Two candles

It is over.

I wasn't there when AuroraBlue came into the world.

I should have been.

Lily is my little sister, in emotional bond if not in biological fact. In the eyes of the law, I'm her mother. Her guardian. I should have been there when she brought AuroraBlue into the world. But I was . . . elsewhere. I knew it was coming. I should have been there. But, by the time I arrived, AuroaBlue was out and Lily was in suspension.

I wasn't there when she left the world.

I should have been.

I knew it was coming. They'd told me. I'd known. I couldn't stop it, but I'd known. I should have been there, but again, I was elsewhere. They told me later. Lily's note, written in crayon. She was so quiet, and the subconscious part of me that was always aware didn't perceive her as a threat, that I didn't awaken. The note was so simple, but I knew without a doubt what it meant.

MISS SEANA
I SORRY
LILY

Gallagher'd left a note too. How local law enforcement would 'handle' the situation. An accident. If it ever came to that.

I didn't care about an accident.

I didn't care how he handled the incident.

It was over. Aurora was gone. I felt the pain I'd prepared myself for. Something was lost from the world. Something amazing. But something was saved as well.

Don't be sorry, Mei Mei.

Dragons understand
Life continues as it must
But not as it was

Sabrina knows I don't talk about my personal pain. I just accept the comfort of her embrace and the love that's made me whole. It's been another year. Caitlin's still dead, and I still light a candle to her memory. But now the candle does not sit alone.