Twilight Requiem

Ivan’s Childhood

“Leukemia, end-stage.”

When Calie heard the words that came out of her mate’s lips, she felt like her whole world crumbled around her.

“W-What? N-No. That can’t be real!” Calie whispers, not wanting to alarm their son playing in the living room. She and her husband are at the kitchen counter when Ian dropped the bomb on her, his medical diagnosis.

Ian reached out to hold her hand.

“There must be a mistake. We should get a second opinion, third or fourth, I don’t care,” she said.

Ian shook his head.

“I had already seen two other oncologists, and their diagnosis is the same. " It's end stage,” he told her.

Tears began to pour down Calie’s face, and then she shook her head.

“No, I refuse to accept that. You should get treated, no matter how much it costs. My family has the best medical equipment and medicines that can help,” she pressed.

Ian brought her hand to his lips.

“There is nothing we can do, baby. This is my end, this is what was given to me, and I accept it,” he said.

Calie pulled her hand from him and stood up.

“No! I will not accept it! I will do everything to make sure you live!” she exclaimed.

Ian glanced at their son before he carefully pulled his wife to sit.

“Baby, listen. No matter what you do, this is the end for me. Even if I am not sick, I will still die while you and our son live on,” he said, and Calie felt a chill run down her spine.

She was just reminded that even if she and Ivan live long and young forever, that is not the case with Ian. He is an ordinary human with a short lifespan. As an idea came to mind, she looked at her husband intently and spoke.

“I can turn you. You become my fledgling, and you will live forever with us.”

Ian’s face hardened, and then he took a deep breath as he looked down.

“As much as I love to spend eternity with you and our son, I have already accepted my fate,” he said.

Calie was about to speak, but Ian stopped her.

“I do not wish to live forever, as I believe that everything in this world has a beginning and an end. I am at my end, my finish line. I accepted that,”

Calie scowled, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“I don’t accept it. You are my mate. We are bonded forever, and if you die, I will die in heartbreak. Half of me will die with you. Do you have any idea how painful that is? I built this life with you, and I will see to it that this lasts forever, even if I –“

“I also wish not to be brough back,”

Ian spoke, cutting off Calie’s sentence.

Calie’s eyes widened when he said that.

“What?”

Ian heaved a deep breath and continued.

“Please, respect my wishes. I know it will be hard for you, but I know you are strong. You will get over this once I am gone.”

Calie looked at her husband in disappointment.

“Are you just going to accept this and not do anything? Ian, if you don’t care about my feelings, at least think about our son. Ivan is just seven; he needs his father. You cannot leave us like this,” she pressed.

Ian glanced towards his son’s direction, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Having Ivan is the greatest gift I have ever received. You and Ivan completed me, but my time is up. I already extended it for as long as I can. It’s the end for me,”

When Ian said that, Calie felt like there was something he wasn’t telling her. Calie then grabbed his wrist.

“Ian, is there something you aren’t telling me?” she asked.

Ian stared at her and then shook his head.

“I already hid something this big from you; there is nothing else,” he said.

Calie was still not convinced. She continued to press her mate, even pushing him to get treatment. While they were discussing in the kitchen, young Ivan, who was playing in the living room, could hear everything his parents were talking about.

It hasn’t been long since he started hearing better than all the kids and grown-ups around him. Calie hasn’t explained anything to Ivan about what he is or what her family really is, so Ivan, in his young mind, thought he was becoming a superhero.

At that moment, to others, he may look like just a kid playing on his own while his parents discuss something, but in reality, he was building his LEGO set while listening to his parents.

Ivan couldn’t understand what they were talking about at first, but when he heard about his father leaving, he felt scared. Ivan loves his father so much. He is his hero, even wanted to be a police officer when he grew up.

As a lone tear rolled down his chubby cheek, Ivan quietly got up from the living room floor and went outside their house without his parents noticing. Their house was small, but it had a huge lawn that his mother turned into a beautiful garden.

Ivan went to the garden where he made a small fort with his father. It was made up of twigs that are now covered with vines, and was big enough to fit two figures inside. He went inside, cried as he hugged his legs to his chest. Next thing he knows, squirrels and wild rabbits came into the fort. The animals circled around Ivan as if they were comforting him.

**************************************.

In the end, Calie was able to convince Ian to try to get treatment. Though the prognosis isn’t as good as they hoped. Calie and Ian then decided to tell their son about his father’s condition, and they were both surprised when the boy told them that he knew.

“How did you know?” Calie asked.

“I heard you and Dad talking in the kitchen. Dad is leaving us.”

Ivan replied, and then he looked at his father.

“Don’t you love us anymore?” he asked innocently. He cried to his parents, making Ian and Calie look at each other before they comforted him.

“Oh, buddy,”

Ian cooed, and then he pulled his son to his arms.

“Daddy loves you and mommy very much, but sometimes, there are things that happen for a reason, and humans cannot do anything about it,” Ian said, and Calie looked at him, still wanted to press him about turning.

Ivan then pulled away from his father and looked at him. He then reached up to touch his cheek.

“Are you sick, Daddy? You look sick,” he said.

Ian sighed and looked at his son, then nodded.

“Daddy is sick, you are right,” he answered, then he stroked his head.

“I am not leaving you because I want to. I love you and your mother so much, and if I have a choice, I wouldn’t leave you.”

Calie grabbed his arm.

“You have a choice, Ian. I am offering you a choice; all you need to do is accept it,” she pressed, and Ian looked at her.

“And I already told you, no. This is what God wanted for me, I will accept and embrace it,” he replied.

Calie cried, walking out of them. Ivan looked at the door where his mother had gone and then at his father. He doesn’t understand what his mother was talking about and why his father is against what his mother wanted.

