Madison looked at her niece, her eyes sparkling with joy and filled to the brim with happiness.
"You should have them all for yourself—the cookies," Madison said.
Lucy took a cookie and a glass of freshly poured orange juice, beginning to munch on it happily.
"Was the trip stressful?" Madison asked gently.
"No, aunt, it was fine," Lucy replied.
Madison smiled. For fourteen years, she had carried an immense, heavy burden of depression after losing Lucy at the train station. She had lived with the agonizing weight of feeling careless for losing her niece.
"I'm glad we are able to reunite again," Madison whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
Lucy gave a small nod, acutely aware of how difficult those long years had been—not just for her aunt, but for herself as well.
"It gives me great joy seeing you again, and you being here makes me feel fulfilled. I don't know how I survived those years, but I didn't stop searching for you. I did everything I could, hiring the best investigators to look into your whereabouts. And you were in Bellth City all this time! I didn't even know. I'm glad you were able to reach out to me and not give up on finding me. I'm so sorry, Lucy," Madison said, sounding truly terrible with herself.
"It was never your fault, aunty. You tried your best in searching for me," Lucy assured her, looking directly into Madison's green eyes, which were filled with sadness.
"Still, I should have been more careful. I should never have lost you. If I had never let go of your hand that day while you were walking with me, you would never have gone missing. I'm truly sorry for being careless."
"Aunt," Lucy called out softly. "It never was your fault. You didn't think I'd go missing; it was an honest mistake."
Lucy offered reassurance as she took a sip from her glass of juice.
"Thanks, Lucy, I'm grateful. And I'm sorry you must have gone through a lot. I know things were not easy for you, and I am sorry—deeply sorry."
"I'm fine, aunt, it was all fine."
"You are such a sweet thing. I know you must have gone through a lot, yet you're saying everything is fine. It's not fine to me, but I am just so happy to see you home," Madison said earnestly.
Lucy was deeply pleased hearing her aunt's words, comforted to know her aunt truly felt her pain and celebrated her return home.
"You should tell me if you want more cookies. I prepared a lot for you and made plenty of pastries. I should go get them, along with your favorite meals," Madison offered, remembering the list of snacks and favorite dishes Lucy had mentioned to her over the phone.
"Thanks, aunt Madison," Lucy said, drinking her juice as Madison smiled tenderly and walked off to fetch the pastries.
During the rest of the evening, they chatted warmly about family. Madison showed Lucy old photographs of her mother and father, noting how strikingly alike the twin sisters looked. Lucy happily finished the cookies, which were so extremely delicious she could clearly taste the love her aunt had poured into her baking. Madison shared the story of how Lucy's father and mother first met. That evening, they shared a wonderful dinner together at the dining table, talking happily about Lucy's future and the life they would build together.
At 6:40 PM that same day, back at the Hoxton apartment, Elsa initiated a video call to Lucy. Elsa had received a text message earlier letting her know Lucy had safely arrived in Brighmittam.
"How was it?" Elsa asked, looking through the screen at Lucy, who was settled comfortably in a chair in a cozy, decent, and beautiful background, holding her phone.
"It was good, things are great, and I just finished having supper."
"Okay, how's your aunt?"
"Aunt Madison is fine, and right now she is feeding Miss Sammy, our dog. Sammy is a she, and she likes me a lot," Lucy said, making Elsa smile with the knowledge that her best friend was happy and settled at home.
"Your aunt must have been so freaking happy to see you after those long years of separation," Elsa smiled.
"Yes, she was indeed happy. And you know, she looks just like my mum—my mum and my aunt are twins! She showed me my mum's picture, and they looked exactly alike."
"Wow, that's shocking."
"Yes, it is! And my aunt bought me a brand new phone as a welcome gift. She says she has a lot of gifts for me."
"Lucky you, girl!" Elsa laughed, and Lucy chuckled.
"You know, this afternoon Mrs. Spain showed up at our door to see you. I told her you had left, and she was sad to know you've moved on, but she wished you a happy life."
"Awnn, I will miss everyone over there," Lucy said cheerfully.
Just then, Madison walked into the room, and Elsa smiled, missing her Lucy.
"Who are you talking to?" Madison asked, looking at Lucy.
"It's Elsa, my sister," Lucy replied.
Madison had heard many wonderful things about Elsa from Lucy. Elsa could hear Madison's voice in the background through the phone speaker.
"Oh, Elsa! I want to have a word with her. May I, Lucy?" Madison asked.
Lucy had previously told her aunt all about how Elsa had helped her at the orphanage, paid their rent, and stood by her through thick and thin. Madison had been deeply touched and grateful for Elsa's kindness and responsibility, knowing Lucy had been blessed with such a good companion.
"Okay, aunt," Lucy said, turning to Elsa. "My aunt wants to have a word with you."
Hearing that, Elsa felt a flutter of happiness. "Okay," she replied, and Lucy handed her phone over to Madison.
Madison looked at the screen, seeing a young lady who looked pretty and wholesome.
"You must be Elsa," Madison said warmly, a bright smile gracing her face as she took a seat on the couch.
"Yes, aunty," Elsa responded respectfully.
Elsa saw the striking resemblance between Lucy and her aunt; Madison shared Lucy's vibrant green eyes, though they had different hair colors. Though Elsa knew Madison must be older, she looked to be in her early thirties.
"You can call me Aunt Madison, Elsa," Madison invited kindly.
"Okay, aunt Madison," Elsa said, watching Madison's reassuring smile. Elsa imagined how overjoyed the woman must feel after reuniting with Lucy following so many painful years apart.
"Good. I heard how nice you are to my niece, and I'm grateful for that. I'm glad you two were able to look out for yourselves and support each other from the orphanage to your adult years," Madison said, expressing deep gratitude for Elsa's positive presence in Lucy's life.
