Scene: "If You Ever Feel Sad, Come to Me"
The garden behind the estate was quiet, wrapped in the soft light of a fading afternoon. Birds chirped low and lazily, and a light breeze played with the hem of Aria's pale dress as she sat on the stone bench near the fountain.
She had been there a while, still thinking about earlier.
About how her brother walked past her like she was nothing.
Like she didn't exist.
She didn't realize someone else had come until she heard a soft clearing of the throat behind her.
She turned, startled.
It was the young man around twenty-five—the one who had come with her mother and aunt the day they took her from the airport.
He had kind eyes, a boyish grin, and a casual way of carrying himself that made everything feel less formal.
> "Hey," he said. "Mind if I sit?"
She blinked, then shook her head silently.
He lowered himself onto the bench beside her, resting his elbows on his knees.
> "So… you probably don't remember me," he said with a chuckle. "I was nine when you were born. Used to carry you around like a doll."
She looked at him, eyes widening slightly.
> "I'm Reyan. Your cousin. My mom is your aunt—your mother's sister."
> "Reyan…" she repeated quietly.
He smiled. "That's right. And the one who walked past you like a wall with legs? That's Viren—your brother."
Aria flinched slightly at the name.
Reyan noticed.
He tilted his head thoughtfully.
> "He's… complicated. Always has been. He's not a bad guy, Aria. He just doesn't know how to adjust. Doesn't know how to express what he feels. Everything he should say, he locks inside like it's going to explode if it gets out."
She said nothing, just looked down at her hands.
Reyan sighed.
> "He was there when you were born, you know. He held you. And then one day, you were just… gone. No one explained anything to him. No one said why his baby sister disappeared."
> "It messed him up."
Aria bit her lip.
> "So he hates me?" she whispered.
Reyan quickly turned toward her.
> "No. No, never that. He just doesn't know how to deal with the gap between what was and what is now."
There was a pause.
Then he smiled and gently nudged her shoulder.
> "But listen. If you ever feel like that again—like you're invisible, or sad, or lost—come to me, okay? I'm also like your brother. Not by blood maybe, but I grew up thinking of you that way. You were the baby I waited to meet again."
She looked at him, something soft flickering in her eyes.
He grinned.
> "Deal?"
A tiny smile touched her lips. "Deal."