"...Tirpitz?"
Speaking the name of a sister she had never met felt so…strange. Bismarck had always hated having doubts, and in this situation, she was definitely unsure of what to make of it. Uncertain if the woman standing in the distance was really Tirpitz. Unsure if she should go to her or perhaps wait for her to make the first move.
"Come on, your sister's waiting," the Commander nudged her gently.
"Sister…" Bismarck muttered. Her legs acted on their own as she mulled about it, moving towards the woman—then she noticed her doing the same, and thus she decided she wouldn't stop there.
As they stood face to face, Bismarck could see in her icy eyes—the longing, but there was no speck of doubt that might reflect her own.
"Tirpitz?" she whispered.
"...I am Tirpitz. And you must be my sister Bismarck."
"...I am," Bismarck confirmed, even though she knew Tirpitz wasn't asking. Her placid expression soon made way for a relieved smile.
"I know it. The moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew it. You are indeed my sister," she spoke, the calmness of her voice betraying her own emotions.
In the silence that followed, as Bismarck struggled with the weight of the revelation, she soon found herself in an embrace. It was warm—Tirpitz was clinging onto her tightly as if she would disappear once she let go.
Eventually, she returned the gesture. As she did, the doubts that plagued her were cast out—the person she was sharing the embrace with is truly her sister.
She could apologize later—right now, she could only think of basking in their shared peace.
After all, the distance that once separated them across the seas, across destinies, across life and death, the one that had existed since their births—it was no more.