The Love that Never Really Dies

Sasha had an elaborate dream.

In it, she was back in her teens, her family was prominent, and her parents were still alive. She was treated like a princess every day, living her life happily.

Then, one day, her mother brought her cousin over. “Sasha, your uncle has fallen ill, so your cousin, Xenia, is staying with us. Take good care of her, okay?”

“Okay.”

Sasha took the cousin who was two years older by the hand, delighted to have her there.

After that, Xenia settled in and did everything with Sasha. She heard that the school Sasha went to was great. So Sasha’s father enrolled her when she made her intentions clear on attending the same school.

From then onward, the two were inseparable.

“Sasha, what are you doing? Why aren’t you doing your homework?”

“I’m writing a letter. He’s overseas. I want to send him a letter every day.” Sasha was treating it very seriously, so Xenia went ahead and sat beside her.

She picked up the letter that Sasha wrote and flipped through. “He’s been gone for so long and you’ve sent him so many. Has he ever written a reply?”

Sasha’s expression instantly dulled. “No.”

She knew it was not going to happen because she never actually sent those letters out.

written all these, but he never responded?

me send my

help you mail your letters. And I’ll make sure that

that and

it, and Xenia’s

was a smidgen of hope that she might

Xenia took the letters, things remained the same. Every time Xenia went back, she would tell Sasha that there was no reply but also encourage her to continue writing, saying that

a faint

letter-writing as she found interest in writing stories. She started pouring all

at everything? Can I see what you wrote?” Xenia was feeling envious of

“Sure.”

at the time. She never second-guessed Xenia as she was family to

made a copy of everything she wrote and gave it

into high school and

the Blackwood family have to help the Wand family with their debt? Mum, Dad, are you

your aunt and uncle! They

I think about it! They told you that they would treat me like their own daughter. But it turns out, whatever Sasha had, I could never

Her parents were speechless.

and her mother fell ill. When she

we mistreat her