That night, while the village rested in a tense calm, Yuli couldn't sleep. Her thoughts wandered between memories, difficult decisions, and a name that never stopped echoing inside her: her sister.
By the soft glow of an oil lamp, she made her way to the village records office, where Sol, on security watch that night, greeted her with a curious smile.
"Another sleepless night?" Sol asked, closing her laptop.
"I need to check something," Yuli replied, her voice serious. "It's about my past."
Sol led her to a protected corner, where the digital recruitment archives were stored under biometric locks. With special clearance from the Aunt, who had begun to place deeper trust in Yuli, they accessed her original adoption file.
The screen displayed cold, precise data: name, estimated age, place of origin, and a fragment of the report from the day she was found. But what struck Yuli most was a note, handwritten by the Aunt:
"The girl claims to have lost an older sister during a storm. Presumed dead, though the body was never found. Approach the topic with sensitivity."
Yuli swallowed hard. Emotion hit her like a wave. She remembered the night of the accident vividly, screams, the beam falling, the moment she woke up alone...
Sol, noticing her expression, gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?"
"My sister is alive," Yuli said with conviction. "I can feel it. I just know."
The next morning, Yuli requested an urgent meeting with the Aunt. Kaela, Sol, Varka, and the young King were also present.
"I've never spoken of this before," Yuli began, "because I wasn't even sure myself how it all happened. But now I know. I lost my twin sister when I was six, a year before arriving at the orphanage. They always told me she died, but I never saw her body. It was never confirmed. Just the storm… and then, silence."
Everyone listened in solemn silence. The Aunt closed her eyes, as though searching for something deep within her mind.
"Do you have any idea where she might be?" asked the King.
"No. But I want to look for her. And I need your help to do it. I don't care how long it takes."
There was a pause, stillness in the room, before Kaela stepped forward.
"Then we'll find her, Yuli. Together."
Sol nodded with a smile.
"We'll search every corner if we have to."
The Aunt finally spoke, her voice soft but unwavering:
"There are truths the heart senses long before reason can grasp them. If your heart feels she's alive, we won't ignore that. We'll prepare a search. But you must be ready, for whatever you may find."
Yuli nodded. Her eyes no longer held doubt. Only resolve.
That same night, somewhere else in the kingdom, a girl with Yuli's eyes murmured in her sleep:
"I never believed she was dead… I've felt her all this time."