Days passed, and Ian continued his treatment, and when his body could no longer take it, they stopped it, and Ian spent his days in the hospital. Whenever Calie stayed with Ian, she would leave Ivan with her father, who came to visit.

Despite their efforts to find the best treatment for Ian, his body still gave up, and one night, while Calie was in his arms, he passed away peacefully. During Ian’s wake, Calie remained quiet; she wouldn’t talk to anyone and just stared at her mate’s casket.

Calie’s family, as well as Ian’s family and workmates, came and offered their condolences. Ian’s parents would take care of Ivan as the young boy had no understanding of what was happening. Even Ian’s colleagues would play with Ian, looking after him, caring for him, keeping him busy while the adults console the young widow.

During the funeral, cries of loss echoed through the cemetery from friends and family of Ian, but Calie… she remained silent. She was just staring blankly ahead, her face looked gaunt as she hadn’t been eating or sleeping. Her mother and father had to hold her as they felt like her knees would give out any minute.

As the ceremony went on, Ivan was asleep in his other grandmother’s arms. Ian’s mother was very heartbroken, and holding her grandson in her arms eased the pain a little bit.

The sound of the priest’s voice awoke Ivan, and as he rubbed the sleep off his eyes, he saw two figures not too far from them, standing by a huge willow tree. Ivan straightened his back while still in his grandmother’s arms. He furrowed his eyebrows as he thought he was seeing his father, standing next to a tall man with long black hair.

Ivan rubbed his eyes again and looked, but this time, the two figures were gone. Behind the huge willow tree, the tall man with long black hair heaved a deep breath.

“He saw us,” he said.

“But how?”

Ian asked.

He is now nothing but the soul that was in the grasp of Death. The man looked at him and smirked.

“He is special,” he answered.

Then their attention went back towards where the funeral had just ended. Some of the guests have left, and that’s when Calie started crying. Her cries were loud and filled with pain, and the sky joined her as it started raining hard.

***********************************.

A few days after the funeral, Calie remained quiet, barely sleeping and touching the food on the table. Her parents grew worried about her, so they decided to take her back to Stone Castle. Ian’s parents also agreed, as they thought Calie and Ivan would be taken better care of with her family.

Back in Stone Castle, Ivan was surprised to see where they would be living. He was used to their small home, but now, they are in not just a huge house but a huge castle where a lot of people live.

Ivan was able to adjust quickly to his new surroundings. He found new friends among the children there, not to mention his cousins, who always stuck to his side every time they could. Even though he has felt at home in Stone Castle, he couldn’t help but notice how his mother rarely comes out of her room.

“Why is my mommy not joining us for breakfast again?”

Ivan asked as he joined everyone for breakfast. He looked at his grandparents, who looked at each other before looking at him.

“Ivan, you see… your mother is still grieving the loss of your father. Let us give her some time to deal with her grief.”

His grandmother told him.

He looked at her, not really understanding her.

“Why was my dad not here?” he asked again.

This time, his grandparents opened their mouths to speak, but didn’t know what to tell him. Ivan then looked down at his plate, that is now filled with delicious food that his aunt Zab had given him.

“I saw him in the cemetery; he was with a man. He just stood there while mommy was crying,” he said.

Ivan didn’t notice that everyone at the table looked at him in surprise before looking at each other.

“I don’t understand why he didn’t come with us.”

Ivan spoke, and then Camilla stroked his back.

“What do you mean you saw your daddy?” she asked.

Ivan looked at her and answered.

“I saw him standing by the tree with a man I had never seen before. He was just there watching us, and then he left. He left mommy and me,”

Then he started crying. Camilla sighed and pulled his youngest grandson into her arms before looking at everyone else. At that moment, they all thought the same thing. They think that Ivan has seen his father’s ghost.

******************************.

As Ivan was getting used to his new life in Stone Castle, he also began to notice some things, like why there were so many huge wolves running around the castle grounds, and he also noticed that there weren’t many old people in their little community, unlike where they used to live, where elderly people were living in their street alone.

One day, Ivan went to see his grandparents and asked them.

“Grandma, grandpa, why aren’t you old?”

When they heard their grandson ask that question, they couldn’t help but giggle.

“What do you mean?” Camilla asked as she put Ivan on her lap.

“Grandma Josie and Grandpa Isaac are both old people. Their hair is gray, and their skin is all wrinkled,” Ivan started as Liam and Camilla were trying not to laugh.

“How come you and grandpa looked really young. You looked like Aunt Zab and Uncle Alex?”

Camilla smiled at him.

“Maybe it's time for you to know something about our family,” she started, and then Liam put his hand on his mate’s shoulder.

“Babe, are you sure about this? Shouldn’t Calie be the one to tell him the truth?” Liam asked her.

Camilla looked at him and replied.

“In Calie’s state right now, she is not fit to explain the truth to her son. Liam, I am sure you can feel and see how Ivan is beginning to notice, and there are changes in him that he will find confusing. It's our job to explain them to him.”

Liam then glanced at Ivan, who was looking at them with his big, round eyes. He then let out a sigh of defeat and nodded his head.

“You are right. Tell him,” he said.

Camilla smiled, then looked at Ivan.

“Ivan, I need you to listen to me carefully. Grandma will be explaining some things to you about our family. I need you to listen carefully and ask questions about it after I am done speaking, is that clear?” she spoke.

Ivan looked at her intently and nodded. Camilla smiled again and stroked his cheek.

“Alright. Let’s begin,”

Camilla and Liam then started explaining everything to Ivan, starting with the fact that the world was not just occupied by humans but also by creatures of different species.