How was it possible to feel so alone in the midst of such joy and love and laughter?
Chancellor Esteban sighed deeply, watching from his comfortable seat in the shade as his cousins giggled together, skipping stones in the Castillo Park lake. He could remember a time when he had been but a year older than Elena and had been there laughing and playing right along with them—especially in their younger years.
But forty-one years had passed and he had lived his life while his cousins remained frozen in time. He'd outgrown such fanciful nonsense—though he admitted the nonsense had made some of the happiest memories of his life. Running, laughing, causing mischief in the palace, having adventures together—all of the little things that he had failed to appreciate until it was too late.
And now—now he was surrounded by family that loved him—and that helped, really it did—but he was still too old for such youthful games, stuck on the outside watching with nothing but memories of happy times long past.
It left a lonely, hollow feeling inside him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Elena paused and glanced over her shoulder, grinning cheekily at her cousin, saying, "Remember when we used to stand in this very spot and have contests to see who could get their stone to skip the longest?"
Smiling slightly, Esteban nodded.
"Well, if memory serves me correctly, you won nearly every time. But I think I've improved a lot since then." She crossed her arms and grinned, her eyes twinkling with the challenge.
Isabel laughed, running over and grabbed Esteban's hand. "I think we need to have a contest right now!"
Esteban tried to protest but his words died in his throat as Isa looked up at him with those wide brown eyes of hers and said, "Oh, please Cousin Esteban! Please?"
How could he deny his cousin such a simple request?
A hint of warmth sparked in his heart as he joined his cousins at the lake shore and picked up a handful of stones. The girls laughed and picked up their own stones as the three of them teased and heckled one another good naturedly.
Esteban couldn't help but think that while he had aged for so many years, perhaps that didn't matter as much as he thought. They were still family and he was still one of them—if he allowed himself to be.
Perhaps he wasn't quite so alone after all.
