Chapter 1
My life seemed to come to a standstill.
The phone rang just as the evening light began to fade, spilling gold over the London skyline. I almost didn’t answer. It was late, and my mind was somewhere else, lost between work emails and the quiet hum of the rain. But then I saw the name.
Dad.
He never called this late. Something inside me tightened.
“Dad?” I said, trying to sound normal. “Everything okay?”
There was a strange heavy pause, before he spoke. His voice, heavy.
“It’s Emma,” he said finally. His voice cracked on her name. “She’s gone, sweetheart.”
The room blurred. “Gone?” I repeated, stupidly, as if saying the word might make it change its meaning.
“She… she passed away this morning,” he said, voice shaking.
“She suddenly lost consciousness at home yesterday, the doctors did what the could, but she was struggling….”
I couldn’t breathe. The world felt like it had tilted, and I was falling through it.
“She had cancer,” he went on, quieter now. “She didn’t tell anyone. Not even us. She didn’t want to worry you.”
Cancer. The word burned in my chest. I felt shattered, Emma, my dear Emma, who would share every little thing with me had hidden something so enormous.
I sat down, my legs suddenly feeling heavy.
“She had the baby six months ago,” he whispered, as if that detail might soften the blow. “Little Noah. We’re all here by her side. We’re waiting for you.”
I didn’t remember ending the call. I only breathe through the incessant ringing in my her. How could I not know that my sister was battling with this?
Alex, my boyfriend, was suddenly there, his face pale with worry. “What happened?”
“Emma’s gone,” I choked out. “She’s gone, Alex.”
He reached for me, but I was already standing, already moving, like my body had decided before my mind caught up. I grabbed my suitcase from under the bed and began throwing things in. I had to reach home. New York. The last time I was there was for her wedding, she looked pristine in her flowy white wedding dress. William, her husband, stood beside her like a stone. They had smiles on their face, but our families knew what was behind those masks. Their marriage was a business transaction so that the business could flourish. Emma was a butterfly, on the other hand William was like a hawk, two people forced to be together, two people with completely opposite personalities.
I was brought back to the present, when Alex held my palm.
“She was sick,” I said, between sobs. “And she never told us. She had a baby, Alex. My sister had a baby, and now she’s gone, and I don’t know what to do.”
He said something; something soft, something meant to comfort me, but I couldn’t hear him. My ears rang with the sound of my heartbeat, my grief, my disbelief.
Within an hour, the flight was booked. London to New York. First available.
When I finally stopped moving, the suitcase lay open, half-packed, my clothes spilling out like the mess of my thoughts. I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching my passport, staring out at the rain streaking the window.
Tomorrow, I’d be on a plane ,flying to a city that suddenly felt like the end of everything.
Emma was gone. But somewhere out there, her little boy was waiting.
And I didn’t know if I was strong enough to face either truth.
