“Are you okay?” Th?y Mai pulled away, a small frown creasing her delicate features. “Uncle Jake told us a bad man made you sick, so you couldn’t come home.”
Home.
She pushed back Th?y Mai’s silken hair, tucking it behind her ear. “He’s right, but I’m okay now. I promise.”
“Uncle Jake also said he’d take good care of you until you can come back.”
“Yeah, he took good care of me.”Among other things.
“Good.” She glanced back at the TV. “Wanna watch a movie with us?”
Looking up, she saw her parents watching the exchange, sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for her response. “Yeah, I think I would like that very much.”
They visibly relaxed. Mom gave Gia a small smile, then went back to reading her book. Dad nodded gently before returning his attention to Th?y Mai, who was directing which movie they should pick.
“Lunch will be ready by the time you finish changing.” Minh looked her up and down pointedly.
It was obviously men’s clothes she wore, and even though she was an adult who had lived on her own for the past decade, she still felt heat creeping up her neck. As far as walks of shame went, this one was the most bizarre.
“Um, yeah, I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for a response, Gia ran up the stairs, one hand holding the band of the sweatpants to stop them from slipping down.
Despite the unusual encounter, warmth spread through her chest. As she got undressed, her phone clattered to the ground.
The screen lit up, showing missed notifications. Her chest tightened, but before it could progress to something else, she decisively shut off the screen and tossed it into the drawer.
Tomorrow could wait.
Today was for her family, and she would fill it with cherished memories, as if it were their last day together.
Everyone was still in the kitchen finishing up lunch. Th?y Mai recounted the first movie of her favorite sister duo, enthralling everyone, since they would watch the sequel after lunch. Gia smiled along with her, but there was something pulling her attention away. She had been pushing it off since she came back to Willowbrook, and could no longer ignore it.
Excusing herself from the table, she forced her legs to move, her palms slick with sweat as she turned the corner.
There it was.
The wooden altar, polished to perfection, was perched proudly in the corner of the living room. She had refused to acknowledge it until now. A framed portrait of Thao in black and white, smiling with eyes bright and mischievous, rested at its center. His eyes sparkled with life. It was how she liked to remember him. Not the empty casket they buried.
A vase of fresh flowers, an incense burner, an oil lamp, and a plate of sesame seed dessert balls surrounded his portrait. Gia’s chest tightened at the sight. A small smile touches her lips at the sight of the desserts. She hoped that wherever he was, he was enjoying the treats.
Gia stepped closer until she could run her fingers gently across the cool wood, wiping away an invisible speck of dust. A futile attempt to show some care after so many years of absence. It didnothing to assuage the guilt she felt about having been absent. No doubt her mother or sister dusted it daily. She never even kept an altar for him in any of the places she’d lived since leaving home.
Out of sight, out of mind.
“Hey, anh trai,” she whispered. “I miss you.”
Tears tracked down her face as she finally acknowledged what losing her big brother, her twin, her other half, had done to her. She kept trying to fill, to ignore, the desolate crater that was a constant, stark reminder of what she lost. For so long, she’d pretended he was still out there, hopeful for a miracle he had somehow survived the fall and was living his best life without her in it—even though sheknewhe was no longer on the same plane of existence as her. Whether it was twin sense or intuition, she had felt the moment he was ripped away from her.
And God, did ithurt. It hurt so much she slept with Jake, and when he told her she was a mistake, she ran away from home. Putting distance between herself and everyone in Willowbrook who reminded her of a painful reality she didn’t want to be real somehow made it less real. When distance hadn’t helped, she threw herself into pursuing modeling, then acting, and then drugs.
Nothing made her feel lessempty.
Until now.
She sat in front of her brother’s altar and told him about the last few years of her life as if he were sitting there in front of her. As the words poured out of her, the edges of her heart came together. His portrait seemed to wink back at her like he was listening, but she knew it was only her mind playing tricks on her.
She bowed her head, letting the words from her soul rise quietly, hoping they reached him—if he was even listening. Or maybe he had already moved on, and she was only talking to herself like an idiot.
“I love you.” Her voice broke, but she didn’t fight the tears as she gently traced thewood.
