Tears Unnumbered [EDITING]

Reunion

"Father? That means Cara is your-"

"Aunt, yes. Perhaps that explains why I was drawn to her. We are of same blood after all. It hardly changes anything. I would still like to be a friend."

All these days she has been visiting Aoife at her home, she has been under the same roof as her brother! To think she had seen him from afar, not understanding who he was and knowing that the young girl is her niece- it is overwhelming to say in the least. Nolan is still speechless. It is hardly every day that you realize that the one you had taken for a friend is not just innocent of your accusations, but your aunt by relation as well. Not to mention that the said aunt is a banshee. As opposed to Nolan, Aoife seems more happy and excited. It takes the two of them to keep her from revealing to the entire village that her aunt was back.

As the day passes with a recollection of her past, Aoife tells them it is time to leave. She is eager to go home, for she has much to tell her father. They decide to keep it from Nolan's family for a while longer, but even Cara cannot wait to have a proper glimpse of her brother, even if it is to be the last that she will ever get of him. In a rather awry twist of fate, that is the last time she sees Nolan too. He never comes back to her. He goes away without so much as a word.

That evening, Aoife seeks her father out in her house, only to find him sitting down silently, a faraway look on his face.

"Daid, what are you thinking about? Are you worried?"

"Worried? No, M'iníon! Thinking, yes, but not worried. It is just that you look a lot happier these days, and that makes me happy. Cherish this time, Aoife. Not everyone gets it."

"I know, Dadaí. I will." She fumbles around with the hem of her dress for a while before perking up. "Dadaí... There is something I have not told you."

"There are a lot of things you do not tell me these days, is it not? I am afraid my little girl is not so little anymore!"

"Daid, I have been meeting someone lately. In the forest. She is a friend."

"In the forest? What have I told you about that, child? Here I thought your brother was with you!"

"He usually is. They both are always around. They come with me. She's very nice, Dadaí. You will get along with her, I believe. Will you come with me tomorrow? She would love to meet you."

"We will see. You know things have been busy as of late. Time has not been easy on us, but tell me, will it mean much to you if I did?"

"Yes." It might just mean more to you, she adds in her mind.

"It is settled then. We will go meet this friend of yours. Does that make you happy?"

"Very much so, daid. I love you."

"Not as much as I love you, dear. I love so so much," he says as he holds her close, one arm embracing her and the other holding her head. They both sleep fitfully that night, for they have been closer than they had been the last few days and the presence of the other has been a balm in itself. It is Liam who wakes first that morning, and he gently strokes Aoife's hair till she opens a single eye, unhappy with the interruption.

"Wake up, dear one. The sun shines for you already!"

Aoife raises a finger asking for another minute, then promptly rolls over ignoring anything that her father has to say. Liam is not sure a tickle will be much appreciated, especially when her health is so delicate, and so he resorts to exciting her.

"Do you not remember what we were to do today?"

Aoife bolts upright. She has not forgotten. She is to take her father to the woods! She cannot wait to see what would happen. After all, she knows her father would love to take this chance, as would Cara. She would not wait and see though. She will go elsewhere with Nolan.

"Come along, dadaí, we do not want to keep her waiting too long!"

"Alright dear, alright. Lead the way."

She leads them first to find Nolan and together so that the three of them can set off for the woods. It is Aodhán who comes along though. Nolan chooses to stay behind. Liam gives him a questioning look, but all he receives in response is a shake of his head and a hesitant smile.

Along the way, Liam wonders why his daughter meets her friend in the woods of all places. After all, it is said that dangerous creatures make that place their home. The trees stand tall and intimidating, only grudgingly letting a few beams of sunlight pass through their boughs. After meandering through the oaks and willows, he sees the clearing and let's go of Aoife's hand as she sprints away from him. Liam is least bothered about the girl he is to meet. He is doing this only for Aoife, but what he sees is something least expected. He sees no one. There is no girl there waiting to be introduced to him. Just a large willow that stands out. He waits for a while, only to realise that the two younger ones have disappeared, leaving him alone in the clearing. The banshee, on the other hand, uses this time to simply watch him.

"Aoife? Where are you child? Where have you run off to now?"

"She's by the river with her brother. Don't worry, she'll not get into trouble."

Liam is pleasantly surprised. Had this girl been so quiet that he had missed her presence? Or had he been so immersed in the beauty that this place offered?

"Come out, little one. I'm afraid I can't see you from here," he says, apparently expecting a girl his daughter's age.

"Little one?" She chuckles lightly, amused by his words. "I am surprised you'd call me that when you are younger than I!"

"Indeed? I must have been mistaken, for my daughter told me I was to meet her friend."

"And a friend I am. My years hardly matter now, do they? Why don't you make yourself comfortable? It has been long. Too long."

Liam eyes the clearing with a growing degree of unease. "Do I know you? Have we met before?"

"Do you know me? I suppose you do, but whether or not you remember is for you to answer. I have missed you... dearthaír."

Liam is shocked. "H-how?" He stutters before continuing, "There were ever only two of them who had the right to address me thus and both have long departed from this world. Who are you?"

"They called me little flower. Perhaps that is how I am known to you."

"There was only one who could ever be called thus, I cannot believe you if you claim you are she. She died when I was too young. Step out of the shadows. Show yourself."

The banshee does not reply. Instead, she hums a melody from her childhood- a lullaby that she and her sister used to sing for Liam every night.

The foreign sound reaches Liam, yet the tune is not unknown. It sparks a flash of recognition within him. He would recognise the melody any day and silently, he mouths the words from the only memory that remains of his sisters:

"Over in Killarney, many years ago my mother sang this song to me in tones so sweet and low..."

He shows no other reaction as he lowers himself to his knees on the forest floor, yet Cara's keen eyes catch the gleam of fresh tears that have gathered in his eyes. Those eyes, pooling with tears, show the longing of a long-deprived child which she supposes, in a way he was. Not a single tear falls, but she knows it is there. At that moment she wants nothing more than to hold him close and cradle him like a sister would, but she knows that it is a gift she does not deserve- merely seeing him would have to suffice.