Things were happening too quickly.  The Goddess, who I worshiped both as a deity and held close as family had gone.  I knew it was Kaos, the moment I heard her voice among the mist I knew in my heart it was him.  I hadn’t trusted him as Kisamoa and I certainly didn’t trust him now.  I felt more helpless now than I had when I had asked the Goddess herself what I could do to help vanquish the trickster-God. 

And then there was the fact that mother had returned.  I still couldn’t believe it.  But she was here and she was real and she had come back to us.  Not a dream but living, breathing, and alive.  For so long I believed that she wasn’t coming back.  I knew, deep down, that she would have never left me willingly, but I thought for certain that something horrible had kept her from returning. Or that Kaos had simply built her bones into his obelisk and reigned atop all that was left of her.  She was here. 

Were things falling apart or were they falling back together?  
Or was I just falling?

It was too much. I closed my eyes and tried to shake my head free of the feelings. However such a feeble effort was futile. I hadn’t left the comfort of the Veins since I’d found mother again.  Without Grandmother, there was little comfort in the Edge anymore.  But here I still felt close to her, wherever she had gone to try to make things right.    

I stood, not too far from the Moon’s shrine, before Everly called my attention away.  Father here. You should come.  There was an urgency to the words, and a strange hesitation I rarely felt from my lifelong companion. What was it that the Zephyr was trying to conceal from me?  But the more she queried, the more ardently that she refused to share anything.  However, I followed, because I knew that Everly would never lead me into harm. However, that didn’t stop the apprehension from building anyway. 

When I finally stumble upon the scene, it takes me a few moments to determine what, exactly I’m looking at.  My birth had not been this well attended, to be sure, but none of the faces today were strange ones, aside from the two fillies, of course.  Papa was here, as were the two mares who had helped me during the incident with the fire what felt like ages ago now.  I’d heard enough to understand that Papa was certainly also the sire of these children.  That, in itself, raised questions.  I knew, of course, he and mother were not close.  But I knew better than to ask questions and stick my nose in business that was certainly not mine.  Instead, my silver eyes were drawn to the children. 

Twins. 

The sight of them caused my heart to leap and to ache in the span of a single heartbeat.  I understood how innately close the two sisters were, even after sharing only a handful of moments together.  Their bond had grown with each and every heartbeat, and grew with each and every breath.  The loss of Virga felt more profound in this moment, even though I had just gained two new family members.

My sisters. There was the briefest flicker of hurt that ignited in my chest.  Why hadn’t Papa told me?  Was he worried I’d be angry? Upset?  There was a flicker of anger too.  Did he think I couldn’t handle the responsibilities of being an older sibling?  Was it because I had failed Virga so miserably he had left?  But this thought, too, was fleeting.  Because I knew that Papa held no such feelings, nor did he harbor any blame regarding Virga’s departure.  That blame I reserved for myself alone.  There was no use in displacing it.  I offered a smile to the girls as Everly returned from the trees, carrying a large rodent of some kind in her talons to the twin zephyrs.  Share, she offered to the newborns, depositing her kill before the bits of shell. 

I took a few steps closer to the children lowering my head ever so slightly. I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do in this situation, having never been in this position before and finding myself caught so thoroughly off guard.   “I’m Vesper,” I managed, despite feeling foolish,   “I’m your sister. And that’s Everly,” I said, with a nod towards the larger Zephyr among the newborns.  I look back to Papa for a moment, hoping for some sort of approval before looking back to the children, hoping beyond everything that Grandmother can keep them safe from what is to come.

tags: NOPE TOO MANY OF YOU
image credit