STILL YOU(PART 9)- THE LAKE

The road to Lake Aster was quieter than Lauretta remembered. Or maybe she was simply listening differently this time. She sat in the passenger seat, staring through the window as the city slowly disappeared behind them. Trees replaced buildings. Open fields replaced traffic. And somewhere ahead was a lake she had spent twenty years forgetting. Elias drove with both hands on the wheel. He hadn't said much since they left. Neither had she. Finally, Lauretta broke the silence. "Are you nervous?" Elias glanced at her. "Yes." She smiled faintly. "Good." "Good?" "I thought it was just me." He looked back at the road. "I'm pretty sure we're both terrified." That made her laugh. Just a little. Then the laughter disappeared as quickly as it came. Because the trees opened. And there it was. Lake Aster. Lauretta stopped breathing for a moment. The water looked almost exactly the same. Or perhaps memory had simply preserved it that way. The old dock was still there. The trees around the shore had grown taller, but the lake itself hadn't changed. She felt something move inside her. Not a memory. Something deeper. Recognition. Elias pulled the car over. Neither of them moved. "That's it," he said quietly. Lauretta nodded. "I know." They got out. The air was cooler than she expected. She walked slowly toward the water. Every step felt strangely familiar. Then she heard a voice behind her. "Laurie." She stopped. Elias stopped too. Lauretta turned. A woman stood several metres away. She looked older than the girl Lauretta remembered in fragments. Of course she did. Twenty years had passed. But there was something about her face. Something about her eyes. Something Lauretta knew before she could explain it. Lara. For several seconds, neither sister moved. Then Lara smiled. It wasn't a big smile. It was nervous. Careful. Almost afraid. "You came." Lauretta swallowed. "You asked me to." "I wasn't sure you would." "I wasn't sure either." Lara looked at Elias. "You brought him." Elias nodded. "I was asked to come." Lara gave him a small smile. "I remember you." He looked surprised. "You do?" "I remember a boy who was always trying to act older than he was." Elias laughed softly. "I was fourteen." "You thought that was ancient." "I did." For the first time, all three of them smiled. Then Lara looked back at Lauretta. And everything became quiet again. "I've imagined this conversation for a long time," Lara said. Lauretta's voice was barely above a whisper. "So have I." "Did you remember anything?" "Pieces." Lara nodded. "That's how it came back for me too." Lauretta looked at the lake. "Tell me." Lara followed her gaze. "Not here." She pointed toward the old dock. "Let's sit." They walked down together. The wood creaked beneath their feet. Lauretta sat at the edge. Lara sat beside her. Elias remained a short distance away. For a moment, they watched the water. Then Lara spoke. "You really don't remember me." Lauretta looked at her. "I remember you now." Lara smiled. "But you didn't before." "No." "I used to be angry about that." Lauretta lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry." "Don't." Lara's voice was gentle. "You didn't choose it." "I still feel like I should have." "You were ten." Lauretta looked at her. "You were too." "Exactly." Lara took a breath. "We were children, Laurie." She looked at the water. "And adults made decisions for us." Lauretta didn't answer. Lara continued. "I didn't know why your father wanted me gone." "You were his daughter." "I know." "He should have—" "He didn't see me that way." Lauretta looked at her. "What do you mean?" Lara hesitated. "My mother was someone he was with before yours." Lauretta nodded slowly. "I knew that." "But when he married your mother, everything changed." She picked up a small stone and turned it between her fingers. "He didn't want people asking questions." Lauretta's stomach tightened. "So he sent you away." "Yes." "Where?" "To my mother's family." "Did you know you had a sister?" Lara smiled sadly. "I knew I had you." Lauretta stared at her. "I didn't understand why you had to leave." "I didn't either." Lara looked at her. "That's why we fought that day." Lauretta's heart skipped. "You remember?" "Everything." The word hung between them. "What were we fighting about?" "You wanted to come with me." Lauretta frowned. "I did?" "You said you were coming." A faint smile appeared on Lara's face. "You were very stubborn." "I've been told." "You were crying." "I don't remember." "I do." Lara looked down. "You had the necklace." Lauretta instinctively touched her neck. "The silver one?" Lara nodded. "I gave it to you." "Why?" "Because you wouldn't stop crying." Lauretta smiled through the ache in her chest. "You gave me a necklace to make me stop crying?" "I was ten. I thought jewellery solved everything." Lauretta laughed. This time, Lara laughed too. Then the laughter faded. "You told me you'd come back," Lauretta said. "I wanted to." "But you didn't." "I tried." Lauretta looked at her. "What happened?" Lara's expression changed. "After you fell into the lake, your father took me away." "I know." "I thought I would never see you again." "You didn't?" "Not for years." Lara looked toward the water. "I wrote letters." "To me?" "Yes." "How many?" "I don't know." She smiled sadly. "Enough." Lauretta's eyes filled. "Why didn't I get them?" "Because your mother never gave them to you." Silence. Lauretta looked away. "She told me she was protecting me." "Maybe she believed that." "Do you?" Lara thought for a moment. "I think she was afraid." "Of my father." "Yes." Lauretta nodded. "She said the same thing." Another silence. Then Elias spoke from behind them. "What about the note?" Both women looked at him. "The one that said, 'Don't let her take it.'" Lara's expression changed. "I wondered when that would come up." Lauretta looked at her. "You know about it?" "Yes." "Who wrote it?" Lara looked at the lake. "I did." Lauretta froze. "You?" Lara nodded. "I was scared." "Of what?" "Your father." She paused. "And I thought he was going to take the necklace." Lauretta touched her neck again. "But why?" "Because it wasn't just a necklace." Elias stepped closer. "What was it?" Lara looked at Lauretta. "A keepsake from