There to corroborate the evidence of their date was Andy, Harry's own father. He had his eyes on a werewolf prowling the park's perimeters, primed to arrest her at the slightest sign of mischief. The werewolf, however, was in fact the park proprietor, just trying her best to keep her park looking tidy.
Harry only noticed his father when he saw Andy running out of the park as fast as he could go (which, in fact, was an impressive speed for a man of his age). Andy had just received a call on his cellphone from one of his neighbours that they had spotted a fire in one of the second floor bedrooms and had phoned for the firefighters.
His fatherly instincts prickled and Andy rushed into the house recklessly, failing to heed his years of training when faced with a fire. There was only one thing that mattered to him—finding Yuki. Her door was locked from the outside, but the only one who had ever held the key to the doors in the house was Andy. He pulled his shirt over his nose to shield his face from the acrid smoke fuming beneath the door and, with a trembling hand, unlocked the door.
Grief immediately wracked his body, for the scene in front of him was clear despite his tear-filled eyes. Death had come and left only the bare remains of his youngest daughter. Andy didn't know who to turn to. When his wife had died, he had laid the burden of his grief onto his children. They were older now, though, and he feared that the death of their sister would affect them even more greatly than he could imagine.
He went to the one person who he knew loved Yuki Blanche with all his heart. The one person who would understand his pain. Stefan.
"Sir? Are you all right?" Stefan asked awkwardly, completely taken aback. Andy had knocked ferociously on his door, then had immediately collapsed into Stefan's arms. As he held the shaking man, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over him.
"No, I'm not," Andy managed, stepping back, "Yuki is dead."
For a private investigator, Andy really didn't know how to break news gently. Stefan, unable to absorb this information, blinked. "Tell me what happened."
Andy shook his head, still fighting back sobs. "Let me show you."
Fifteen minutes later, Stefan was forced to swallow the bitter pill. Andy, having cried more than he had done in the past ten years, became numb as Stefan cried in turn.
Having lost track of time, Stefan returned home, promising to come back in the morning. On his way out, he bumped into Harry and his wife, Shauni. After hesitating a moment, Stefan stopped them both. He broke the news as gently as he could, watching their faces carefully. Harry's mouth fell open, shuddering breaths escaping his lungs. He turned into the arms of his wife, sadness and empathy apparent on her face.
But Stefan did not overlook the lack of shock. As he told her, her eyebrows simply drew together into a frown. He could not put his finger on it, but something was wrong.
They held the funeral the next day, planning to keep Yuki's ashes alongside those of her mother and grandparents. They were planning a larger funeral later, once they got a chance to tell Seppen and Bert. Unfortunately, both were extremely overwhelmed with their own children and families, so Andy and Harry decided to reserve the news until the following week.
Stefan didn't think it was right. Shauni didn't state her opinion. It was, Stefan thought, as though she didn't care.
Andy, stony-faced, observed Shauni consoling Harry's seemingly irreparable grief. "I wanted to tell you last night, but it wasn't the right time... And it won't be the right time for a while... But I need to tell you now because you deserve to know. With death comes life, Harry. I'm pregnant."
Another decision that Stefan considered to be inappropriate. Funerals are not the place to announce pregnancies. And besides, Harry seemed hardly cheered. How could he? Now in addition to feeling grief for his sister, he felt happy about having a child, and then an insurmountable amount of shame at his happiness. Andy did not feel even a glimmer of happiness at the prospect of another grandchild.
Later, Shauni retired upstairs, leaving the Casmins to themselves. Harry gazed at the graves of his relatives, lost in his own thoughts. Stefan took the opportunity to pull Andy aside.
"I know we wanted to leave her ashes here.... But I wanted to take them," he said.
"Why would you want that? How will she rest if she's not at peace?"
Stefan took a breath. "As an investigator who works with the police force and a member of the royal family with great political ties, I'm sure that you are familiar with the procedures of returning a human to life."
"All you need are their ashes," Harry spoke suddenly, not turning. "It's one of the branches at the hospital. I haven't worked there long but... I've heard rumours. They're still testing, though. It's not something they would offer to the public. And it costs a lot of money."
Andy shook his head. "When Jessie... when Yuki's mother died, Yuki said that she didn't like the idea of bringing Jessie back to life. She said... that the life of someone not truly alive nor dead would be empty and incomplete. That she, and us, would never have a chance to grieve Jessie."
