Anastasia

53

12 years later

"Happy birthday Ana," Zachary planted a soft kiss on the crown of Ana's head, which earned a cringe from James.

"Please, spare me some of those."

"Some?" Ana raised an eyebrow at her brother. A blush crept up his cheeks. Zachary chuckled and ruffled James' hair.

"You'll get your girl one day."

"Zach!" Ana said.

"What?" He winked at James, who face-palmed.

"Just finish the cake already." James mumbled, pushing himself up from his seat and trudged to his bedroom. The joyous atmosphere suddenly seem to die down as James closed the door with a soft click. The engaged couple exchanged a look. It had been three years since the death of the sibling's mother. Whenever it was Ana's birthday, it was also their mother's. James couldn't help but be reminded of her whenever they celebrated Ana's birthday. He was most affected by her passing, because he spent his entire life growing up with their mother. Now that she is gone, Ana and Zachary willingly took the parent's place, doing everything in their power to keep him happy and healthy.

"I guess he still isn't settled down in this busy city." He murmured, staring at the door thoughtfully. Ana nodded slowly, biting her bottom lip, an unconscious habit she grew up with.

"I'll go talk to him." she stood up but Zachary placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.

"It's alright, I'll do it." he replied, giving her an encouraging smile. That smile. She thought. It was that smile that always left her heart fluttering. That smile that always assured her that everything would be alright. She returned a grateful look and hugged him.

"Thank you for being there for us," she whispered.

"I always will." his arms wrapped around her shoulders gently, but securely. They held each other for a while, with her head resting on his chest.

"Your heart is beating very fast." Ana said.

"It's because of you. You always set my heart beating like this." He chuckled, kissing the crown of her head. She laughed.

"You better get going." she broke apart, and he nodded before making his way to James' door.

Ana turned her back on them, staring at her cup of tea, lost in thought. She could still remember the tremble in James' voice when he called her, telling her that their mother had passed on in the hospital. The siblings didn't know that their mother had been suffering from a chronic illness, and her death was due to an overdose in her medicine.

"Why didn't she tell us, Ana?"

Ana stayed silent. She was numb with shock, but at the same time, she understood the reason behind her actions.

"Ana?"

"I don't know." Ana simply answered.

But she knew.

Sometimes, it was for the protection of her children. Sometimes, it was because of love. She wouldn't be able to uderstand how much pain and loneliness she had been through, but she understood that it is painful to go on living everyday, knowing that your loved one isn't lying beside you when you wake up, knowing that you have to carry the family's burden upon your shoulders, to work all day and all night to support the family. It must have been exhausting for her. She thought. But she is a strong woman, and will always be.

~¤~

"Hey," Zachary shut the door with a soft click, and James immediately turned around, his shoulders relaxing when he saw Zachary. James took off his earphones and waited for him to speak.

"You could hear the click of the door closing but not my voice?" he started.

James shrugged. "I guess it's selective hearing."

"Impressive." Zachary nodded, and sat on the corner of his bed. The wooden frame creaked from the weight. Both of them were quiet, and the whirring of the fan was suddenly deafening to James. He glanced at Zachary, who was looking around his room, his face taking on a thoughtful expression.

"My bedroom is quite different from yours." Zachary said, mostly to himself.

"What was yours like?"

He smiled sadly. "I wemt to a boarding school when I was young, so I spent most of my life in a dormitary. I had to keep it as simple as possible. So no posters, or anything that I could paste on or drill to hang photographs." He gestured to the calendar hung beside his study desk, and a huge board full of post-it notes.

"The room was always a dull colour, turquoise or gray, or plain white which blackened with the age of time. I like your atmosphere in here. It's pretty aesthetic, warm and comfortable," he commented, while scanning at the clothes hung in his cupboard. "Nice choice of clothing too."

"Thank you. Dressing up apprpriately is important."

"Indeed. Well, dressing up would be one thing we have in common." James nodded in agreement.

"There's another thing we have in common, however it's not a pleasing one."

"What would that be?" James queried.

"I recently lost my mother too," he said, his tone going soft.

James looked up to see a sad smile on his face, and eyes that were full of understanding.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. People would have to go away someday. Even if it hurts to watch them go." He exhaled through his nose, his eyes staring at the window, looking into the distance. "I still do miss her."

"Me too."

"She wouldn't be happy seeing you mopping around everytime when her birthday comes," Zachary joked, but James didn't laugh.

"I just see so much of her in Ana. Her face, her eyes, her hair, her smile; how can I not be reminded of her?"

"Exactly."

James raised an eyebrow.

"You said you miss her. She is technically right in front of you. You could see her everyday."

James chuckled. "Not exactly, but yeah."

"She'd want you to be happy on her birthday too, both Ana and your mom." Zachary said gently. "And, she will always be a part of you. I mean, you got her eyes too." he smiled encouragingly.

The corners of his lips tugged upwards slightly, and he got up from his seat.

"Where are you going?" Zachary questioned.

"To eat the cake." he replied plainly, with lightness in voice. The old James is back again. Zachary thought with amusement as he followed James out of his room. His eyes met Ana's for a split second and he winked. She beamed and beckoned the two of them to join her at the counter once again, her laptop ready with a movie.

"Movie night?" James asked.

"Uh-huh." Ana and Zachary chorused in unison, looking at each other and remembering the time when they watched a movie together.

"It's going to be a good night."