"It's fine, we grew up together and consider ourselves sisters. We had to look out for each other," Elsa answered honestly.
"That's lovely to know, and I'm glad to have someone like you, Elsa, in my niece's life. Thank you so much for everything—for being someone my Lucy could call a good sister."
"It's a pleasure, aunt Madison," Elsa responded, receiving a warm, appreciative smile in return.
"I'll be giving the phone back to Lucy now," Madison said, thoroughly convinced that Elsa was a genuinely good person.
"Okay, aunty," Elsa said.
Madison handed the phone back to Lucy, confident that Lucy's honest praise of Elsa was completely true.
"Your aunt is such a nice person," Elsa gushed once Lucy was back on the screen. "She was thanking me for being a good sister and said lots of nice things about me being the best sister you ever had. I feel so happy!"
"You are the kindest sister ever, Elsa, and I am glad to have you as my family," Lucy said.
Madison, meanwhile, felt a profound sense of relief and joy. Knowing her niece was surrounded by such caring, responsible people warmed her heart.
"I am blushing right now because of what you said," Elsa admitted, smiling broadly as she and Lucy gazed at each other through the screen. "I felt a little nervous when your aunt said she wanted to talk to me!"
"It's normal," Lucy smiled.
"Yes. What did you even tell aunt Madison that made her thank me so much? I didn't do that much, did I?"
"I told her you were such a kind, supportive friend, you know."
"I see! She thanked me so much, I felt like I could burst with excitement honestly," Elsa laughed happily.
In truth, Elsa rarely received praises from people, and her heart had raced with joy and gladness knowing she was deeply appreciated by Lucy's aunt.
"And your aunt is pretty—so pretty!" Elsa added.
"I realize that," Lucy chuckled, remembering how surprised she had been to learn her aunt was in her early forties, having initially mistaken her for being in her twenties or early thirties.
"Don't forget about me and chat with me okay?" Elsa asked, considering Lucy her only real family.
"I will, always," Lucy promised.
After chatting a bit longer, Elsa went to sleep with a heart full of happiness, deeply touched by Aunt Madison's gratitude.
On her end, Lucy was guided by her aunt to her designated bedroom. Lucy kissed her aunt on the cheek and said, "Goodnight, aunt."
"I do hope you like your room. If you don't like it, there's the next room available," Madison said, pointing to the adjacent door.
Madison had prepared four different rooms for Lucy, thinking she might prefer a change of pace, though the house actually boasted seven rooms in total. She had decorated each of them using Lucy's favorite colors and tastes so her niece could choose whichever she found most to her liking.
"Okay, aunt," Lucy said, taking in the color of the room.
It was a gorgeous, spacious cream-peach color with her luggage already neatly placed inside.
"And if you don't like this room, there is the next room, and if you don't like that one either, there's the next room, Lucy," Madison repeated affectionately.
Lucy was baffled, happy, and stunned all at once. Her aunt had prepared multiple rooms just for her, making her feel incredibly special.
"It's fine, aunt, I definitely like this room."
Seeing how appreciative Lucy was of everything, Madison smiled, though she still wanted her niece to have nothing but the absolute best.
"Okay, good night Lucy, sleep well."
Lucy gave a nod with a pretty smile on her face. "You too, aunt Madison."
Madison pulled Lucy into a warm hug, deeply comforted by the thought that her late sister Anastasia would be overjoyed to see Lucy back home where she belonged. Madison gently pecked the crown of Lucy's hair, looked into her green eyes, and pulled back.
"I'm so happy to have you back. You are so precious to me, Lucy," Madison said, a trace of deep longing in her voice.
Lucy smiled, knowing how much her aunt had missed her all these years.
"Have a good night, Lucy."
"Okay, aunt."
Madison headed to her own study room. Seated on her mahogany chair, she looked at the books in front of her, and then her eyes drifted to a framed picture of her twin sister Anastasia, who was smiling and wearing a beautiful dress.
"I'm happy we found Lucy. I'm so happy. I hope you're resting well knowing she's back home," Madison whispered softly to the photograph.
Meanwhile, in her cream-peach bedroom, Lucy took in her surroundings: the spacious big wardrobe with a shoe rack at the bottom, the large, neatly arranged bed, the window looking out into the distance, and the tidy dressing table beside her bed. After shutting the door and placing her luggage neatly against the wall, Lucy decided to freshen up and unpack her clothes before finally heading off to sleep.
The following morning, Lucy walked down the stairs and greeted her aunt.
"Good morning, aunt Madison."
"Good morning, Lucy," Madison said, placing a delicious spread of food onto the dining table.
There were plates of eggs, toast bread, sausages, bacon, and mashed potatoes. After setting the food down, Madison looked at Lucy and smiled.
"Come eat," she said.
"Okay, aunt," Lucy responded, drawing near and taking a seat at the dining table.
Madison stepped briefly into the kitchen before returning with hot cups of tea, placing them gently on the table.
"Did you sleep well, dear?" she asked.
"I slept well, aunt. What about you?" Lucy asked back.
"I slept well," Madison answered, taking her seat and taking a sip of her tea.
Lucy picked up her fork to begin eating.
"I made tea—is that okay? If you want coffee, I can make it instead."
"Tea is fine, aunt," Lucy said, happily munching on a piece of bacon.
"Okay. Which one do you actually prefer, tea or coffee?"
"Tea," Lucy confirmed.
Madison nodded, taking a mental note so she could prepare it just right next time. As they ate their food, they chatted comfortably. Madison mentioned that after breakfast, she wanted to show Lucy around the house, take a nice stroll together, and visit the river bank—an idea Lucy loved.