The Invisible Mystery

Chapter 39: Lighthearted (Thunder)

“Does everyone already know about this?” Liana asked, and I could hear a slight hesitation in her voice, as though she still could not believe that something like this was already happening.

“They do.”

I smiled slightly, as I remembered what happened the night before, back when I finally decided to tell them the truth—that one thing I had been keeping from them right from the start, back when we were still alive.

“And what did they say?”

I lightly shook my head, as though I could not remember correctly what had happened the night before. It was as though all I could remember and grasp as of this moment was that satisfaction that finally… finally, I was able to become so honest with them—that finally, I knew I could let go of the fears that had been stopping me before.

All I could remember was that they said that they already knew right from the start. They said that they already had a hint, and it was only her who had been brave enough to really confirm it.

“They knew all along, but they never said anything about it,” I said as a small smile appeared on my lips, as though all I felt when they confessed about it was genuine happiness and relief.

I never felt anger nor betrayal, just because they never said anything about it. I never felt any negative emotions, because all I felt that time when I finally let all of my secrets go was only gratefulness, as I never thought that they were always considerate about my situation.

“It felt like I did not have to blame myself anymore.”

I did not have to be afraid anymore. I did not have to hesitate, because I knew they were always there. I knew that they were always supporting me, even though I had never been so honest with them—even though I had kept something from them, even though I knew that they deserved to know the truth right from the start.

“It felt like I already knew that all of my hard work before did not go to waste,” I said with a sigh as I looked at the horizon in front of us as I continued what I was saying, “because I knew that they were secretly supporting me behind my back… because I knew that they are always there for me, even though I did not know that.”

Even though I was so afraid of what they would say to me. Even though it felt like I never had the courage to tell them the truth. Even though I have decided to keep all these things to myself, because I always thought that they would judge me for what I was doing—because we have never been on the same status in this society.

I always thought of all those negative results that I never thought of every single time that I was always with them—that I never thought that this friendship that we had was never that shallow.

It was deep. Unbreakable. Stronger than it ever was.

I was wrong, and they proved it otherwise. I thought negatively, but they still accepted it wholeheartedly. I let my fears get the better of me, but they were always there, making me a brave person even though I never knew that I had something like that inside my heart and my mind.

Maybe I really kept on moving forward, because I knew I was holding onto something that I knew would hold me too. Maybe even though I was a bit hesitant about them finding out the truth, it still never stopped me from what I wanted to do—because I knew that I would still keep on moving forward… because I knew that I wanted to hold on, even if I did not know if they could accept it.

“I am glad that I was able to say everything to them,” I said, more to myself than Liana. “I am glad that I managed to finally tell them something that I have been keeping all to myself…. after all this time.”

Maybe I did it because I already knew that nothing would hold me back any longer. Maybe I did it because I already knew that it was my greatest regret that I ever had back when we were all still alive. And maybe I already realized that there was no point in hiding the truth any longer—not when we were already in this kind of situation.

“What about Storm?” Liana asked, and I hummed as soon as I heard that from her. “What did he say about that?”

I smiled as I remembered what he had said to me as soon as I finally found the courage to tell him the truth. That time when I stopped him from walking away from me, as I suddenly found the strength to tell him the truth—the truth that I kept from him, because I knew that I would worry him so much.

“He said he knew all along,” I told her, as though I still could not believe that I was keeping this all my life, and then, suddenly, he knew about it—right from the start. “He said that he became suspicious of me, so he decided to follow me a week after I got my job and started to work the night shift.”

I almost wanted to laugh because of that thought. After all, it never really crossed my mind that he would do something like that. It never really did cross my mind that he would one day find out about the truth, but would never say anything to me because he respected my decisions.

He even said that it made him idolize me more than he ever did before. He said that it made him want to look up at me even more than before, claiming that what I did for our family was enough for him to think that way—for him to think that I was almost like a superhero and not just his brother.

