36 Reminiscence (2)

Savyrran took the ring in her hand then carefully run her fingers on the insignia. The metal from which the ring was made of, as well as the winged creature adorned on it, was unfamiliar to her. Slowly, she directed her gaze towards Ovandarrak.

Savyrran had observed that Ovandarrak did not for a second look surprised upon their father's revelation. It was like he had known about something all along. "What do you think about this?" Savyrran asked her brother.

"About what?"

"About us not being twins… or real siblings?"

"Sister, don't be silly. Even if you are two months older than me, you will always be my twin sister."

A smile beamed on Savyrran's face upon hearing her brother's confession. To her, Fani and Wikka would always be her parents and Ovan would always be her brother. This was her family and they had never given her any reason to think of them as otherwise. So what if they were not her 'real family'? Things like that were irrelevant to her. Family was beyond blood; she had learned that all too well from her parents. There was never a time they made her feel like an outsider and if they had never told her today, she wouldn't even have known that Fani and Wikka were not her real parents.

Meanwhile, Fani was perplexed by Ovan's words. How did Ovandarrak know that Savyrran was two months older than him? Even though Fani had just told the story of how they found Savyrran, he never once mentioned the age difference between the two, and yet somehow, Ovandarrak knew about it.

So he asked his son about it.

"Doctor Avor might have let that slip out accidentally a few years ago. He tried to hide the truth when he realised what he had done." Ovandarrak stated casually.

When Ovandarrak was nine years old, worrying about his sister reached its all time high. He had been so concerned that Savyrran had still not manifested her essence for so long. Thus, he finally decide to ask Doctor Avor about it.

Doctor Avor on the other hand was as puzzled by Savyrran's condition as Ovandarrak was. Thus, without thinking too much about his words, the doctor simply blurted out that Savyrran should have manifested long before Ovandarrak since she was two months older. Given Ovandarrak's incredibly observant nature, it simply did not escape him that his sister was two months older when they were supposed to be twins. Hence, he confronted Doctor Avor about what he had meant by that.

When the old doctor realised his mistake of revealing a family secret to the nine year old boy, he tried to make amends by blaming his old age for speaking nonsense. But Ovandarrak was too intelligent to to be tricked by Doctor Avor.

Nonetheless, he never asked Doctor Avor about the issue again and neither did he talk to his parents about it. Whatever mystery surrounded her sister made no difference to him. Savyrran was his twin sister. End of story.

"Oh, son." Wikka's eyes were soft, almost close to tears. "Why didn't you tell us about it?" This must have been a burden for her poor son. She could not believe that Ovandarrak had known about this all this while and yet had never even said anything about it.

"It was not important. Like I said, Savy is my sister and nothing will change that. Well, unless she feels otherwise. Savy, I will understand if you want to find your real family."

Everyone's eyes darted towards Savyrran, waiting in anticipation. This was the fear Wikka and Fani had had when they decided to tell Savyrran about her past. They were afraid she would want nothing to do with them anymore. Maybe she would want to find her real family. Even if that was what Savyrran wanted, they could not stop her.

Suddenly, Savyrran burst into laughter, her black eyes shimmering with mirth. "What are you all talking about? My real family is right here in this room. By the way, Ovan, shouldn't you be trying on the clothes Ma made for you to see if they fit?"

A small smile danced at the corner of Ovandarrak's lips. Of course his sister would trivialize such a serious issue. But he was grateful that Savyrran did not see him differently after learning the truth. Still, shouldn't she be a little curious about who her real mother was? After all, Fani had just said that Savyrran's mother had been running away from something or someone.

Savyrran twirled the black ring between her fingers, intently staring at its sophisticated design. She wondered what kind of material it was made of. It was so elegant to look at. Suddenly, an idea popped in her mind causing her to smile in mischief. This ring meant nothing to her but it was too beautiful to just discard. Thus, she decided to put a string on it and wear it as a necklace. Since the day she gave away her necklace to that lady at the market, her neck had been feeling naked. The ring could be put to good use after all.

"My… mother… did she tell you where she had come from?" Savyrran asked slowly, not taking her eyes off the ring. It was the first time she had shown any interest in the story Fani had told them.

"No." Fani replied. He was glad that the Savyrran was taking an interest. He had been a little worried that she was being too indifferent about the whole thing. "But she specifically asked me to protect you. You know, she was the one who actually named you Savyrran."

"Really?" Her eyes widened in amazement. If her mother named her Savyrran, then perhaps, wasn't she Gaonan then? "Perhaps she is from this province."

"Perhaps. But I doubt it. Her Gaonan had a foreign accent I could not quite place. Maybe she herself was not Gaonan but perhaps your father was. I don't know. But you can find out if you want."

Savyrran shook her head in the negative. "No. I don't want to. You said my mother asked you to protect me while she was seeking refuge in your workshop. If my so called real family was good enough, she wouldn't have asked you to protect me from them. You are my family and that is all that matters."

Fani nodded in agreement. He was actually impressed that Savyrran had thought through this situation. He had thought she was just being too stubborn but now all it made sense to him. The night Fani encountered Savyrran's mother in his workshop, he could never forget the vibration of fear he had sensed from the woman. Clearly, the woman had been running away from something.

Though Fani strongly felt that Savyrran would be in danger if she tried to find her real family, he knew he would still support her if she decided to know the truth about her own past. Perhaps, Savyrran's true origin had something to do with her inability to manifest her essence and awaken her soul armos. Maybe once she learned about this past, things might make more sense to her.

"Ovan and I are going to Royal Dream Higher Academy tomorrow and nothing will change that."

Savyrran retrieved a string from her space ring and then tied it around the black ring. Then she wore her new necklace around her neck, a smile gracing her face. Finally, her neck no longer felt naked.