We had some food and drinks and talked a lot until it was already evening.
My father and Samuel called in between to ask how it went and were happy to hear that it went well. Anja and I laughed a lot, and with a bit of relief and some alcohol in my system, I became more talkative.
However, it weighed on me that my sister hadn't reached out to me.
I had given her a new Nokia phone a few days ago, specifically so she could call me if anything was wrong. Yet, I held a small hope that she would also be interested in me and call me.
While we walked, I looked at my new phone, and the buttons were really easy to press.
"What's going on?" Anja asked me with a seriousness I didn't typically associate with her. I looked at her in surprise.
"Do you think I don't notice that something's bothering you?"
I sighed, and perhaps due to the alcohol, I confided in her about my sister.
I told Anja about how my sister hadn't coped well with our mother's death several years ago and had spiraled into a life of hard drug use.
My father and I had repeatedly tried to help her get back on track, but nothing had worked.
At some point, we stopped giving her money, and a few days later, the police were at our doorstep. That's when we decided to provide Lisa with some money again to prevent her from resorting to illegal means. However, she had stolen from both my father and me at one point, leading my father to kick her out of the house, which only made things worse.
"Nevertheless, I love my sister like the rest of my family, and I'm slowly losing hope…," I concluded.
Anja looked at me with teary eyes, and for the first time since I'd known her, she had no response.
"Ah, I shouldn't have said anything."
"Sure, you should! It's important to confide in someone about your worries, and I'm grateful that you've shared something about yourself with me for the first time," she gave me a little nudge and said it with a trembling voice.
"What do you mean, nothing about me?" I asked.
"No?! You're always so closed off!"
"But why does this affect you so much?" I asked her. "It's not your family, after all."
She looked at me angrily. "Isn't it normal? Hearing something like that isn't easy! But why do you trust me with this and not Samuel?"
"Hmm, good question... I think it's because of the alcohol… and because I trust you," I replied, leaving out that Samuel already knew.
"Just that?" she asked softly.
"Just that?"
She then flinched and seemed to muster the strength to continue.
She looked up at me and gazed deeply into my eyes. I thought, wow, she has really beautiful blue eyes.
"You're so smart in some things, why are you so clueless about this? Do you think I'm only with you out of kindness?"
"Uh... Yes?" my thoughts stuttered.
And in the light of a streetlamp on a cloudy day, Anja said, "Maybe it's not the right time but, I love you."
*Thump*
My heart skipped a beat, adrenaline surged through my body, and confusion spread. All of this because of just three words.
"W-why all of a sudden?" I stammered, visibly overwhelmed.
"All of a sudden? We've known each other for almost seven years, but do you accept them or not?"
*Whoosh*
A gust of wind blew by, making her blue dress and blonde hair sway.
"I-I don't know," I stuttered, and my thoughts raced. "But I do know that I can't offer you what you imagine."
"You don't even know what I expect, do you?" she asked me.
"Yes, you told me about it before. You want your boyfriend to consider you the most important, and that's not the case with me. My family comes first, even though they're not perfect, I love them unconditionally."
"I know that, and my expectations have changed since then. So, yes or no?" she said firmly and impatiently.
"I... I..."
Anja pierced me with her beautiful eyes, and...
"Yes," I said, "if you're okay with me."
She was about to jump up with joy when my phone rang, with the ringtone I'd set for my sister.
As I had told Anja, my priority was focused on that. So, I didn't kiss her, as others might have expected, but instead went to answer my phone.
"Hello?" I asked.
I received no response, and immediately a bad feeling washed over me.
"Lisa? Hello? Has something happened? Tell me where you are, and I'll come!"
After what felt like an eternity of silence, she replied, "Isaac," with a broken voice.
"Yes? What's wrong?" I said, now slightly panicked.
"Where are you?"
"I'm near our house," I replied.
"Can you come to the bridge?"
"Why? What's going on?" I asked in a panic.
"Take care of Bella for me... I'm sorry," she said, and then hung up.
"Lisa? Hello?" I tried to say more, but she had already ended the call. I put my phone in my pocket, ignoring Anja's question about what was happening, and ran.
As if in a trance, I sprinted to the bridge where we used to play as children.
I would be there in five minutes less if I sprint.
"Isaac? Wait, what's happening?" I thought I heard Anja say, but I kept running and running.
My lungs were burning, but I ignored it, running through red lights, past honking cars, and finally arrived.
I looked ahead, and on the railing, I saw someone standing.
"LISA!" I screamed and ran without stopping.
She turned to me in surprise and dropped a syringe to the ground. However, the sound was drowned out by a baby's cries.
"Don't do it!" I shouted at her. But she smiled and whispered so softly that I had to read it from her lips, "I can fly, you know?" Then she let herself fall.
"No!" I screamed and ran to the railing, trying to reach her. I looked and tried to see her, but the abyss was dark. I was about to climb over the railing when someone grabbed me.
"What do you think you're doing?" Anja, out of breath, asked.
"Lisa, she—she's down there!" I pointed downwards, with a completely horrified expression.
"What do you hope to achieve by jumping after her?"
"I... I, I don't know," I stuttered, feeling utterly powerless.
She gently led me away from the railing and hugged me. After a brief moment, she let go of me and crouched down.
"Look, a baby," she smiled sadly. "Who will take care of this?"
The baby was still crying and wet.
"Oh, are you not cold?" Anja asked. Then she gently rocked the baby and looked at me.
"Don't just stand there frozen. Give me your sweater," she said to me.
In a state of shock, I gave it to her, and then I sank to my knees. I leaned against the railing.
Anja sat down beside me, and I heard her soothing words as she tried to calm the child. This eased my thoughts about whether I could have saved her or if it was my fault for not supporting her enough.
Why? First my mother and now my sister…
Eventually, I looked up and glanced beside me.
The sight was ironically beautiful. The baby was now peacefully asleep in my sweater, cradled in Anja's arms. She looked into my eyes and smiled at me, yet a sense of sorrow still lingered in her gaze.
"Here," Anja handed me the baby carefully. I took it slowly and gazed at it. For the first time in 13 years, tears welled up in my eyes.
One of the baby's eyes had the same crystal green color as my mother's and similar features to my sister. It also had some unknown characteristics, such as slightly curly hair and one blue eye.
No one in our family had blue eyes, but It was beautiful.
"What do you say? Shall we raise her?" Anja asked me.
I remembered my sister's penultimate words.
"Bella. Her name is Bella."
---
"Isaac! Wake up! It's an emergency! Isaac!" I was awakened, confused and melancholic from the dream.
Before I could gather my thoughts, Gaia said something unbelievable.
"A wooden door has just appeared!"
I jumped up, immediately switched to the ghost mode, and flew out of the house.
There stood a wooden door that slowly opened, and a message appeared before my eyes.
[Intruder detected in the Control Room]