Epilogue
Aislinn rolled down the window of her midnight blue '77 Volkswagen beetle, cursing as the crank fell off and she had to jam it back on. Eventually she got things back together and lit her cigarette. Sitting back in her seat she inhaled deeply, enjoying the feel of the drag even though a voice in the back of her head kept telling her she was killing her lungs. She ignored the voice and reached across the car, popping open the glove compartment and pulling out a battered file folder.
She set it on her lap, resting it against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. It'd been awhile since she'd read it…and she was still unsure of what to do with the information inside. Flicking ashes into her ashtray, she took another hit off the cigarette and opened the file.
Skimming the pages, her thoughts went to the men inside the hospital. She'd watched them for months before making that first contact, last Halloween. She'd been so afraid that they'd see the truth in her and everything would go to hell. The last thing she needed was a trip back to jail, but they hadn't seen anything in her…still hadn't. She'd been up close to both of them now and neither had a clue who she really was.
She looked at the picture in front of her now, ignoring the words that she'd memorized as soon as she'd gotten the file. The small black and white photo was worn where'd she touched it over and over again, not able to take in enough of the man's handsome features, his dark hair, light eyes and mischievous grin. The picture of her father had been her birthday present four years ago. Her mother had always promised that she'd let her seek out the truth once she turned twenty-one. Now her mother was gone. Her mother, the palm-reader…couldn't even foresee her own demise…or maybe she had and just never shared it with anyone else. The sharp reminder of the loss of the only person in her world who'd ever really understood her brought tears even though she'd told herself she wasn't allowed to cry about it anymore.
She flipped though two more pages, seeing two more familiar photographs. They were gifts from her mother as well. She paused on them for a moment before she abruptly closed the file, unable to look at it anymore today. She'd seen them both and knew they were well. One day she'd seek out her father…their father…but for now it was enough to know that her brothers were well… and that they had each other, whether they knew it or not.
thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.
This story filled the following 4 challenges on the old m7challenge list.
1. Feb.'03 Estrogen Challenge-had to involve an OFC (though I admit I cheated a bit and used an OFC I'd created in another story...she was only in one scene of that one though so I figured it would work:))
2. May '03 Bone-snapping Challenge-had to break someone's bone.
3. April '04 Who's Who Challenge--where one of the seven is mistaken for another
4. May '04 Word Challenge-one word had to be an important theme