The next morning Aurelia awoke in a panic as the reality of the day crashed upon her. No longer could she live in the guise of uncertainty - for today, in one form or another, she would know her future.
She had only hours before there was no going back.
Aurelia hesitantly stepped out of bed before making her way downstairs, assessing each movement she made and every feeling that overcame her as if it would hint at what the doctor would tell them.
Aurelia paused as she looked over to the half-full coffee pot, in which Evora had made when she had woken up.
Yesterday, they had decided that Evora would go to work in the morning and retrieve Aurelia in the afternoon to meet with the doctors.
Taking a deep breath, Aurelia forced herself to let go of the tension that riddled her body. She was okay right now. That was all she could ask for. Shakily she brought her cup to her lips, allowing the warm coffee to slide through her lips in comfort.
She found herself climbing the stairs and passing both her and her mother’s rooms, walking to the door on the end that had remained closed for months now.
Nonna’s bedroom.
It had been months since Aurelia had stepped foot in the sacred space, but it felt as if something were pulling her there as her hand rested upon the door knob. Taking a deep breath, she opened the room, the nostalgic smell of lilac and lavender reaching her nostrils.
The familiar room was painted the pale yellow that Nonna had insisted upon, and over the years, had added her own small touches, the largest being a detailed painting of the sun on her far wall that had taken her months to finish.
The room was exactly how they had left it when they had come to take Nonna’s body. Neither Aurelia nor Evora had wanted to move any of her things nor change anything that Nonna had touched, and thus her things were scattered about, as if she had left in a rush to run a quick errand and would be back.
Aurelia’s heart ached as she reminded herself that she would never be coming back no matter how much she wished for it. She took another step into the room, her eyes glancing over the cluttered bookshelf, the ancient wooden desk that Nonna had always insisted upon keeping, and her eyes fell upon the windowsill that was filled to the brim with her plants.
A wave of sadness enveloped Aurelia as her eyes landed on the dead plants, the once beautiful, overflowing windowsill of flowers and greenery now a shadow of what it once was, the beautiful flowers drooping towards the floor as if they were mourning for her, too. She stepped forward to touch them, the same flowers Nonna took such good care of, when one of the dried flowers fell to the floor.
Aurelia immediately kneeled down to pick it up, wanting to keep every piece of Nonna she had left. As she reached for the flower, her gaze landed upon a small, wooden box shoved away underneath the dresser adjacent to the window.
Aurelia’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she pulled it out from its hiding spot, blowing off the thick layer of dust that covered it. Someone had put a lot of work into the small wooden piece as it was intricately carved with all sorts of flowers and trees on the top of it. She had not once seen something like this in Nonna’s room, and the two of them had been thick as thieves.
She moved to sit on the bed, gently easing the jewelry box open. What Aurelia was expecting, she was not sure, but the contents within were nothing shocking in the least. Only a few items remained - a long golden necklace with a sun pendant, a bundle of old photographs, and many of the bracelets that Nonna had worn on their adventures.
Aurelia held the bracelets in her hand fondly for a moment before she turned to the photographs. Not once had Nonna mentioned any photographs she had kept from her childhood. All Aurelia had been told of her growing up was that it had not been a happy one and that she wished to never remember it. There had been a time when Aurelia had insisted on finding old photographs, declaring a need to compare their resemblance, yet Nonna had insisted there were none. But if that were true…what were these photographs?
Aurelia slowly went through the pictures, her confusion growing. They were odd photos, indeed. Every one of them was in a grassy meadow that Aurelia was unfamiliar with and the only person she recognized was Nonna, her face distinguishable despite her much younger age. Aurelia had no clue who the others were, but one thing was certain - they were dressed oddly. All of them were adorned in what Aurelia would consider medieval fashion - long, colorful gowns, a few with cloaks, their hair braided and fancily put up. They seemed to all be laughing at something, but at what, Aurelia had no idea.
She flipped through a few more, and the same faces stared back at her, in the same medieval attire. She was certain it was her grandmother, yet…something didn’t make sense.
