Her New Beginning, My Final Ending Chapter 06

Her New Beginning, My Final Ending Chapter 06

In the end, the news of my death did not stay hidden from Grandma.

She came all the way from the northern countryside with a hen she’d raised herself, saying she wanted to make me

something nourishing, but the moment she stepped through the door and saw my memorial portrait, everything in her

hands hit the floor with a heavy thud.

“Where’s Natalie?”

Grandma turned to Mom, whose eyes were swollen red. Mom opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

“I asked where Natalie is. Why is there a black-and-white portrait of her hanging on the wall?”

“She was such a sweet, obedient child. How dare you put up a portrait like she’s gone?”

Mom lowered her head and let the tears fall unchecked.

“Mom…” Dad’s voice was rough and hollow. “I’m sorry. This was our fault. We failed Natalie. She fell down the basement

stairs.

The medical examiner said it was… a brain hemorrhage. I’m sorry, Mom.

Grandma looked at the two of them without speaking. Her expression was so calm it was almost frightening, but from

where I stood huddled off to the side, I could still see the redness in her eyes.

“So what exactly are you telling me? How did Natalie end up falling in the basement? What did you do to her?”

Nothing ever got past Grandma.

Dad’s eyes were red as he slowly told her the truth. “Mom, the day Natalie died was the deadline the prophecy had set for

Claire’s death.”

To be safe, we locked Natalie in the basement. When we shoved her in, we used too much force, and Natalie

He had not even finished the sentence before Grandma slapped him hard across the face

Dad lowered his head, shame written all over him.

“Mom, this was our fault. We didn’t protect Natalie.”

“Didn’t protect Natalie? Grandma repeated, her voice shaking Let me ask you something Is that all you think this

was?”

“Claire was the eldest. She was sensible, obedient, and always helped out around the house I understand why you dotes!

on her.”

“You said Claire had been given a death date because you favored Natalie. the younger one too much so you had to reverse the way the two girls were treated. Fine. I can even understand that

‘But what I want to ask now is this. Did you ever truly favor Natalie at all?”

Grandma’s voice was thick with grief, but every word landed like a blow

“When you first moved to the city to make a living. I told you no matter what, you had to take both girls with you You

refused and only took Claire, because she was the easier child.”

“Natalie was still so little then. That was exactly when she needed her parents most, and yet you left her behind in the

country all by herself.”

“Later, after you bought a house in the city and brought Natalie over, I thought you would finally cherish her. But what

happened instead?”

Grandma lifted her hand and pointed at my black-and-white portrait on the wall, her voice rising sharply.

“So this is what your love for Natalie amounted to? Tell me, where exactly did all that supposed favoritism go?”

The whole house fell into dead silence.

Mom’s face was white as paper, and her lips kept trembling. It took her a long time before she finally managed to speak

“I know I’ve always failed Natalie. I just thought… once Claire’s situation was fully resolved. I could finally treat them

fairly.”

“Mom, I truly never imagined I could make a mistake this terrible. I never thought the price of giving Claire a second

chance at life would be Natalie’s death.”

Tears streamed down Mom’s face as she slowly sank into a crouch, choking so badly she could barely get the words out.

I really never thought it would end like this. I never wanted to lose either of my daughters, but in the end. I still only

got to keep one…”

The room filled with sobs, but Grandma stood there alone, staring at my memorial portrait in silence, her eyes already

full of tears.

“You don’t deserve to call yourselves parents, and you certainly don’t deserve to hang Natalie’s picture in this house

Tm taking Natalie’s picture and her ashes with me I’m taking her home, back to the place that had always been hers

Dad jerked his head up, his voice trembling ‘Mom, please don’t We know we were wrong now

“And if you know you were wrong, will Natalie come back to life?”

Grandma cut him off sharply, and Dad froze where he stood unable to say another word

Only Claire moved

Claire quietly walked into my room, picked up the urn that had been placed there and gently set it in Grandina’s hands

Grandma held my ashes against her chest, her callused fingers slowly stroking the surface of the urn and somehow.

floating there in midair, I felt as though I could almost still feel the warmth of her palms

“Natalie,” she whispered, “Grandma’s taking you home