54 Talented Me! 24

At his question, Wilona went silent. Her expression became pensive and forlorn. Tightly, she clutched her hands on the table. She feared the question and even more, her answer to the question.

Derrick furrowed his brows upon her changes. A gnawing feeling haunted his thoughts and silently warned him of the threat; her answer affirmed it.

"We aren't friends anymore," Wilona's voice dimmed. She hung her head low making her expression unreadable. The silence continued and countless thoughts swirled in every direction.

"But why?" Derrick, who couldn't stand the silence, spoke out. Another wave of silence ensued leaving his question unanswered for a while.

"What do you think of Adi?" Wilona spoke again, but not to answer, but to question. In her heart, she knew her family would support her, but she couldn't help but be curious. For all the years she suffered, did her family really know nothing about Adi's true self?

"I haven't seen her in forever, but you guys were best friends," Mom answered. Unsure of why Wilona asked, she was puzzled but continued to answer. "I still remember you guys going to the pool together when you were little."

"Do you think she's nice?" Wilona looked up and stared into her mother's eyes. Her eyes pleaded for something, something to answer her desperation.

"You wouldn't be friends with her if she wasn't, right?"

Wilona lowered her head allowing furious waves of thoughts to occupy her mind.

Why did I cling onto Adi for so long? Why did I never open up to others except for her? Is she being my only friend really a valid excuse for her bullying? If only I was smarter and braver maybe I would have gotten real friends a whole lot sooner.

"This may upset you, but Adi had always bullied me," Wilona revealed the truth. From the beginning to the end, everything was revealed. Being treated like a slave, being made to follow orders, and being punished because she didn't follow them. Years of being unable to judge made her weak, and this time, she had to be strong.

Wilona could not see their faces nor hear their voices. It was all too quiet and the only comfort that she was still here, present, was the ticking of the clock. Seconds passed before minutes arrived, and, still, no one talked.

"My baby," Mom whispered. Wilona looked up and saw the image of her loving mother crying.

Tears streamed down her cheeks slowly before descending onto the table. Her hand lifted up covering her mouth, silencing the sobs escaping. Dad reached out and hugged her closely, but the corner of his eyes revealed the tears left untouched flowing deeply in his heart.

Derrick stared shocked before staggering to her side. His eyes were devastated but desperate. His body pleaded to ask if this was truly the truth, for all those lonely years, was this the truth?

"Why did you hide it from us for so long?" Derrick asked. He grasped Wilona's shoulders before kneeling to look up into her eyes. "How long have you forced yourself? How long have you hidden the pain? Why did you…"

His last words broke into sobs unable to ask anymore. In front of her was her strong brother willing to protect her from the winds and storms, but he was powerless and feeble. His oath to protect her collapsed like a dream coming to an end. Nothing he did was right; all he did was fail.

Wilona hugged her weak brother. In a desolate space, she was a solitary boat stranded. She was empty, blank, uncertain of what to feel. The pain numbed her to the core slowly closing in on her hope. Did she ever have hope in the first place?

A small sound penetrated her thoughts. A few more followed its pace ringing in a delightful bell-like tune. Wilona snapped off from her mischievous dream-like state and glanced around. Her phone lying on the counter vibrated and rang seeking attention. Her eyes hovered over there taking the slightest glimpse of the caller's name- Daisy.

That's right, she had friends now. Friends unlike Adi, completely the opposite. Friends who treated her with love and respect, who cheered for her achievements and encouraged her to strive for more. People who were willing to help her in every shape and form without wanting or needing payment.

"But I have friends now," Wilona said. Derrick lifted his crying face and gazed at his serene and peaceful sister. It was like the clouds lifted revealing gorgeous sunshine illuminating the path. The despair in the room lessened, lightening the hearts of those sad.

"I have friends who love me just as much as I love them. I'm okay now because of them, brother." Wilona smiled slightly remembering each of their faces. Their childish antics, voices full of laughter, and kind souls.