Stefan bit his lip. "My life without Yuki is empty and incomplete. And how can I grieve her if I will dream every day of bringing her back to life? Of thinking of all the what ifs? Besides, she is not the public. I am not the public. We are both of royal blood, and the money is something I can handle. Even if that weren't the case, Harry, I would hope that you could help me out."
Harry sighed. "She's my sister. Of course I would help." And with that, he strode away.
"But why can't you leave the ashes here until we've made a decision?" Andy asked.
Stefan turned to make sure that Harry had exited the room completely. "Because I can't bring her back to life if I don't have the ashes. And with Shauni living in the house... I don't want to take any chances."
"Do you suspect her of something? I saw her at the park the time of the incident. It would have been impossible for her to have set fire to anything."
Stefan shook his head. "It doesn't matter. The firefighters said that the fire was not accidental. You haven't told Harry, have you?"
Andy shook his head.
"Then I can assume that that means you don't completely trust Shauni either."
The two men exchanged a glance. Andy wandered upstairs to leave Stefan in peace. In the cold air above, he was embraced by what felt like silken tulle billowing due to the wind. "Mom," he whispered into the ghost's shoulder, choking out a sob.
She clasped her son firmly, wishing she was more solid so to protect him from the world. "Let Stefan bring my granddaughter back, Andy. Without Yuki's love in the world, it's just not the same."
Stefan was not the only one who had his suspicions, however. Flame, who did not understand that his owner was dead, was fortunate that Yuki had lovingly maintained his stable and food supplies, because the other members of the family were too distraught to take care of him. Still, the animal recognized something was off, and in the way that animals flee from naturals disasters, he, who had silently witnessed Shauni being unkind to Yuki on multiple occasions, met the one human he had distaste for.
Shauni, as usual, didn't care for the animal and simply ignored him. She was indifferent, it seemed, to anything that happened in the household.
For the next few weeks, Stefan immersed himself in reading. He nabbed textbooks from Harry, pulled up research articles online, and visited the hospital to consult. They would only have one chance at bringing Yuki back from the dead. The chances were low. In fact, the procedure was almost guaranteed to fail, since it had never succeeded before. The odds weren't in his favour, but Stefan was determined, fueled by grief. If it failed, Stefan would have to accept that he would never see Yuki again. Whether this was something he would be able to handle... he did not want to even think about.
Only Andy held some sort of semblance of faith in Stefan. Harry was unconvinced, and Shauni was trying her best to make Stefan let go. She complained that the atmosphere was not good for the growth of her child, that eventually he would have to accept Yuki's death. She rebuffed any of his accusations by saying she couldn't fake grief for a woman she barely knew. Stefan begrudgingly accepted this, but argued that she ought to have more empathy for the family's situation.
After months of being on the waiting list, Stefan finally received the call he was waiting for. He brought the ashes that he had guarded for months, stored carefully and secretly from Shauni. Both she and Harry believed the ashes to be buried. Only Andy knew the truth.
The doctors told Stefan that it would be one more month before they would see any results. He nodded and asked for frequent updates. They told him to not hold his breath about any positive news.
The doctor had barely finished speaking when Stefan raced out of the house, the 'end' button unpressed, the doctor's voice ringing out unsurely around the kitchen. Without even his license on hand, Stefan tore through the town, rolling stops and skipping through red traffic lights. This was one occasional where he couldn't care less about being a role model for the citizens. When he reached the front desk, an alarmed receptionist stuttered before managing to express the fact that Yuki had already been released. Stefan turned, unable to believe that he had passed by her unknowingly, and raced outside the door.
---
When Stefan later asked me what I remembered about being in the research lab and hospital, I honestly answered that I was unable to remember. The first time I became aware of myself and my surroundings was when I felt Stefan's lips against mine. The feeling was warm and familiar—soft lips, warm breath, sturdy body. But there was something he had gained that he didn't have as a teenager. A confident assertiveness as a man, a desperate passion as a lover. Just like I felt when his hands first brushed against mine when we were young, a shiver passed over my body, tingles shooting down my body to my toes. When he pulled back, my brain felt fuzzy and dizzy—but perhaps that was the aftereffects of being dead for several months.
