Evaline:
I simply stared at Charles.
His words hung in the quiet study room like sothing fragile and heavy at the sa ti.
He had a sister.
That alone surprised .
In all the months I had known him, he had never once ntioned her. Every ti his family ca up in conversation, he always said it was just him and his grandmother.
But now...
Now I didn’t know what to think.
Because the way he spoke about her didn’t sound like soone talking about a distant relative.
It sounded like soone talking about a wound that had never healed.
My gaze stayed fixed on him as I tried to understand.
I didn’t know his full story. I only knew pieces.
But this?
This part of his life had never co up.
And I couldn’t imagine what kind of circumstances could make a sister hate her brother so much.
Charles looked up at again. His eyes were shining. Unshed tears glistened there as he held my gaze.
"Why didn’t she love ?" he asked softly.
The question pierced straight through my chest.
I opened my mouth. But no words ca out. Because the truth was... I didn’t know.
I didn’t know what had happened between them. I didn’t know what his sister had gone through. I didn’t know what Charles had gone through either.
And without knowing those things... how could I possibly answer that question?
He kept looking at .
Waiting.
"Why didn’t she ever see how much I loved her?" he continued quietly.
His voice trembled slightly now.
"Why didn’t she notice how much I cared?"
My throat tightened. There was so much pain in those questions. And none of it had answers I could give him.
So I did the only thing I could.
I stayed silent.
Sotis silence was better than empty words.
The first tear finally slipped down his cheek. And the mont it did, Charles quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand.
His posture straightened and his expression shifted... like a mask sliding into place.
He forced a small smile.
"Sorry," he said lightly.
But the smile didn’t reach his eyes. It carried more pain than anything else.
"I didn’t an to dump all that on you."
I shook my head slightly.
"You don’t have to apologize."
But he clearly didn’t want to dwell on it.
The room fell into a quiet silence after that.
Charles looked down at the book again, gently running his fingers over its cover as if grounding himself.
I gave him a few monts. Then finally, carefully, I spoke, "There’s sothing I don’t understand."
He glanced up.
"You never ntioned having a sister before today," I said gently. "You always said it was just you and your grandmother."
He didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, he lowered his gaze again.
For a mont, I wondered if I had pushed too far.
But then he spoke. Very quietly. "My sister... left a long ti ago."
Sothing about the way he said it made my stomach tighten.
Left.
Not moved away.
Not cut contact.
Left.
I hesitated.
Then slowly, the aning settled into place.
My chest felt heavier.
"She... hated so much," Charles continued softly, "that she decided to leave all alone."
The way he said it made it sound less like anger... and more like sorrow.
My lips parted. Then closed again. Because what could I possibly say to that?
Finally, I managed a quiet whisper. "I’m sorry."
He looked up at .
"I didn’t an to make you relive that pain," I continued gently. "Losing your sister must have been... really hard."
And judging by the way he spoke about her... he had loved her deeply. Even if she never returned that love.
Charles was silent for a mont.
Then sothing shifted in his expression. He took a breath. And suddenly clapped his hands together once, breaking the heavy atmosphere that had settled between us.
"Anyway!" he said a little too brightly.
The sudden change caught off guard.
"You should co visit during the holidays."
I blinked.
"What?"
"Co to my house," he repeated, a bit more naturally this ti. "My grandma would love to et you."
His enthusiasm returned quickly as he leaned forward.
"We have these huge adows behind our house," he continued. "They are beautiful even in winters. And my grandma’s cooking-"
He placed a hand dramatically over his heart.
"-is the best thing you’ll ever taste in your life."
Despite everything, a small smile slowly appeared on my lips.
The shift in conversation was so abrupt it almost felt intentional.
Like he didn’t want to stay in that painful place for too long.
And honestly... I didn’t bla him.
"That sounds tempting," I said.
His eyes brightened imdiately.
"So you’ll co?"
I considered it for a mont. Then nodded. "I’ll visit you and your grandmother during New Year."
His face lit up again.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Great!" he said happily.
He carefully placed the book, scarf, and cookie boxes back into the gift bag before standing up.
"I should head back now. Thank you again," he added sincerely.
"You are welco."
He slung the bag over his shoulder and started heading toward the door. Then he paused and turned back briefly.
"Don’t forget," he said with a small grin. "Homade cookies."
I chuckled.
"I’ll rember."
With that, Charles left the study hall first.
For a few seconds, I remained seated. The small smile still lingering on my lips.
But slowly...
It faded.
Sothing had felt... different. It was subtle, almost impossible to describe.
I frowned slightly and looked around the study hall.
Students sat at nearby tables, quietly working on their assignnts. So whispered to each other. So flipped through books.
Everything looked normal.
Completely normal.
But I had felt that strange sensation, like sothing had shifted in the air.
Or maybe...
Maybe it was just my imagination.
Still, I let my healing power expand slightly, letting my senses brush gently across the area.
The familiar warmth of my magic moved through the room - scanning, observing, searching.
But nothing unusual appeared. There was no strange energy, no foreign magic, no threat.
Everything seed exactly the sa as before.
After a mont, I pulled my power back and exhaled slowly.
Maybe I was just overthinking things.
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