Tears Unnumbered [EDITING]

Her Past

That is when they hear Aoife. Aodhán keeps shooting glances at Nolan asking if it is alright so Nolan just beckons to the both of them asking them to join him. After all, it would only spare him another long explanation. He only hopes Cara would not mind, but then again, he is still not sure if he should really consider her until he can be completely sure that she means well. He is spared the thought when Aodhán simply shakes his head and turns back towards home. Aoife skips forward as though the tension in the air is barely palpable and pretending to be an oblivious little girl, she sits down beside Nolan, her legs crossed. Nolan does not spare a second thought as he drapes an arm around her shoulders and pulls her close in a protective manner. Aoife does not protest; she simply enjoys the comfort that it brings her.

For a while, there is only silence. Silence where each one is left to their own thoughts and introspection, the light chirping of the birds, and the gurgling of the nearby stream.

"Nolan!" She whispers, tugging at his sleeve.

"Yes, Aoife?" Nolan asks, disinterested.

"Did you talk to her?"

The girl knows she has caught his attention when his hold on her briefly slackens.

"I... I did. She said she will tell me something."

"Oh." She falls silent for a while after that.

"Cara!" She begins abruptly.
"Cara! Nolan says you were going to say something!"

Cara chuckles lightly. Despite her usual grief, she cannot help but adore the young girl. The little one sure knows how to get her way!

"I was going to tell your brother here a story. Would you like to hear it too? It is not a very happy tale though."

Aoife sobers up quickly, sensing that the story would be an important one.

"It must have been many years ago. I do not quite remember how long; time passes differently when you are dead. It must have been somewhere north of here, and not by the River Shannon as it is down here in Munster. In one such little town, there lived a little family of five. There was the father, mother, and their three children. Two of the three were girls, and the youngest, a boy.

They were one happy family. With the youngest still in the crib and their oldest just married away, they doted on their daughter, the one they called 'little flower'. She was the joy of their house- a loving daughter and a girl who absolutely adored her little brother. None could ever have predicted the tragedy that would strike them. One night, she fell ill. Her parents thought nothing of it, instead coddling their little son who demanded their attention. Days went by and she only grew weaker until her father decided to go out in search for a remedy, for the doctors who saw to her did not know what was ailing her.

It had been stormy that night as their daughter lay on her mother's lap, now delirious and thrashing about wildly. Her little brother lay in the cradle crying helplessly, clueless as to what was happening. Her elder sister had set off from home, yet she had been delayed by the storm. With no family but her brother and mother, she lay dying, her only regret being the pain that she was causing to the others in her family and that she had never become the doting elder sister she had wanted to be. She knew her time was up. She felt it with every laboured breath that she drew. She died that night, but she found no peace. She knew the life had left her body, yet she watched as her father fell apart in grief.

She had often trailed her family after that. Her older sister had died young, bringing a child into the world. Her parents did not survive the grief that it brought their family. Of her brother, she knew not what happened. She knew he had left their little town and moved on. She knew he had found a pretty wife, Aine I think, who made him very happy, and from afar, she rejoiced with them. She was there that night when the woman died. She had cried at his doorstep and watched as everything came undone. She watched helplessly from the shadows, not being able to comfort the one person she longed to be with both in life and in death. Her heart tore itself apart as their cries rent the air, but she was bound to do nothing. That night, she left. She left behind all memories she had of that life and all to do with the living.

Many years later, death brought her back. As a banshee, she returned to the town her brother lived in, yet she dared not find him once more. That is where you come in, Aoife. I felt so wretched that day. I was tired of being responsible for all those lives and something bid me speak to you. Something in me wanted to protect you and cherish you as one of my own. That is why I spoke to you that day. I never expected you to come back for me, but when you did, I was too selfish to let go.

You and Nolan were the only ones who treated me without even looking at the stains of my past. You took me in like family, Aoife, and I thought of you like I would my little brother. Nolan, you offered me your friendship, and I took it. You have never seen my face, yet it never mattered to you until this day. I never trusted you those days, yet you trusted me as you did your sister. I know it hurt you to know that you have been kept in the dark all these days, yet I too was once human and the chance to be one of you once more, no matter how brief, was too precious to throw away.

I have missed you, Nolan. Will you not give me another chance to start over? Will you give me one chance to truly be your friend? We have never spoken much. It has always been small talk, yet you have always brought a smile to this face that has only been stained with tears. One chance is all I ask for. If you let it go, I will too."

"I can only try, Cara. Trust once broken is difficult to regain, but I can try," he says solemnly. Just then, Aoife moves forward, as though to ask something. Her eyebrows are furrowed in deep thought.

"Cara... did you not say your brother lives in this very town? Do you think he is still alive?"

"Yes, he lived here once. I do not know if he continues to do so. It has been a while. His name was Liam. Why do you ask?"

"I know him..." she begins as Nolan looks towards her, eyes going wide as the realisation sets in. "I know him. He is my father."