Why would she lie about something like this?
She flipped to the last photo in which there was only one woman, a powerful one at that. Aurelia didn’t recognize her, though she looked familiar. Her red hair was long enough to reach her waist and on her head sat the most beautiful and extravagant crown Aurelia had ever seen. She rested on a throne that looked as if it were made of flames and was dressed similarly to the other photos. This photo in particular was the oldest out of all of them, and it was clear that this was the one that her grandmother had looked at the most often, the picture faded and the corners withered from being held so many times.
Who was she? Aurelia thought as she browsed the photos once more. Perhaps there was more to her grandmother than she could have fathomed, though why she was surprised, she had no idea. Her grandmother had always been a free spirit, and had gone on adventures for as long as Aurelia had been alive.
Gently she placed the photos back into the jewelry box, placing Nonna’s bracelets on top of them. Her hand moved to place the sun necklace into the box, but midway through Aurelia changed her mind and placed it over her head instead, the sun pendant resting right against her heart.
She looked up at the only photo Nonna had framed in her bedroom - an old photo of Aurelia and herself in the garden back when she was much younger.
“I miss you,” Aurelia said thickly. She blinked away the tears as she stood up, hiding the jewelry box once more, leaving the bedroom exactly the way she found it.
They arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes early. Despite Evora having to practically drag Aurelia into the car, they had gotten here much quicker than usual. That did nothing to calm either of their nerves.
“Will you turn the music off?” Evora said coldly to Aurelia, her foot tapping anxiously on the floor of the car.
Aurelia rolled her eyes as she forcefully pushed the off button. “Well, what was the point of getting here so early then? To sit in the car?”
Evora gave Aurelia a pointed look. “You’re right. Let’s go.” She stepped out of the car and walked over to open Aurelia’s door. “Let’s go.” She repeated.
The dread that had been a dull ache in Aurelia’s stomach grew stronger. She glared at her mother for a moment before forcing herself to stand, putting her coat on. What she wouldn’t give to be anywhere else at the moment.
The two walked into the waiting room, Evora checking them in while Aurelia sat down in a chair next to the window. She felt a hard lump in her coat pocket, and confused, pulled it out. In her hand sat the long forgotten key the stranger had given to her in what seemed like months ago.
Aurelia attempted to distract herself by studying the golden key once more - but like before, found nothing suspicious. It was just an ordinary golden key with nowhere to go. Yet somehow, it gave her a small sense of peace. She tightened her hand around it as she glanced out the window once more.
“Aurelia, they’re ready for us.” Evora said gently, pulling Aurelia out of her trance. Quickly, she stood and subconsciously placed the key back into her pocket as she took her mother’s hand to lead her to their room - the room where the truth would finally emerge.
Aurelia couldn’t help feeling like she was walking towards her death sentence.
“The doctor will be in shortly,” The nurse said reassuringly as she motioned the pair into a quiet room with two chairs and a desk. She left as fast as she came and Evora and Aurelia were left alone once more.
Sitting in the two chairs across from the desk, Evora placed her hand over Aurelia’s. “It will be okay.” She said gently. It might’ve been the most hopeful thing she had ever said to her daughter. It did little to ease Aurelia’s fears.
They both jumped at the sound of the knock on the door.
“Good morning, ladies,” A tall, broad-shouldered woman announced to the pair of them, dressed in a white lab coat, a file folder in hand. “We are here to discuss the lab results of your blood exams.” The doctor pulled out her glasses as she went to sit at the chair behind the desk. “My name is Dr. Calhoun, and I have been studying your case.”
She opened up the file folder and skimmed it before looking up at the two people in front of her – both so fearful, holding onto each other as if for dear life.
“I would like to remind both of you - hopefully to ease your fears a bit - that medicine has improved greatly in the past decades and there are always solutions we may work towards.”
Evora gave Aurelia’s hand a gentle squeeze.