“I honestly did not know what to feel at that time when he said those words to me,” I said as I let out a sigh, because it seemed like I was overwhelmed with what I was feeling at that moment. “It felt like I always thought that he was considerate of me, but I never thought that was his reason why he was doing that.”

I had never imagined that he always knew about it, and I always thought that he only wanted to strive harder than before. I always thought that he only wanted to study harder than he intended to do the moment that we entered Pristine University, but it seemed like I was wrong all along.

I was wrong, because he always knew all along about my work. He always knew those things that I was doing just so we would still be able to continue our studies at the university. He always knew, but he never said anything to me at all.

There were no hard feelings though. Just like when I finally told the whole section about my secret, I felt that time was a relief—all I felt was genuine happiness and gratefulness that he was always there for me.

I did not know why, but I never felt betrayed. I never felt anything like that, because all I had in my heart at that moment was genuine happiness that I never felt before—those genuine feelings that I was having a hard time figuring out before.

I felt lighthearted, as though I already knew that everything was already complete in my life. I felt happiness, as though I knew that I did not have to worry about anything any longer, because I knew that I did not have any regrets anymore—at least, not in this life… not when I knew that we were also bound to meet in the afterlife.

“I wanted to tell you all of this, because I know that you deserve to know every single thing about me…” I smiled a little as I did not dare to look at Liana’s side, as though I did not want to see how sad she looked at that moment. “About us.”

She was already important to us. She has already become a vital part of this friendship that we managed to build after all these years. She was already part of Section A, even though we were not supposed to exist in this world any longer—even though if we were still alive, there might be a five-year age gap between her and all of us.

“I wanted to be honest with all of you,” I said to her, as I continued to stare at the sky in front of us. “And I must say that is my greatest wish that I always wanted to fulfill.”

That is the answer that I have been looking for. That was the thing that I was so afraid to do, because I always thought that no one would be able to accept the truth that I kept from them.

I was always afraid that I never had the chance to look at the brighter side of the situation that I had. I was always afraid, but not until now that I already knew they would always be there for me—not until now that I had already found this courage that I never thought I would have at the last minute that I was here in this world.

“Is that the reason why you were saying all these things to me right now?” Liana asked, and I knew I did not imagine how her voice trembled as though she was trying to stop her tears from falling.

“Don’t cry, Liana,” I told her, as I finally looked at her side, but it seemed like it was her last straw and she could not stop her tears from falling anymore. “You have to remember that even though we are not here anymore, our memories will still be kept inside our hearts.”

She was one of a kind. She was someone that we all knew we were all grateful to know, especially at this time when we needed someone’s help to uncover every single thing that we needed so that we could finally let go of this world—of our memories.

“How could I not cry when I already knew that anytime from now, you have to go?” she asked me, as the tears she was trying to stop had finally fallen from her eyes. “How could I stop myself from weeping, when I knew that you were bound to go and I did not have any choice but to watch you go away?”

I smiled at her as I knew that she was having a hard time accepting everything that was happening as of that moment. After all, even though we all knew that she had accepted to help us find a way to cross the afterlife, she would still have a hard time trying to accept everything—she would have a hard time coping with our disappearance.

“You have to let go of those feelings, Liana.”

“Why? Because I did not have a choice but to accept the fact that you will all leave me one day?” she asked, and I knew that it was all because of the emotions that she was feeling at that moment. “Was it because I have to get accustomed to you would not be on my side anymore?”

“No, Liana,” I answered, as I lightly shook my head at her and looked at her straight in her eyes so that she would know that all of the things that I was saying at that moment were all from my heart. “You have to let go of that feeling you have right now, so that you can remember all the happiness that you felt while we were still on your side.”

“I… I do not want to let you go.”

Tears threatened to fall from my eyes when I heard that from her, but I also knew that I did not have any choice at that moment—I already knew that I did not have any choice but to make her accept the fact that it was already the end for me.

“I still wanted to be with you guys for a little while.”

It was already time for me to go, and I knew that I did not have the time left to console her with what she was feeling at that moment.