CHAPTER SIX: THREADS OF PEACE.
Mornings in Calderhallow began with the soft gurgles of my daughters and the scent of damp earth from last night's rain.
It was the first time in months that I didn't wake up to the sound of my own heartbeat racing in my ears.
No city noise.
No sirens.
No cruel whispers or slammed doors.
Just birds. And laughter. And peace, fragile, but real.
I watched Nova play with the wooden blocks Liora carved last weekend, while Ember pulled at her sister's curls with a mischievous grace
Raising Twins,Double the Joy, Double the Love
Raising twins is a unique journey filled with joy, challenges, and countless memorable moments. While twins may share a close bond, each child is an individual with their own personality, needs, and pace of growth. Celebrating their individuality is essential encourage separate interests and one-on-one time to help each child feel valued.
Establishing routines is key. Synchronizing feeding, nap times, and bedtime can make daily life more manageable and provide a sense of security for the twins. Feeding, whether breastfeeding or formula, may require planning, and tandem feeding can save time while still allowing bonding moments.
Twins often share a deep connection, but spending quality one-on-one time with each of my child strengthens my emotional bond as their parents. Encouraging interaction with other children and social activities outside the twin bond helps them develop independence and social skills.
Parenting twins can be exhausting, with sleep deprivation and constant multitasking. Seeking support from family, friends, or twin-parent groups can ease the load. Patience, flexibility, and a sense of humor are invaluable.
Celebrate milestones both individually and together. From first steps to school achievements, acknowledging each child's accomplishments helps build confidence while nurturing their shared experiences.
In the end, raising twins is about balance honoring each child's uniqueness while fostering their bond. Though challenging, the love, laughter, and double joy twins bring make every effort worthwhile.
They were growing too fast.
Too beautiful.
Too bold.
Too full of life.
And sometimes, it scared me not because they reminded me of someone, but because I didn't know who they reminded me of.
There were days I stared into their eyes and searched for a face I couldn't recall. A stranger's face. A shadow burned into a night I never wanted to remember.
All I had were questions.
And a dull ache that never left.
Liora padded into the kitchen, half-asleep, barefoot as usual. Her oversized shirt was streaked with flour from last night's late-night baking session.
"You stayed up again," she murmured, stifling a yawn. "What were you doing this time? Whispering perfume recipes to the moon?"
I smiled softly and shook my head.
She always teased gently.
She never pried.
And I was grateful for that.
She handed me a chipped mug of ginger tea and leaned against the counter, eyes drifting to the twins who were now trying to wrestle over a toy spoon.
We were both healing.
Liora never spoke much about her past, but pain knows how to recognize itself in another. I saw it in the way she zoned out sometimes. Heard it in her quiet sighs. She'd lost something too.
Maybe someone.
But here she was helping me raise two girls that weren't hers, baking bread she burned half the time, and laughing like it was the only way she knew to survive.
She was a rare kind of person.
A soft landing in a world of hard edges.
Work at the candle shop was slow and peaceful a contrast to everything I'd known. Miss Dalia still watched me carefully, unsure if she liked or trusted me, but she'd stopped questioning my every move.
I was just the quiet new girl with a gentle hand, two babies, and no past.
That's all anyone needed to know.
What I studied in university, what I could do with scents and memories that stayed hidden. Locked in a corner of myself I wasn't ready to share.
That afternoon, I took the twins to the park down the hill.
Nova tried to eat a pinecone.
Ember ran straight into a muddy puddle with zero regret.
I should have scolded them, but instead, I laughed. Deeply. The kind of laughter that felt like a crack in the ice, letting sunlight in.
In that moment, I felt something new — or maybe something old I thought I'd buried.
Hope.
It was small. Fleeting. But real.
That evening, we ate on the floor again. Liora's honeyed roast potatoes were more charred than crisp, but no one complained.
"Don't act so surprised," she grinned. "I'm a kitchen goddess now."
I almost choked on my tea laughing.
It was the kind of night I would have begged for once,warm light, shared food, soft music humming from the old radio.
No pressure.
No judgment.
Just safety.
Later, as I tucked the twins into their shared bed, Ember curled her tiny hand into mine. Nova mumbled something in her sleep "Mama singing."
I sat with them until their breaths evened out, until the quiet filled the room like a soft blanket.
"I'll always stay," I whispered, brushing hair from Ember's forehead.
Even if I was still scared.
Even if the future was a fog I couldn't see through.
Even if there were answers I might never get.
Because here in Calderhallow, under a name that wasn't mine, I was finally more than the girl who lost everything.
I was their mother.
And I was healing slowly, painfully, but truly.
There would come a day when I'd revisit the wreckage behind me. Maybe I'd search for the truth I never got. Maybe I wouldn't.
But for now, this town, this peace, this fragile beginning, it was enough.
And I would protect it with every breath I had.with everything I had.