Diana inserted the key into the door lock and opened the door to her house. Once inside, Diana took off her shoes and placed them on the designated rack for sandals and shoes.
She stared at a figure that had suddenly appeared a few meters ahead of her. Her initially empty, lifeless gaze shifted into a dazed look.
"Sis..." Diana called out to the figure in front of her.
She saw the figure smile, prompting her to approach slowly while whispering,
"Sis, promise me... Promise me that you won’t leave. Promise me you will always stay with me. Promise me..." Diana’s voice trembled.
"...You won’t leave me. You will always be by my side, no matter what happens. Don’t leave me alone..."
Diana was now standing right in front of the figure.
She struggled to swallow the lump in her throat, which hurt. She tried not to cry.
Diana looked at the figure, who remained silent, just smiling gently at her.
"What’s wrong, sis?" Diana stepped closer to the figure and touched her sister’s shoulder.
They just stared at each other for a few minutes. Diana opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Her hand that had been resting on the shoulder slowly dropped to her side. Then, Diana took a step back, distancing herself from the figure of her sister.
"Don’t tell me this is just my imagination. Don’t tell me you’re just a figment of my imagination!" Diana shook her head. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. When she opened her eyes again, what she saw wasn’t much better.
There, Diana still saw the figure. But now, the figure wasn’t alone. There, where Diana had seen her sister, she now also saw the figures of her parents together with her sister.
How could this be?!
The sight made Diana fall to the floor, sitting. Her eyes were starting to fill with tears, even though she had been able to hold them in earlier while she was outside. Her body trembled as well.
"Diana." A voice called from behind her. Diana didn’t realize that someone had just entered her house.
Diana turned her head to look behind her. Again, she opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Then, Diana didn’t feel her tears falling, streaming down her face.
---
David walked down the quiet street. It was only natural since it was already quite late. Occasionally, he checked his phone, looking for any new messages.
Actually, David didn’t need to do this since his phone wasn’t in silent mode. Of course, it would ring if there was a new message or notification.
Even so, David still checked his phone because he was waiting for a reply from his sister. Diana hadn’t responded to his messages or answered his calls.
But now, he didn’t need to worry about it anymore because he was already near his house. Only a few more houses to go to before he reached home.
When he arrived, David opened the gate and walked a few meters before opening his front door, which, like the gate, wasn’t locked. This only made David more certain that Diana had already come home.
David opened the door and stepped inside. He didn’t realize that someone was nearby. Right after David entered and closed the door, intending to take off his shoes, he saw someone sitting on the floor of his house.
It was none other than Diana. There, Diana sat, trembling.
"Diana." David spontaneously called her name.
Diana turned her head, showing part of her face from the side. She was about to say something. Maybe she was about to respond to David’s call. But no sound came from her, and David’s eyes widened as he saw Diana’s tears falling.
David immediately stepped closer to Diana. He didn’t care if he hadn’t taken off his shoes yet; he crouched down next to her.
David was now beside Diana, his body turned to face her as she looked up. His hand touched her shoulder and face.
"What’s wrong? What happened?" David asked, panicked.
"Sis..." Diana finally managed to speak when David touched her shoulder.
Diana embraced David while continuing to cry. David hugged her back. He knew what was going on.
His sister wouldn’t be like this if she hadn’t been thinking too much about their parents.
And she wouldn’t have been thinking about their parents if something hadn’t triggered it. Something deeply connected to their parents.
Of course, everything in this house was related to their parents, but Diana had gotten used to living here without losing control.
Except for one part of the house, the master bedroom. The room was always locked. David thought Diana had already fully adjusted, although David still didn’t dare to put up photos of their parents in the house again.
This time, David realized something had happened to Diana while she was outside because she wasn’t near the master bedroom right now. He needed to calm her down and get her to rest.
Tomorrow, David would have to take action. He would bring Diana to someone if this continued. He would take Diana for a consultation.
***
"Where have you been?"
That question was ignored by Revan. He continued walking toward his room, passing the person who had asked.
"Stop!"
Revan didn’t respond and kept walking.
"Still the same. Always acting like a disrespectful child!"
Revan stopped. "You haven’t changed either. Still harsh and angry." Revan knew the risk of replying like that.
What happened next was that Revan’s shoulder was grabbed from behind, forcing him to turn around. A fist came at him. Revan, who was used to fighting, easily blocked the punch.
"You should know that this is what would happen if you talked to me with that arrogance of yours..." Revan said, his eyes narrowing as he continued.
"...Dad."
The person Revan called Dad gritted his teeth in anger.
"It’s a good thing I still call you Dad," Revan said as he roughly pulled away from his father’s grip.
"Revan!" The scolding didn’t come from the man called ‘Dad.’ Revan saw Valen staring at him sharply.
Revan swatted away his father’s hand from his shoulder. He tried to control his anger with Valen present.
"Can’t you both set aside your egos for the sake of your relationship?!" Valen said.
Silence.
"It’s always like this," Valen added softly.
"Tch," Revan clicked his tongue, then turned to go to his room and locked the door, completely ignoring the two people who were watching him with different emotions.
For sure, none of them felt happy.
Even so, his father wouldn’t give up. The words coming from his mouth reflected his anger. The words were hurtful. Revan was used to it, quickly putting on his headphones.
"You should be grateful that I still let you stay here because Valen asked me to! But you’re useless. You don’t even know how to be thankful. If only you had a little of your sister’s qualities!"
"Enough, Dad!" Valen scolded his father this time.
"Why? Oh right. No matter what I say, he’ll never care," their father said as he walked away, not giving Valen a chance to reply.
"No... At least not all of what I say is ignored. If Dad would speak calmly," Valen mumbled sadly.
Valen knew that if there was no ego between them, things wouldn’t be like this. They might seem to be constantly putting each other down, but in reality, they both felt guilty.
It was that guilt that made both Revan and their father feel like their relationship couldn’t improve. They were too stubborn to apologize. Neither wanted to back down first.
If only they could let go of their egos and talk openly. They would be able to listen to each other.
Then, they would know that neither of them wanted to hurt the other. Communication was crucial.
Mom, what if neither of them wants to back down? Will they keep going like this? Valen thought, staring at the large family photo frame.