THE LETTER
862 Words
The room remained silent.
Liyana was still sitting beside Maren's bed.
Her hand was wrapped around her aunt's.
She couldn't speak.
She couldn't cry.
She simply stared at her.
Inside her mind, Nova was curled up in a corner.
She hadn't said a word since Aster disappeared.
Liyana didn't know how long she had been sitting there.
Minutes.
Maybe hours.
Eventually, the door opened.
The healer quietly stepped inside.
He stopped when he saw Liyana.
His eyes moved to Maren.
He didn't need to ask.
He already knew.
Liyana finally released Maren's hand.
Her fingers felt strangely cold.
The healer lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
Liyana said nothing.
There was nothing left to say.
The next few days passed in a blur.
Liyana barely remembered the funeral.
She remembered standing among the pack.
She remembered the sound of people speaking.
She remembered Maren's name being mentioned again and again.
Everyone had something kind to say about her.
She had helped the elderly.
She had cared for children.
She had given herbs to anyone who needed them.
She had always been there when someone needed help.
Liyana listened quietly.
She already knew all of it.
She had lived it.
When the funeral ended, the pack slowly returned to their homes.
Liyana returned to the cottage.
Alone.
She stood outside the door for a long time.
She didn't want to go inside.
But eventually, she opened it.
The cottage felt different.
Too quiet.
Maren's usual things were still everywhere.
Her cup sat on the table.
Her herbs hung near the kitchen window.
A half-finished piece of sewing rested in a basket.
Liyana stared at it.
For a moment, she almost expected Maren to walk in and complain that she was standing around instead of helping.
Her chest tightened.
She looked away.
She couldn't leave everything like this forever.
So she started cleaning.
She folded Maren's clothes.
Put away her books.
Sorted through the herbs.
She wiped the shelves.
Straightened the kitchen.
It wasn't really cleaning.
It was something to do with her hands so she didn't have to think.
Eventually, she walked into Maren's bedroom.
The bed was still exactly as she had left it.
Liyana stood there.
Then she slowly began fixing the blankets.
She lifted the pillow.
Something was underneath it.
She froze.
A folded piece of paper.
Liyana stared at it.
There was writing on the front.
Her name.
LIYANA.
Her heart began beating faster.
She carefully picked it up.
Liyana sat on the edge of the bed.
Her fingers trembled as she unfolded the paper.
She began reading.
“My dear Liyana,
If you’re reading this, then I’m no longer there to tell you this myself.
There is something I should have told you a long time ago.
I have a brother. His name is Edric, and he lives in Silver Crest Pack.
I know you’ve never met him, and I’m sorry that you grew up without knowing about him. There are reasons for the distance between us, but I don’t want you to carry those burdens.
Edric is your family.
If anything happens to me, I want you to go to Silver Crest. Find him. Tell him that you’re our niece.
He knows about you.
I don’t know what kind of life you’d have there, but I know you deserve to have family around you.
Please don’t think that leaving this place means you’re leaving me behind. Everything I’ve taught you will go with you.
Be brave Liyana.
And never forget that you are enough.
I love you.
Always.
Maren.”
Liyana stared at the last word.
Her vision blurred.
A tear landed on the paper.
Then another.
She pressed the letter against her chest and finally let herself cry.
Inside her mind, Nova stirred.
‘We have an uncle?’
Liyana wiped her face.
"I didn't know."
Nova was quiet for a moment.
‘Why didn’t Maren tell us?’
"I don't know."
Liyana looked at the letter again.
EDRIC.
The name meant nothing to her.
She had never heard it before.
Why had Maren kept him a secret?
What had happened between them?
Why had Edric never come looking for them?
And if he knew about her...
Why had he never come?
Liyana slowly stood.
She walked toward the window.
Outside, Moon Shadow Pack continued as usual.
Wolves walked through the village.
Children played.
Warriors returned from training.
Life had continued.
Even though hers had stopped.
Her eyes fell back to the letter.
SILVER CREST PACK.
She had never been there.
She didn't know anyone there.
She didn't know what waited for her.
Nova moved closer inside their shared mind.
‘What are we going to do?’
Liyana held the letter tightly.
She looked around the cottage one last time.
Everything she had ever known was here.
Maren was here.
Her memories were here.
Her home was here.
But Maren had left her one final direction.
Silver Crest.
Liyana lowered her eyes to the letter.
"I think..."
Her voice broke.
"...we have to go."
Nova didn't answer immediately.
Then, quietly...
‘Okay.’
Liyana folded the letter carefully.
For the first time since Maren's death, she had something to do.
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