Whether he was going to speak or not didn't matter to me in that moment. All I knew was that I felt cold, and that there was nothing in the world I had ever desired as much as I desired him at that moment. I pulled him flush to me and leaned in, greedily directing his lips to my neck, taking pleasure in knotting my fingers into his hair. Why had I never liked his long hair before? It was so satisfying to tug gently on, to run my fingers through. Every extra hair meant another hair of Stefan's, after all. With his attention completely on me, as it had always been, I suddenly felt foolish for having ever doubted him.
Something, however, felt different. But this time, it was all me. I pulled away, confused, and looked down at myself. I blinked several times, coming to grips with my ghostly body. I felt solid when Stefan held me, so why did I now look so transparent?
The fire, it seemed, had not been imaginary. And the ghosts of my previous family members floated through my mind as if in some kind of reunion. I was one of them now. A different shade, perhaps because of my youth. A ghost? Would I be able to live my life fully? Have children? And did I feel the same to Stefan?
I glanced up, and my heart was immediately overwhelmed by the loving expression on Stefan's face. My mouth felt dry, and I no longer felt quite so cold. Had he ever looked at me that way before? I knew for certain that I had never done so. What had changed? Or simply, what had I failed to see before?
I glanced up, and my heart was immediately overwhelmed by the loving expression on Stefan's face. My mouth felt dry, and I no longer felt quite so cold. Had he ever looked at me that way before? I knew for certain that I had never done so. What had changed? Or simply, what had I failed to see before?
"Are you the reason I'm here?" I asked, unable to comprehend how he would still be able to stand my presence after my treatment of him, let alone go to these ends.
"Well, I feel like your parents had more to do with it," he joked, running a hand over my elbow, "but yes, Yuki. You see, I can't live without you."
"Stefan," I said, my voice breaking, "I've treated you so horribly. When we dated, I never gave you the time of day. I really took you for granted. And when I broke up with you... I not only lost a man who was only ever good to me, but I lost my best friend."
"Yuki, I admit, I wish we could have spent more time together when we were teenagers. But that's not your fault. I should have communicated better. And I was so rude about your tournaments. The things I said... I felt so guilty after. They kept me up for weeks. I've always been proud of you for pursuing what you love. I was just jealous that that took up time that I could see you."
"I'm sorry, Stefan. I really am. I misjudged you when I was younger."
"I'm sorry as well, Yuki. I can see why. I tried to act cool and enjoyed the idea of having a reputation. I never did any of the things other people talked about—especially the girls. Yuki Blanche, since we were young, you're the only one I've ever thought about. I don't just love you because you're beautiful. I love you because you're you. I love you because of the tender frown in your forehead when you brush Flame. I love you because when you yawn you try and cover your mouth with two fingers. I love you because you lose focus when we pass raccoons and squirrels when walking. God, I love your determination and power when you're racing to the finish-line with Flame. I love your three moles on the back of your left shoulder. I love your pinky toe with the really short nail. I love the scar on the back of your hand. I love everything about you, Yuki. Every ounce of person that you are, and every ounce of happiness that you bring other people."
Overcome, I couldn't stop the tears, hot and real from parading down my cheeks. "Oh, Stefan. I only wish I could be half as romantic as you. What I know is that I love you, and you mean the world to me. I only wish I had seen it sooner."
He smiled. "What matters is you see it now."
The tears fell to the ground and disappeared.
"Now, Yuki, there's someone else here to see you..."
Warm arms engulfed me and my crying recommenced. "Daddy... I'm so sorry...."
"Yuki, what do you have to be sorry for? You did nothing wrong. I'm just grateful I have you."
I stood in his arms for a few minutes longer, but when I broke away from them, I could hardly look at daddy in the eye.
"Yuki Blanche." He put his hands on my shoulders. "I know there's something you have to tell me. The way you died... It was unnatural. Do you remember how the fire started?"
I paused, glancing over to Stefan. I could only think of Harry, my concern for him growing every second. My memories were flooding back quickly as I inhaled the familiar scent of my father, as I gazed over the landscape, recalling how I spent my childhood in the town. My eyes traced their way back to the hospital where Harry worked. "I'll tell you on the way home. I can't imagine how Flame must be feeling right now."
