" I'm sorry about what i said earlier I am just scared.. I'm so scared and focused on what Otis might do that I haven't been able to live for myself", Cecelia said, holding my mom close " but now for the first time in years I'm happy to be your daughter."
"I forgive u mom ... for what you did to dad I understand why you had to", I finally spoke up as my sister and mother paused in their breathing and they stared at me eyes wide in shock as the room fell silent in what almost felt as forever until my sister spoke up.
"You knew....?" my sister asked as her expression changed to fear then to sadness as tears welled her eyes.
My mother was shocked, her face was white as she looked downwards to the table in shame.
"I killed James....I am so sorry...I killed James"
" Yes sister I knew ....at first I believed you but I thought about it and realized my mom was the one clearly with more blood on her hands that day than yours...so I figured it out....but I'm not hateful neither do I bear anger towards you in the ..."
"slightest..." i paused as I placed a hand on my mom's cheek lifting her face.
"Don't blame yourself it wasn't your fault, ok? You were pushed to your limit and so was all of us... James was a monster if u hadn't snapped... either one of us would have actually done it so its ok mummy."
My mom looked up at me as her face regains her color
"So you forgive me?... You don't hate me?" she asked in a rather low tone as her voice cracked...
"I felt maybe you'll grow to hate mom that's why I lied to you about that I'm sorry..." Cecilia turned away as I hugged them both.
"Its fine i forgive Both of you .... Remember I told you it's not your fault...its the fault of the people around us that watched and refused to help but instead mocked us daily while we suffered " I said rubbing their heads as I eased the embrace and raised a glass of water on the table in a toast.
"We are free and happy now. Let's keep it that way and grow together as a family. Make a toast to family!" I said with confidence as i lifted up a glass of water
"Hahaha, Harry, a toast is normally done with a drink not water.", My sister laughed as she held another cup up
My mom paused for the longest time, smiling and raising another glass of water. "Well, Cecilia, we should make do with what we have"
"Yes, we should"
"To a happy family!"
"To a happy family!!", they chorused. We laughed and talked into the night which, ironically, faded in our last night of happiness.
Well, that night we all laughed and cried and fixed our broken connections... just when I thought maybe, just maybe, I could finally be happy. The warmth of my family's love was like a shelter from the storm, and for a fleeting moment, I let myself believe that we'd found our haven.
But I was wrong.