"I'm okay now," Wilona said clearly. Her voice rang in the room and a bright smile radiated her face. Everyone looked over at her and realized that she was not sorrowful, she may have been before, but now she was happy; she was okay.

"Then invite them over one day," Mom sniffled. She grabbed a tissue and dabbed the corners of her eyes. "I'll cook a feast."

"Or we can go out together," Dad chimed in. "There's a good karaoke place nearby."

Wilona looked at their faces no longer clouded with gloom and laughed. "I'll ask them tomorrow."

Derrick grabbed her hand and pulled her attention towards him. "Don't hide it from us ever again."

His eyes left with a few drops of tears, stared solemnly at hers. He was the strong reliable brother he always was. That one second of weakness he displayed was no more.

"I won't," Wilona promised. She pulled her hands out of his grasp and gave his hair a good ruffle. "Can't let my brother cry again."

"You even learned to tease me," Derrick mischievously smiled. "Naughty sisters get punished with tickles!"

Derrick reached towards Wilona's armpits and started to tickle them. Only a second later, Wilona erupted in laughter pushing away Derrick's hands. Unfortunately, years of successful tickle attacks made him quite adept and his tickle pursuits were not vanquished. He continued to tickle Wilona until she begged him to stop.

"Stop, stop, stop! I get it! I get it! I won't hide anything from you ever again!!" Wilona defended her stomach from his attacks while bursting out in laughter.

"And you promised!" Derrick retracted his hands. He grinned proudly at another resounding victory!

"It's getting late," Mom said. She missed the days when all she had to do was look at her children play and laugh together. The common image of the past was rare now. "Why don't we all go to bed, and I'll make your favorite breakfasts tomorrow."

Wilona stood up and walked to her side. She gave a hug and lingered longer finding comfort in the embrace of her mom's.

"Yeah, you guys should go rest. You're all tired," Wilona stated. It's been a long time since they were home so early and even longer since they had a proper break.

Derrick walked over after Wilona and gave his parents a good squeeze. Dad came and wrapped his arms around the small family. A warm embrace between the four of them sent everyone to go to their rooms and slept soundly. Compared to her lone snores of before, now there were an extra 3.

'Now they know about Adi's true face,' 5025 said. It was proud that it ended well.

Walking home, its Host and it discussed the best way to reveal Wilona's past struggles. In the end, they decided it was best to be defensive about it first before revealing it all. The effects were pronounced without a single action unwarranted.

When they looked at the small family crying for Wilona, their hearts (although 5025 has no heart but data) ached. It still didn't feel good to be manipulative of their love for Wilona. Daisy's call gave Avina the perfect solution and sure enough, the family slowly rose from the depths of despair.

'I envy Wilona's loving family,' Avina whispered.

She may have had it good in her world, but Wilona's family was on a whole different level. Everyone was willing to sacrifice their life to have Wilona lead a better one. Even in the original plot, they sought redemption for their daughter/sister.

'They love Wilona with all their heart,' 5025 agreed. Data never had a "family" but if it looked like Wilona's, then 5025 envied her for having one.

'What are they going to do about Adi?' 5025 was curious.

They didn't bring the topic of Adi again during the remainder of the night, but 5025 couldn't see them treating Adi the same ever again. From a dear friend of their daughter/sister to someone who bullied their daughter/sister, it was a drastic change warranting a drastic difference in treatment.

'I don't know either, 5025,' Avina wistfully stared at the ceiling. Her eyes, which did not cry, felt heavy. It was tiring to keep them open, but she didn't want to succumb to sleep either. The feelings of Wilona's trapped her in a neverending threat of daunting nightmares, one she did not wish to have.

Memories of her time in the system wound up into a small film in her mind. Of flowers and dresses, and dancing and love- it was all in one muddled stream. The lulling of a fairy tale came true caressed her gently, luring her into a deep slumber. Soon, snores of peacefulness surrounded the small room. It echoed in the house dancing with the rest of the snores.

Morning arrived sooner than the night had time to end.