By the time we arrived home, it was already growing dark. I approached Flame's barn and noticed an unfamiliar white horse inside, glancing at me apprehensively.
"Yuki? Yuki!" Harry waved at me from the doorstep, breaking out into a run. He wrapped his scrawny arms around me, pulling me so tightly against him I wondered whether I would be able to pass right through. "You're not quite a ghost, huh? Just transparent. Although, you've always been that."
I didn't really understand what he meant by that, but I smiled and nodded. Everything seems to be the same. I just feel a bit colder. "And I can walk through walls!" I told him excitedly, passing through the barn to show him.
"Wow, so you can float, then?"
I glanced down at myself, shocked to see my feet hovering a couple centimeters off the ground. Immediately, I seemingly regained my weight and my feet planted themselves back on the ground.
"Who's this?" I motioned to the horse.
Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well, Stefan has been taking care of Flame for the past month, but he visited the farm a lot to make sure that he was doing things correctly. I guess this lady took a liking to him and Flame, because the farmer pressured Stefan into buying her. He named her Snowy, of course."
I laughed, smiling. "She's beautiful. Hi, Snowy. You're a great addition to the family."
"Speaking of which, I'd better go check on my pregnant wife. I'm so glad you're here, Yuki."
I smiled weakly, watching him retreat. I felt insanely guilty—I was about to ruin the perfect life he had procured. Wanting to avoid the disputes and stay out of the way, I let Snowy out and starting cleaning up the barn.
Then again, it wasn't me who was ruining his life. I was preventing his child's life from being ruined by the person responsible for ruining my life.
During the car ride, I had told Stefan and daddy everything. About Shauni's witchcraft abilities. About the apple.
I should have been more suspicious. But a single bite from the apple rendered me unconscious. Who knows how much later, I roused from my sleep, but only slightly. My body was limp and I had no control. My brain felt like there was a hazy net pinning it down.
She must have moved me to my bed, because I had no recollection of walking anywhere.
My eyelids fluttered only once. After that, they remained crusted shut and my brain refused to send any more signals to the rest of my body. But my hearing still worked. And my sight had still recognized enough in that brief second.
Shauni. Lighting one of the many fireworks that my family had won at festivals over the years. We had more fireworks than we had cutlery. It was no wonder that she found one so readily.
The peculiar thing was that Shauni was supposed to be at the festival with Harry during that time. When my father and Stefan told me this, I was shocked. I didn't have any timeframe for when she locked me in there, but daddy said she and Harry had been gone since early morning.
"And she didn't leave once?"
Daddy shook his head, then faltered. "She never left the park. But she was out of sight plenty of times—to the washroom, to the photobooth... I suppose...."
"You suppose what?" Stefan asked, impatience laced in his words.
"If she's a witch... If it's true... I have heard of witches teleporting. But I thought it was folklore."
Stefan sighed. "And who would have thought we'd be able to bring Yuki back to life? Shauni... If Yuki remembers her doing it, then it's settled."
I remembered those few moments very clearly, in fact. I remembered the piercing sound of the fireworks going off, stunning my brain for a few moments. I remembered the flames catching slowly, slow enough to lull me back into sleep.
I was grateful that the fumes had ended up rendering me unconscious in the end. The pain of being burned alive was not something I would have cared to remember.
Shouting echoed from the house, waking me from my reverie. I closed the barn and approached the house tentatively. If Shauni was evil enough to murder me, I worried for Stefan's safety.
I caught them in the middle of the argument. It was immediately apparent to me that Stefan had things handled.
"We have proof. You can't possibly hope of getting out of this one now, Shauni. How heartless and cruel must you be? I hope you enjoy the cold bars of jail."
Shauni turned her head away scornfully. "If you truly think I'm capable of teleporting, then a jail certainly wouldn't hold me."
Stefan sneered. "That's assuming you keep your powers. You can be certain that won't remain the case for long."
"And what about my child? My child with Harry, might I add. What then?"
"Don't use the kid as an excuse. First, you get rid of the magic. Then, Harry will get custody of the child. He won't want his kid to be raised by someone who murdered his sister. You've really screwed Harry over, I hope you know. He had his head on straight, a great career, and you had to ruin it all," Stefan growled.
