, she realized that she had finally made peace with herself. She was no longer a girl lost in a sea of confusion. She was Nessa, daughter of Agatha and Rio, and that was enough.

Margaret's hand gave hers a final, reassuring squeeze before she pulled away, standing slowly. The kitchen was quiet now, the only sound the ticking of an old clock on the wall. Nessa stood too, feeling a bittersweet sense of closure settle over her.

"I choose them," she whispered, as if to herself, the words carrying a weight of finality. And with that, the scene before her began to fade, the edges of the room blurring, the light shifting as though time itself was drawing to a close.