our father." Lauretta's eyes widened. "What?" "He gave it to me before everything happened." "Then why did you give it to me?" "Because I wanted you to have something that belonged to both of us." Lauretta looked down. "I thought it was just a necklace." "It was never just that." She reached into her bag. Then pulled out a small object wrapped in cloth. Lauretta stared. Lara slowly opened it. The silver necklace lay inside. Lauretta's breath caught. "I thought it was lost." "I kept it." "All these years?" "I couldn't throw it away." Lara held it out. Lauretta hesitated before taking it. The moment the necklace touched her palm, something broke open inside her. The dock. The sunlight. Lara crying. Her own small hands gripping the necklace. A boy running toward the water. Someone shouting. Her mother's voice. And then— A hand. Lara's hand. Pulling her upward. Lauretta closed her eyes. "I remember." Elias looked at her. "What?" She opened her eyes. "Lara saved me." Lara smiled. "I told you." "You pushed me toward the dock." "Yes." "And Elias pulled me out." "Yes." Lauretta looked between them. "You both saved me." Lara shook her head. "We saved each other." That sentence stayed with Lauretta. For twenty years, she'd believed she had lost something she couldn't name. Now she understood. She hadn't simply forgotten a person. She had forgotten a part of herself. Her sister. Her childhood. The truth. And the girl she had once been. Lauretta turned toward Lara. "Why did you wait?" Lara looked confused. "For me." "I didn't know if you'd remember." "But you waited." "Because I promised." Lauretta's eyes filled. "What did you promise?" Lara smiled. "That we'd find each other again." Lauretta laughed softly through her tears. "I remember that." Elias looked at them. "You said that before." Lauretta turned. "What?" He smiled. "The photograph." She looked at him. "The writing." "You always find me." Lauretta's eyes widened. "You knew." "I knew the words." "But you didn't know what they meant." "Not until now." Lara looked between them. "You two really did find each other again." Lauretta smiled. "Apparently." The three of them sat quietly. The lake moved gently beneath the afternoon light. For the first time, it didn't feel like a place where something had been lost. It felt like a place where something had finally been returned. After a while, Lara stood. "There is one more thing." Lauretta looked up. "What?" Lara hesitated. "You should hear it from me." She looked toward Elias. Then back at Lauretta. "Your mother wasn't the only person who kept something from you." Lauretta's smile disappeared. "What do you mean?" Elias straightened. Lara took a breath. "The night you fell..." She stopped. "I wasn't the only one who saw what happened." Lauretta's stomach tightened. "Who else was there?" Lara looked toward the road. "Your father." Lauretta went still. "I know he came." "No." Lara shook her head. "I mean before you fell." Elias frowned. "What are you saying?" Lara looked at Lauretta. "He was already at the lake." The wind moved through the trees. Lauretta stared at her. "Why?" "I don't know." "But you saw him?" "Yes." "Then why didn't my mother tell me?" "Because she didn't know everything." Lauretta stood. "What don't I know?" Lara looked at the lake. "I don't know." She swallowed. "But I remember him arguing with someone." "Who?" "I never saw his face." Lauretta's heart began beating faster. "What did they argue about?" Lara shook her head. "I can't remember." She looked at Lauretta. "But I remember one thing." "What?" "He said your name." Lauretta froze. "My name?" "Yes." "Before I fell?" Lara nodded. "Before." Elias stepped closer. "What did he say?" Lara looked at him. "I don't remember the exact words." She paused. "But I remember what he sounded like." Lauretta waited. "He sounded afraid." The lake went silent. Or maybe Lauretta simply stopped hearing everything else. She looked at the water. At the dock. At the necklace in her hand. For twenty years, she had believed the lake held one terrible memory. Now she understood that there had been more. Something had happened before she fell. Something her mother didn't know. Something Elias didn't remember. Something Lara had been too young to understand. Lauretta looked at Lara. "Can you remember anything else?" Lara shook her head. "Not yet." Not yet. The words stayed with Lauretta. Then Elias spoke. "Maybe we don't need to remember everything today." Lauretta looked at him. He was right. For once, she didn't need another answer immediately. She had spent twenty years without the truth. She could survive one more night. She looked at Lara. "Will you come home with me?" Lara's eyes softened. "Are you sure?" Lauretta nodded. "I think we've been apart long enough." Lara smiled. And this time, neither of them looked away. The sun began to disappear behind the trees. They walked back toward the car together. Lauretta held the necklace in her palm. She looked once more at Lake Aster. It no longer looked like the place where she had lost her memory. It looked like the place where she had found it. But as she reached the car, Lara stopped. "Laurie." Lauretta turned. Lara looked at her carefully. "There is something else." Lauretta waited. Lara glanced at Elias. Then back at her. "I found something after you left." "What?" "A photograph." Lauretta frowned. "Another photograph?" Lara nodded. "I kept it for twenty years." "Where is it?" Lara smiled faintly. "At home." Lauretta stared at her. "What's in it?" Lara looked toward the lake. "You." A pause. "Me." Another pause. "And your father." Lauretta's expression changed. Elias looked at her. Lara lowered her voice. "And someone else." The three of them stood silently beside the car. Lauretta tightened her fingers around the necklace. "Who?" Lara didn't answer. Instead, she opened the passenger door. "Tomorrow." Lauretta frowned. "Why tomorrow?" "Because if I'm right..." Lara looked at her. "...that photograph will answer the last question." Lauretta looked toward the lake one final time. The sun had almost disappeared. Tomorrow. One more day. One more truth. Then, finally, there would be nothing left to forget. At least, that's what she hoped.

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