Emilia’s mom grabbed her, her fake nails piercing Emilia’s skin. She threw her down in a chair, and tied her up. Emilia’s eyes were wide with panic, terror, and pain.

“You stole my magic. You… Dad was supposed to give it to _me. I _was the one who cared for him. I fed him every night, I payed his rent, and I made sure he was safe. You barely even loved him, and he gave his most loved and valuable possession to you.”

Emilia was breathing fast. Her anxiety caused panic attacks multiple times during her teenage/college years. However, it’s been a while since her last one, so it was hitting her hard. “Mom, why are you bringing this up” Emilia said in between breaths “uh like fifteen years after I got my magic?! And, I would have loved him, but he never cared about me at all! You know that!”

Her mom took a sharp breath “He obviously cared about you enough to give you something that is worth the world! He owed that to his own daughter; I gave him the world, and he failed to return the favor!”

Emilia was crying when she shoved a brown journal in her face “Look at this!”

Emilia’s hands shook violently as she tried to wipe at her tears so she could read the page her mom had opened to.

_Dear Love,_

_It’s a quite nice day out. I just finished preparing my will. I would have given you everything if you were still here. However, since you’re not, I have decided to give Lena the house and my magic to Emilia. _

_Why Emilia? Well let’s just say, I’ve always thought that Emilia had more of you inside her. When she bakes cookies, I smell you. When she writes her name in cursive, I see your signature. When she gets angry and screams “what the hell!”, and Lena gets angry at her for “using foul language”, I hear your voice in her screams. With Emilia, I see you everywhere. It’s most of the reason why I stuck around that house so much. I’ve always seen Emilia as a reinvention of you. Lena used to be that for me, but that changed when Emi was born._

_I’ve never believed in reincarnation until Emi._

_I love you, and I miss you, Love._

_Love,_

_Harris_

Emilia stared at the journal, dumbfounded. That made no sense! Her grandpa had spent his time in their house away from her. They had never even had a heart to heart conversation! This just… wasn’t real.

Her mom definitely thought so though, because she cried “Do you have _nothing _to say to me right now?!”

“Mom.” Emilia said “This was grandpa’s choice, not mine. You can’t blame me for this!” Her voice surprised her. She rarely ever had the bravery to fight back.

“You could have said no. I mean, you’ve created so much trouble with your magic anyways, Emilia.”

“I was eleven, Mom! I thought Grandpa had just gone mad! He had one day left to live!”

“How could you guilt trip me now?! You were the lucky one! I hate you! You made me suffer, so now you deserve to suffer!”

Emilia had always known her mother was melodramatic.

This though?

This was _insane_.

She was her _daughter, _for heaven’s sake!

She hadn’t done anything wrong! It wasn’t her fault Grandpa believed that she was some kind of reinvention of Grandma!

_Or was it?_

“I will fix Barnie.” Her mom said, startling Emilia.

**Emilia was so lost.**“Really…?” she squeaked.

“First, you’ll have to go down a very long lane of your very worst memories, though.” Her mom said, with a daunting grin.

Emilia’s heart dropped. _No._

_“_I want to go home.” she cried.

“I don’t think so…” her mom said.

Emilia’s breath quickened again, and so did her heart. “How are you doing this Mom? Why are you here?”

“The God Of Magic summoned me a few years back. You were never around here, so I never got a chance to tell you. Which is good, because I’m glad you found out this way.” she cackled like a witch.

She _was _a witch!

Emilia had the urge to slap her. And The God Of Magic.

“Close your eyes Emilia.” She said.

Emilia felt sick, and she tried to scream.

But her eyes were forced shut…

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emilia’s eyes popped open thirty seconds later. A pile of dread filled her stomach as she realized where she was. She was at the Ladybug Creek Woods; it was where she had gotten lost the day that she tried to walk home when her parents had forgotten her at school in fourth grade.

She saw a little girl with a tight bun emerge. Her face was soaked with tears, as she frantically glanced around, trying to find a way out. Emilia’s heart dropped. It was her.

Emilia tried to say something to reassure the girl, but the girl didn’t hear a thing.

“Help! Mommy! Daddy! Please!!” she yelped frantically when a skunk approached her.

Emilia felt the emotions flooding back. She felt the fear (from being in the woods), the loneliness (from being left alone at school), the dread (knowing that she might have to sleep here in the dark), and the envy (because no one else’s parents ever left them at school) so strongly all over again. The sunset colors which usually brightened her, left her shivering from fear tonight.

That sight of that helpless little girl scared Emilia, and wrecked her heart.

Her eyes started to close again. Relief flooded her heart, but it vanished quickly when she woke up again…

⭐️⭐️⭐️

She woke up to a soccer ball barely missing her face. She jumped out of the way. The soccer ball bounced off of the rim of the goal. She looked up and saw herself and her soccer team. The girl she used to be had just missed the goal, the shot they needed to win.

The girl’s face was red with embarrassment and sweat as the other team cheered.

Grace, her teammate, came over whispered something in the girl’s ear.

Emilia remembered the exact words. _Thanks a lot, loser. We’d have won if you hadn’t been a scaredy cat baby._

__

The girl ran, bolting for somewhere far, but then she was stopped be her mother.

The dread on Emilia’s face mirrored the dread on the girl’s.

Emilia started to hyperventilate. She hated this part. She wasn’t watching it. She couldn’t bare to see herself as a helpless and vulnerable little girl getting stomped on by every single person she crossed paths with.

She needed a distraction. Something. _Anything. _And she needed it fast.

That’s when it came to her: him.

She saw his face first, slowly allowing herself to remember the way he warmly smiled at her when she said something funny or did something kind. Then she saw his eyes, letting the beautiful hazelnut color steal a piece of her heart. Then came the arms, the memory of them wrapping around her and squeezing as she sobbed into his gray sweatshirt the day she found out her family cat was lost and her parents had no “time” to keep searching for him, unfolding and ironing itself out. Then came his lips, delicately touching hers, on the day Emilia had said “I love you.” for the first time in years. She remembered the panic she had felt kissing him for the first time; but his hands had made it all better, grazing her shoulders as he mumbled “It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re beautiful. This is beautiful.”

His hands were the best part of him. They were _perfect. _She had felt so lucky to have found a guy like him who just knew.

He knew when she was upset. He knew when she wanted to stay curled up on the couch instead of going out. He knew when she was about to have an anxiety attack or start sobbing about the smallest thing. He knew how to love a lost and damaged girl like her, he knew her better than anyone else in the world after their third date.

There was nothing Emilia missed more than him. It’s been almost four years now and very deep down, she still felt this way.

It was buried love.

Topped with sadness, regret, a pinch of anger, hopelessness, a lot of desire, and pain.

The truth is (Emilia can barely admit it but she knows is true) that he was the reason why.

He was the reason why she went down this lane of bad memories, so she could help his twin.

He was the reason why she agreed to try and save Barnie and Stevie’s relationship.

He is the reason why she hasn’t formed a plan to get serious revenge on her psychotic mother just yet.

Most importantly, he is the reason why she survived up until this point. Deep inside her, there was always this hope she carried with her every day. The erratic hope that one day, she would find him again. And they would find themselves resting on each others’ shoulders as they stared at the TV in her/his living room once again.

That was the one thing her heart still believed in.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emilia’s eyes started to close, throwing her out of her imagination.

Dread seeped into her heart, because as these childhood memories disappear, she knew that she was going to have to face him again.

However, a surprising golden light of hope seeped into her heart as well.

Because maybe, just maybe, seeing him would bring forth some closure.

….

Sincerely,

Caralia🫶🏼

That’s part 3!! This was really fun to write! 💛💛