Don’t leave me, Freida.
Drenched in sweat, I fought to catch my breath as my phone alarm buzzed. I'd been reliving that night lately, a night that changed my life and tore my family apart.
At 6.30 am, the sky was bright but cloudy. I stood on the balcony of my room in a bed and breakfast, gazing out at the quiet coastal town. A place that had hidden my sister, Freida, from me for years.
It took me three weeks of searching, asking old friends, and tracing rumors. Finally, I found her. She owned a quaint cafe overlooking the sea.
Frieda froze with a tray in her hand when our eyes met. I held the old brown envelope to my stomach and stared. We both relived that night at that moment. There was no cliff between us, just years passed.
She shook her head, a muscle tightened in her jaw. “I…I can't deal with this right now,” she whispered, her voice soft and hoarse. “Let's talk tomorrow morning. I'm busy now.” She turned into her cafe, and left me standing there.
By 7.30am, I entered the cafe. A bell above the door jingled at my entrance. She stood behind the counter with a young lady serving pastries and coffee to local fishing people. She didn't raise her head but I knew she was aware of my presence.
I picked a table close to the glass window and sat down. Moments later, two large mugs of foaming coffee appeared on the table. Freida sat down opposite me with a heavy sigh, her eyes soft.
“Hey,” I whispered, overwhelmed with emotions I couldn't name.
“I wondered if you'd ever come looking for me…I mean, if we'd ever see again,” she said, nursing her mug, not meeting my eyes. “You kept the envelope.”
“I did. I shouldn't have—”
“No, you shouldn't have,” she whispered fiercely, her eyes brimming with an old rage now slowly stirring.
I gazed at my coffee to hide my shame. “I had to. What I did…to mama…to you…”
She sighed again. “Stacia, it wasn't your burden to bear. Guess what. I found out a month before and was going to tell Mama but Dada tried to shut me up.”
“I was scared,” I said and felt pathetic for it.
“I know and don't blame you. Remember that.”
Freida clenched her teeth as tears streamed down my face. “I thought if we stayed quiet, he would change…you know—”
“I've always told you, everyone has some evil in them.”
She stared outside the window as I wiped my face. The sea crashed around us, the air cool and fresh as people went about their business. A few glanced at us, wondering.
“Did you…did you jump that night?” I had to know. “I looked for you.”
She scoffed and shook her head. “I didn't. I just needed to get away from him…from you for choosing him.” I flinched and saw her tears start to flow. “I regretted leaving you…and mama. I hated myself for a while. He didn't deserve to be protected.”
“I didn't know better, Freida.”
“We failed Mama,” she said, sniffing.
“I told her, you know.”
“You did?”
“In the hospital,” I continued, my voice breaking at the memory of mama's passing. “She smiled, said she missed you. She said, ‘You girls must never live afraid.’”
“She was braver than us.”
I agreed with a nod. Frieda reached between the mugs for my hand. I clasped hers quickly, my heart growing lighter. We gazed at each other in silence.
“No more hiding. No more fear,” she said. “And no more sliding on the floor.” I chuckled with relief.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece that's in three parts. You can follow the link at the top to read the other parts. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "guess what!".
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Image credit: Alex_Bon
