Edmund withdrew his finger, and his gaze shifted.
“Ah… I see. Well, it was a jolly competitive game, and when that happens it’s easy to lose track of time. Still, that was but a minor inconvenience, and I’m sure she will not hold it against me for too long… will she?”
Lydia merely chuckled in response. She stared at the large tree standing before them. Its branches were long and gnarled, stretching over them with a protective air. The leaves were rubbery and thick while in the shadows, they could hear the sounds of rustling and twitching. All around them existed a city that thrived with life, and it occurred to Lydia that for animals, this tree might well have been akin to London, with its winding pathways, great heights, and hidden secrets.
Birds, squirrels, hedgehogs, and all manner of creatures had made their home in this tree that had been planted long before them but had grown along with the family. Charlotte sighed in contemplation.
“Imagine what they would think of us now,” she said softly, referring to their parents.
Lydia and Edmund bowed their heads. In this garden they used to play, scampering around, causing all sorts of trouble. Edmund used to clamber up the tree like a monkey, hanging upside down and always going that little bit higher than he should. Charlotte was usually with their mother, listening intently to all she had to teach. Lydia used to be concerned only with her storybooks, dreaming of the day when she would find her happy conclusion.
“I imagine they would be proud that we found people to share our lives. It wasn’t always easy after the example they set. There are so many dreary people about that I wasn’t sure I would find anyone who matched the affection they held for each other,” Edmund said. Charlotte and Lydia nodded in agreement.
“Do you think about them often?” Lydia asked.
“All the time. I see so much of them in my children, and I wish that they were around to be grandparents, to teach them all they taught me. There is a hole in our lives that can never be filled.”
“We can only try to honor them with our memories. As we get older, I do think about them much more, though. It really shan’t be too long until I am older than Father was when he died. What is a decade here or there?”
“You have longer than you think, but I agree. It is strange to think that one day we shall be older than they ever were,” Charlotte said.
“Have you forgiven them?” Lydia asked quietly, almost afraid and ashamed to ask the question. Silence settled over the siblings for a few moments.
“For a long time, I didn’t think I ever could, but I suppose there isn’t any point in holding onto enmity. They lived life on their terms, and they thought they could be researchers and parents. I’m sure they took all the necessary precautions, but they did not foresee the end. Should they have stayed with us? Perhaps… but then they wouldn’t be the mother and father we loved,” Edmund said.
“I have forgiven them for my own sake, but I have learned from their mistakes. I shall never leave my children,” Charlotte said. Her words were imbued with determination.
Lydia nodded. “I feel the same way. I have learned to make the best of things as we can never be sure how long they will last. One thing is for certain; they gave us plenty of memories to cherish.”
“They did indeed,” Edmund said. The three of them spent some time in front of the tree, thinking about the past before they returned inside, ready to celebrate Agatha’s marriage.
As they went inside, Lydia glanced over her shoulder and paused for a moment. A smile played upon her face as she remembered the three children running around the garden with her mother and father trying to maintain order as best they could. Their relationship with their parents might have been cut short, but at least they had a close relationship to look back on. The only regret she had was that it couldn’t continue, but in the end, she had a great deal to be thankful for.
Victor waited for her. Lydia approached him, and he held out his hand. It was natural for them to be close now, and they fell into a dance. The world spun, and all the possibilities of the future dazzled her. She would not live with regret.
She would live as she had done all her life, with her entire heart open and eager to accept wherever the tide took her next.
The End?
