Fated to My Twin Brother

CHAPTER 7

Hannah's P.O.V

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I gasped letting in the cool night air, stepping out of the mansion. The celebration was over; the grandeur faded away into the quiet hum of the crickets and the distant sound of the sea. I rested my weight on the marble railing and looked out to the yellow moon glowing above. Everything felt surreal, like a dream I couldn't wake up from.

My eyes drifted back toward the mansion-the place I was meant to call home. How could it feel like home when I barely recognize myself anymore? The laughter and chatter that had pervaded the earlier moments seemed now just echoes in my mind. The questions swarmed in my mind like bees: Who was that girl before all of this? What kind of girl was she? And why were my memories of those pieces stuck in the past, locked away, unwilling to reveal?

Every time I saw Hadzen, something inside me stirred. This was a mixture of fear and curiosity and something else that I could not understand. He is my brother; yet somehow, he had this chill to him, and I just could not break through the wall surrounding him. It was as if he knew everything while not letting me in. What did he hide?

I hadn't gotten more than the length of the porch past the door when someone was calling out to me by name.

"Hannah."

I turned to see Dylan walking toward me, his smile soft under the moonlight. "Hey," I replied, forcing a smile. Dylan was kind, and familiar in ways that made me feel safe, but there was still a distance—a gap where our shared memories should have been.

"Have fun tonight?" he asked, his voice laced with nonchalance, though I could see the care in his eyes. He'd been nothing but supportive since I arrived, but I knew he was worried, just like everybody else.

"Yes," I lied, forcing a minimal smile. "Dylan, can you tell me something about myself? And about you, too. I don't remember anything, and maybe if you tell me it will help."

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "We were young back then when you got lost. I don't remember much of it myself, but me, you, Hadzen, and Elisse. We were good friends."

"Elisse?"

"Yeah, she's not here now, but you'll meet her soon," he answered.

Right. Another person I was supposed to know, another blank space in my head. "Is there anything else you can tell me? Something I should know?"

Dylan's eyes skittered, his smile faltering. "A lot. But I'm not sure where to start."

"Just… tell me anything," I urged, desperation creeping into my voice.

“Let's sit down first," he suggested, nodding toward a table and chairs close to the garden. We moved over there, the gravel crunching softly under our feet. I settled into the chair as the cool night breeze whispered past my skin.

Moonlight lit up the garden to an eerie glow with shadows stretching and twisting around us. "So?" I leaned forward, nudging him to continue.

Dylan takes a deep breath. "When you went missing, Aunt Maxine was crushed. She went through big changes. The sparkle in her eyes disappeared, and she retreated into training."

"Training?"

"Yes. Aunt Maxine possesses the Eclipse Essence. A destructive force, lethal if it's out of balance, but wildly powerful if it's channeled correctly.” He pauses, studying my reaction.

I blinked my eyes, which rattled against the inside of my skull. My heart was thudding in my chest. "Eclipse Essence?"

"There are three Eclipse Essences in the world," Dylan continued, his voice low, almost reverent. "One is Aunt Maxine's. The other two…" He looked at me intensely, his piercing gaze making my eyes want to look away. "Are yours and Hadzen's."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. "What? That doesn't make any sense. I don't feel anything—different, I mean.”

"It's not what you feel, Hannah. It's who you are." His words hung in the air there, heavy with meaning I couldn't yet touch. "You and Hadzen were born with this power. It's why Aunt Maxine was so protective of you, why your disappearance hit her so hard."

My head spun trying to fit it all together. Power? Me? I looked like he was talking about someone else. "But I don't remember any of it," I said in a hushed voice, my fists clenched on the table. "How can I be something if I don't even know?”

Dylan reaches out and lays his hand over mine. He is warm and grounding. "You don't have to try, okay? The memories will come back when you're ready. You've been through so much, Hannah. It's okay to take the time."

There, before my eyes, stood our hands, palms meeting. I forced myself to believe in him, and try to trust that everything eventually fell into place, but each day was a fight, every question a wound. "But what if they don't come back?" I asked, my voice shaking. "What if I never remember?”

"Then you make new memories," he said easily, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. "You're here now, and that's what matters."

I nodded, though uncertainty still clawed at my insides.

He pushed off from the counter, his smile returning. "It's been a long night. How about we call it a day? Tomorrow, I'll take you to our old favorite spot. Maybe it'll help jog your memory."

I tried to smile, a little one, the concept of finding something familiar was somehow comforting. "Okay."

He held his hand out, and I took it, letting him guide me back toward the mansion. As we walked, my eyes flicked back behind me in the garden. Too much settled in my brain from everything he'd been telling me. Eclipse Essence. Power. Hadzen. It was overwhelming facts had only been overwhelming, but hearing him say them out loud had made my mind spin.

And then there was Hadzen himself, cold and distant, as though he alone knew everything but kept it all to himself. What was he hiding? Why did he seem torn between wanting to protect me and pushing me away? I wanted to question him and demand some answers, but fear of what I might find gave me pause.

I look up at him now, standing before the doors. "Do you think I'll ever be the same again?"

He pauses, his eyes growing soft. "I think you'll be who you're meant to be, Hannah. And that is much more important than being the same."

It was as if those words had left a sigh in my head because we went back inside the mansion with warmth and light embracing all of us. Even though I smiled as I bid farewell with goodnight, questions were still there, constantly scratching at the back of my head.

Who am I? And what is this latent power inside me, waiting to be awakened? And, most important of all, what was going to happen when it got awakened?

That night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to keep my eyes open, as moonlight filtered through the curtains in front of me; somehow, I felt that everything was soon going to change and I was scared because of that more than anything else.

Perhaps going to talk with my brother would be one of the best alternatives I could take.