"Oh, please. Don't kid yourself. This entire household was depressed. Harry's father never even saw his children. Harry acted up and got into trouble—"
"Because of you!"
"—and his sister. What a ditz. You're just like every other guy that went to our school, Stefan. And she was too blind to see that. The only difference is that you're a prince. When I came into this house, I made Harry happy. I'm giving his father a grandchild. I made their lives exciting."
Stefan stammered, each word uttered with malice. "Don't you fucking dare pretend that murdering Yuki somehow made their lives better."
"You don't need to explain your motivations to me," Stefan scowled. "You're too easy to read. It was very simple. Yuki's the heir. You figured that by marrying Harry, you would get your hands into the dough. But when you found out he wouldn't get any money, you realized you had to do something. It was easy, wasn't it? Bert and Seppen are gone, with families of their own. Harry, who still lives in the house, would be the natural next heir."
Yuki's face burned with hatred. It was clear she didn't enjoy being found out so easily. "He's a surgeon. Money isn't something I need to worry about."
"He's a young man with student loans who had plans to buy an affordable house in the less wealthy side of town. Even if he ended up making more money, it's clear that he wouldn't have used it to live lavishly. By being heir, he would have to live here. You would get the house you always wanted without having to lift a pinky."
The room fell quiet. I took the opportunity to finally appear. Shauni's face was priceless—only the one a killer seeing their victim could wear. Her shock was evident, and any attempt to act was immediately quelled as I drifted right through her.
Their yells had rebounded throughout the house, and by the pounding of feet behind me, I was sure that Harry was coming to deliver the final decision. I could only hope that my twin was not so entranced by the witch that he would be unable to come to a logical conclusion.
I needn't have worried. Fury flooded Harry's face. Hurt. Betrayal.
"Dad told me everything. And I heard the yelling. How could you?! I thought I knew you! For you to—to murder my sister—it just... Clearly I'm an ass for ever thinking you were a good person. For trying to ignore any sign. Is this why you got pregnant? In hopes that you could keep me? Well, good luck with that. There's no chance that I'm letting my child anywhere near you. And in case you think of trying anything, just recall the power that we have. You've tangled with the wrong family."
At these words, a smirk tugs at my lips. Stefan, likewise, is having trouble keeping the gleeful expression from his face. Hopefully Harry wouldn't see Stefan's grin.
"You know," Harry continued, "I actually argued against implementing the magical removal services at my hospital! I said, hey, dad's just being too intense, clearly there are some who use their powers for good. But I'm sure glad they went through with it! With criminals like you, we need some control, don't we? So you can guess where we're going right now. I hope you enjoyed misusing magic, because that's the last time you'll ever get the chance for that."
Harry grabbed her wrist, pulling him behind her. She didn't resist.
The house was notably quieter without the two of them. I excused myself to Stefan, and asked if I could have some time alone. He seemed confused, but agreed.
I could not place my feelings, other than that I was feeling them. The house felt like it was undone. Or not done. I wasn't entirely sure. Either way, I set myself busy. Perhaps I had inherited a cleaning gene from gramma, but I wanted to make the house as spotless as possible.
Gramma. My heart tightened at the thought of her. Did that mean that we could have brought everyone back? Gramma, grampa... mommy... My throat constricted painfully and I swallowed. The difference was, I reminded myself, that I was young. Not that mommy wasn't... but I didn't think she would want to be raised from the dead. Did I, even? Yes, definitely. I was very grateful. I hoped that I would be able to have children, but even so, I felt insanely grateful that I was given another chance with Stefan. Call it fate, but I felt like things were supposed to turn out this way.
At the end of my cleaning spree, I approached my room, somewhat tentatively. My hand flinched at the doorknob, remembering the searing pain, but it was cool to the touch. And inside... burnt. Everything charred, ruined beyond remembrance.
But I saw one more thing. A lump of ashes. The part of me that had been in the urn was, it seemed, my soul. Because I knew without a doubt that the ashes had been my body. I teared a little thinking of it. Now, I was a wisp. A memory of what I used to be.
No, that was silly. I was here because I had more to say. More to do. The past years of my life barely scratched the surface of my future accomplishments. And that, I was sure.
I was sad that Harry's child would lead a disrupted life. I was sad in the end, but I knew it was the right choice. Because at least now, I would get to lead a life.
