Page 121 of The Encore’s Crown

Silence settles between us. I dip my brush into the blush, tap off the excess, and begin sweeping color across my cheeks. Tata stands. For a second, I think it's over. Then he comes behind me and rests one hand on my shoulder.

“You look like your babcia when you sit like this.”

I meet his eyes in the mirror.

“Terrifyingly beautiful?”

“Always ready for battle.”

“That too.”

His hand pats my shoulder once.

“She was strong even when the whole world sat on her back. Never let anyone see her knees bending.”

My throat tightens. I focus on the brush.

“You have her face,” he says. “And her spirit. You carry your brother's spirit too.”

My hand stops. Tata’s gaze lowers briefly before returning to mine.

“Kasia was always the softer child. She cried when bugs died. She would find a beetle on the windowsill and cry like someone in the family had passed.”

I look at him.

“But you—you always ran in believing you could save things,” he says. “Even after they were already gone. A bug. A bird. Once, an egg from the refrigerator.”

He laughs at the memory and shakes his head.

“You’d hold them in your hands and demand I fix them.”

A laugh escapes me, but it hurts.

“Maybe I should’ve been the doctor instead.”

“Kasia learned there are things she cannot save.”

“And I didn’t?”

His expression turns tender.

“I think you are still learning.”

Downstairs, Mama calls for someone to set the table. Kasia answers. A cupboard closes. Normal sounds from a normal family that has no idea I let a man crawl beneath my skin and then acted surprised when he tore his way back out. Tata’s thumb presses gently against my shoulder.

“You know we are here when you need us, right, kochanie?”

I nod.

“When the world is heavy.”

He keeps looking at me. I reach up and cover his hand with mine.

“I know, Tata.”

Finally, he bends and kisses the top of my head. He leaves without asking anything else. The door closes behind him. I stare at myself in the mirror and one tear slips free. Only one. It travels through the blush I just applied, leaving a narrow line down my cheek. I wipe it away, repair the damage, and go downstairs.

Dinner is already loud. Mama has made enough food to prepare us for a six-month famine. Dominik is arguing with Tata about some new chocolate at the shop. Aga is cutting Kacper’s food while he explains, at full volume, why dinosaurs would have been excellent construction workers. Amelka throws her food from her highchair with the same joy she threw the blocks weeks ago. Zosia is telling Kasia about a girl at school who stole her pencil and then denied it despite apparently being caught with the pencil in her hand.