200 Did She Ever Have The Chance?

SP and NP.

Two initials were what welcomed him upon seeing the two tombs at the top of the hill.

Laying quietly atop were two tombstones, the surrounding was peaceful. Despite it being night time, the place was not creepy at all.

Instead it felt so peaceful, too peaceful that his heart started hurting, hurting for the two people lying underneath the ground.

"The place wasn't as peaceful as this when they were buried here. It was a normal natural hill, with weeds and bushes. Their daughter dragged their bodies up here and did her best to bury them."

"It was a stormy night and her body just came from an accident that no other could have been able to do it. But she did and she did it splendidly."

Alissa started speaking as Timothy stared at the tombs.

He slowly looked at her, "Please tell me that what I am thinking is not true. Tell me that whatever it is that I have just realized is not true."

"You tell me then, what are you thinking now?" Alissa asked as she stepped closer to him, holding his hand all over again.

She fear that he might suddenly run, literally run away from here once he finds out everything.

Timothy slowly shook his head his hands started trembling.

"Tell me Timothy," she insisted.

"No, it is impossible," he replied before looking back at the tombs.

"They were buried, their pictures or even their names couldn't be placed in their tombs. It was a secret their daughter wanted to keep, keep from their enemies and keep even from her very own brothers."

Upon hearing this, he felt like the ground was shaking, his breathing turned uneven.

He once again looked at her. His eyes pleading, asking her to tell him everything was unreal.

The pride he showed while getting mad at Amber for bringing up a topic about his sister slowly crumbled.

His whole world slowly crumbled.

"Ask me Timothy, ask me what you want to know."

She was now pleading as well. Bringing him here already took all the courage in her.

She couldn't bring herself to tell him that indeed this was the resting place of their parents she just couldn't do so.

Tears fell from his eyes before he could even ask.

His heart felt like it was being stabbed.

Without her saying anything, with the way she brought him here. And the way she was begging him to ask, that she couldn't bring herself to tell him straight.

He already knew the reason why he was brought here.

He slowly turned away, he wanted to leave. This is not what was on his mind.

This is not what he and Xander would have wanted.

They had been saying that they hated their parents but to suddenly be said that they are gone from this world. Even their hatred couldn't overshadow the pain.

They still have their wonderful memories, the sweet ones and the loving ones.

As he started walking away, Alissa held unto his hand tighter.

"You can't Timothy, you must now. You have to face it now."

"NO!!!"

He flung his hand throwing Alissa off guard, she lost her balance and ended up sitting down on the ground.

He was startled by this but his feet couldn't move to help her up.

He once again turned around and Alissa, as stubborn as she is, stood up and this time, hugged him from the back.

"I'm begging you to stop running away. Your sister faced it, are you going to stay stagnant all your life? You are already old enough, you are old enough Timothy. Please don't run away from this, don't run away from her. She needs you."

He slowly knelt down as she followed him. She hugged him tighter from behind as she cried together with him.

She was saying, 'I am here, I am here.'

His silent cry turned to that of a wail, they were so sure.

So sure that they are still out there, living their lives.

Amber was right, both he and Xander were using their hatred towards their parents to continue living.

So that one day they can tell them that they have lived despite being abandoned by them.

Alissa hugged him tight as both of them knelt down in front of the tombstones not minding the darkness of the night with only a two to four lamp lights from the bottom of the hill to the top.

After a long while, both were already sitting on the ground.

Alissa couldn't feel her knees, kneeling that long was too much for her. It was more torturous than standing long as a model.

Timothy was still in a state of shock, after crying his eyes out, he remained staring at the initials and she has no idea just what it is that was going on in his mind.

'I can somehow imagine what Ashton felt when he faces Amber as she recollects about her parents.'

Her eyes were also red, she had cried with him as he wailed like a child a while ago.

But maybe wail is an exaggeration?

Who knows, all she knew was that he was crying loud.

"She…"

She looked at him when he finally spoke up.

"You said she buried them… seeing the year, she was just sixteen then…"

Tears started to fall again as he started speaking about Nathalie.

