(Sasha's P.O.V.)
I hugged my knees to myself as I rocked slightly upon the porch swing, wiping my tears as I sniffed, heaving lightly as I remember that day all too well. I kept hearing the tires screeching, the smell of plastic, the screams of my little sister and myself, the thunderous clank of metal hitting metal, and the familiar smell of blood. "May I sit next to you?". replied a hesitant, soft voice, and I looked up to see the concerned golden amber eyes of Crane, I nodded weakly. He immediately sat down on my right side, and I felt a hand rubbing my back.
"I'm here. Nothing won't break me away from helping you, dear Sasha. You have done so much for me and Po, and now it's my turn to help you.". murmured Crane, and I sobbed lightly as my heart felt a bit less broken, and a bit stronger, and I faced him. "You would've loved her. She was a incredible, amazing girl. She didn't care that she was only 6 years younger than me, or that we had different lives, but she loved me so much.".
Crane nodded lightly, "What was her name?". I chuckled warmly, "Her name was Rosalyn Temperance Pakati. I used to call her Rosie. She said that the nickname was refreshing for her as her parents called her by full name.".
"Her parents?". sounded Crane confusedly. I sighed heavily. "It was a day of school. I picked her up from her private school, we were laughing, having fun as we joked about my school having a flooding accident. I should've seen it when he came in. It was so fast. I survived barely, but she didn't. We were hit in the side. I kept hearing her screams, and seeing blood, so much blood everywhere. I lost her. Our parents came into the hospital, and they were in full grief when they saw Rosie, but when they saw me, their grief turned to anger. My father actually slapped me while my mother gave me this look of hate, a look I kept seeing in nightmares since that day.",
"I healed in time, physically, but not mentally. Rosie was a child prodigy. She had a talent in playing the piano. She always made me so happy when she did my favorite song. She had a good heart, the best. She made friends, and the teachers loved her. Most of them never blamed me for the accident, yet my parents did, abusing me vocally and mentally in the last year of high school. I was relieved, very relieved when I graduated, and I left my town, my old life, my old friends behind, wanting to escape them. I changed my last name to the one you know about, and since the accident wasn't publicly out, I was pretty unrecognizable.",
I had a counselor in college, met Justice, and I slowly mentally healed from that day. Justice knew the basics, but not the fact that my parents claimed that I was dead to them. I was very relieved when I found Kauai, and it was the farthest place I could live and be free without worrying about being recognized. I was shocked when I saw her today. She must have recognized me at the beach or somewhere else. The other driver, the husband, he was talking on the phone and for some reason, he crossed the line, and sidelined the car. His wife was one of a few besides my parents who blamed me.". I finally finished, somehow feeling a whole lot better since I talked to my counselor.
Crane exhaled as he glanced at me directly, and then hugged me suddenly, and somehow when I felt his warm arms around me, I let go of my tears, my pain, my sadness, my fear, and my anger. I sobbed hard as I hugged him tightly, "Why did she die, and not me?! It should have been me!".
"Sasha Duntosh, it isn't your fault nor your little sister's fault. The other driver didn't follow the rules, and it was truly his fault for causing all this chaos, all this pain, all this blame upon you which wasn't right at all. Sasha, you lived because you can make your life in the legacy of your sister. She loved you so much, and it was obvious that you loved her too. Rosie must be very happy when she sees that you are making incredible changes in lots of young lives, and she is surely proud of you to get healed like this.". Crane replied firmly yet softly, whispering into my ears.
I sniffed, and pulled back to look up at him, "You believe that?". Crane smiled softly, his fingers moving to adjust one of my bangs backwards over my ear, "I know so.". I then pulled a weak smile, "Thank you, Crane.". Crane blinked in surprise, then sighed softly, "Of course, but I have to say that I thank Rosie, as if it wasn't for her, I couldn't possibly met you or Justice.". I gaped in bewilderment, then smiled, "You know, Rosie often asked for a brother when she was younger. She would've loved to have you as her brother.". I then blinked, exhausted already, and I leaned into Crane's shoulder, and I welcomed sleep, not hearing Crane's reply.