Dr. Calhoun cleared her throat as she turned a page in her folder. “It seems, Aurelia, that in our testing, you have tested positive for all genetic markers indicating the same disease that your grandmother, Elowyn Cromwell, also tested positive for.”
Aurelia felt like she couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t possible.
“She has had absolutely no symptoms. How do you know this is accurate?” Evora said with a hint of shakiness in her voice. It took all of her strength to keep her steady.
“Miss Cromwell, we tested you when your mother first became ill. You have no indications and do not exhibit the same markers as either of them, and because Aurelia is so young, we thought nothing of her. As of now, there is no present trend because of the rarity of this disease, which is why we had no idea whether Aurelia would have the disease or not. It– we thought we had more time.” She inhaled sharply.
“Now, your grandmother’s illness was very late onset, and we would normally expect the same from you, but in your blood test earlier this week, your white blood cell count had dropped staggeringly.” The doctor hesitated. “Which is why it is my belief that the disease is currently present in Aurelia and we do not have the time we originally hoped for.”
“However,” Dr. Calhoun looked over to Aurelia, “Aurelia, we have options here. There are medications to help with the symptoms, and research progresses each day. We have people here who can find a clinical trial for you to join–”
“No.” Aurelia interrupted. She was in shock, feeling as if she were watching her life fall apart from above, and had no idea what the next day would look like, never mind the next few weeks, but there was one thing she knew for sure.
Evora made a noise at the back of her throat. “Aurelia–”
“I said no,” Aurelia repeated. “I saw what those medications - those test treatments did to Nonna. She died slowly and so, so painfully.” A tear escaped down Aurelia’s cheek, her green eyes shining in the midst of her tears. “No.”
It felt like she couldn’t breathe. It was as if everything around her was crushing her - closing in. She had to get out of here.
“I’m sorry–” She gasped as she stood up and ran out of the room. Aurelia kept running - out the hospital doors, out the parking lot. She vaguely heard her mother cry out for her, but she just kept running. The fresh air in her lungs and the breeze on her face was the only calm she had left, her emotions threatening to envelop her, to destroy the only resemblance of herself that she had left.
But she kept going; she didn’t have it in her to stop. If she stopped, she would have to face what happens next. And she had no idea what that would mean.
She didn’t realize where her feet had brought her until she arrived. It was a quiet, off the road place, with a beautiful white church that had long ago been abandoned. Trees towered over the graves, and wildflowers filled the green grass surrounding the stones.
“Nonna,” Aurelia whispered. Stumbling over her own feet, she made her way to the gravestone. The gravestone she hadn’t visited since they buried her.
Elowyn Cromwell. Beloved mother, grandmother, and lover of earth.
“Oh, Nonna…” Aurelia gasped, tears falling rapidly down her face. She fell onto her knees, holding her head in her hands. “I can’t do this without you. I’m so alone.” Her tears cascaded down onto the grave, soaking the gray stone. She continued crying until she had no more tears left.
When she finally took her head out of her hands, she paused. Where her tears had landed on her grandmother’s grave had made a small hole - small enough she wouldn’t have noticed it, except for its perfect shape and outline.
A keyhole? For what?
Aurelia froze. A key?
She reached into her pocket to reveal once more the golden key. In disbelief she stared between the two before she gently placed the key inside the hole as if it were a lock.
It fit perfectly.
She slowly turned it, as if opening a door. Suddenly, a bright light emanated from the grave stone. Where once was stone was now what looked like a clear, shimmering mirror with vague shapes and figures that were too blurry to make out. The light was glowing so brightly, Aurelia wasn’t sure what it could be.
Aurelia curiously leaned forward, gently placing her palm on the edge of what once was the stone as she studied the other side of the mirror. Though it looked like a mirror, it wasn’t reflecting her.
What was it showing?
As she leaned forward in hopes to focus on the figure in the image, her hand went through the shimmering glass. She tried again, pushing her hand through the light, but there was no end. Her arm just kept going, and as if something were pulling her, she fell forward, straight through the glistening substance.
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