He couldn't imagine, hell it pains him just the thought that the once sickly girl was burying their own parents, with her own hands right after they have died.

"And that it was raining…"

He was having difficultly in speaking.

"It was a stormy night, she buried them at such time," she continued what he wants to say.

She didn't want to hide any fact of what happened to him.

Amber's suffering and difficulty.

These are things he needs to face as well, if he truly loves his sister that much.

So that he would have the chance to really face her when they meet again.

"For you to know this… to know about what happened…"

He looked at her as if begging her to tell him that he was wrong this time.

That it was someone else this time.

Alissa slowly shakes her head, "All your sister wanted was for you to live the way you always have. That is why she didn't want to include you in her revenge. You do know right? That her greatest guilt was abandonment."

He covered his face with both hands.

"It is because she felt responsible for the fact that both of you were abandoned only because of her. That is why she chose to live a life that is separate than yours. But maybe because you guys are siblings, that it was inevitable for her to be with you."

"She was already contented with just being friends with you but it pains her a lot to hear you hating your parents. She always thinks that everything was her fault, why must it be your parents who should receive your hatred?"

Timothy looked up at the tombstones, his hatred dissipated the moment he found out of their deaths, it was replaced with nothing but sorrow.

"But didn't she think that we… also have the right to know?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Did she ever have the chance?" Alissa asked in return.

Timothy fell silent, he had told them that he wouldn't even care if they were dead. Yet here he was slapped with the truth.

That they really are dead.

That they will really never see them ever again.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

He grabbed his hair, "You suddenly show me this and made me realize that I have been hurting my sister all this time. What am I supposed to do then?!?!?"

"How do you expect me to react to all of these?"

Alissa started crying again as she can see the pain visible in his whole being.

"Then do you wish to be oblivious all your life? Do you wish to accept the fact that they can't fully be at peace because of your hatred?" she asked as she grabbed his shoulder and made him face her.

"I don't know!!!" he shakes off her hands and stood up, turning his back from the tombs.

"She decided this after all, she wanted this right? Why must you show it to me? Why must you complicate everything else!!" he blurted out.

"Why must I? It is because you are hurting the both of you. You are hurting her with everything that you are saying but you are also hurting the future you who would surely find out about this in the future," she retorted standing up as well.

Timothy turned away from her and walked to the nearest tree punching it.

"They left just like that yet they died just like that as well?!? What do they expect from us?"

Alissa bit her lower lip as she cried even more.

He leaned his head on the trunk of the tree, as his clenched hands rests on it as well.

Alissa was crying her eyes out behind him.

She can tell that if it were Amber in her stead, she would feel even more pained and more suffering.

Her who loves him and loves Amber was already feeling so pained what more if it was she?

They stood there for another good while.

Timothy opted to leaning on his side and once again staring at the tombstones.

"What am I supposed to do now then? What do you want me to do now? Why? Why must you always be like this?" he couldn't help but ask.

Being the eldest, he was supposed to be the one taking care of his siblings yet why is it that it was their youngest that are looking after them?

He looked to the side when he felt a pair of cold hands holding his own.

"Stay strong, that���s what you have to do. Just as how your sister stayed strong and moved forward, you have to as well," she answered his question to his parents.

After staring at each other for a while, he finally asked the question he wanted to ask Nathalie if they ever met. 'How was she?'

"When you first met her, how was she?" he asked.

Alissa smiled, "She was cooped up in her room for about two weeks."

Timothy reacted by gritting his teeth.

"But she stood back up with clearheadedness," Alissa continued, holding his hand tighter.

"She always uses everything she experiences as a stepping stone to grow even more. That's how we met her."

"She stopped crying?" he asked again.

"No, she would always cry on her own but somehow at some point she started crying in the presence of Ashton. I think back then, she just felt at ease with him?" she answered with a smile.

"With us, there are times she look sad but most of the time, she was cheerful. So it is a relief that she could cry somehow with someone."

Timothy sighed, everything was still a mess for him but knowing that she was able to relief the grief somehow was enough to calm him down even just for a bit.