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MARIA

The temperature had significantly dropped after the plane had landed earlier that day.

I rolled down the window in the car and let the cool air blow against my face, closing my eyes as I appreciated the wind I had missed while away in Greece.

"-and I don't think it's fair that we have to wear uniform. It totally removes our rights as human beings to express ourselves through clothes. Clothes are a way of showing your inner personality - it boosts your confidence knowing you're wearing a hot new look after shopping! My mental health has seriously gone down the drain since I've started school - the dark clothes have given me seasonal depression. If I was allowed to wear my own clothes - I'd be the happiest girl alive. Therefore, my conclusion is-"

"Did you take your pills this morning?" I suddenly asked, my head snapping in her direction. I immediately softened my face, realising how serious and snappy I sounded. The word 'depression' unexpectedly brought me out of my trance.

Luna blinked at me in surprise, her doe eyes wide at my tone.

I rubbed my temple, my head throbbing and exhaled, astonished at my own behaviour. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that." She opened her backpack and pulled out the bottle of tablets she needed to take, shaking it to tell me that she did take her medicine.

"You've been really distracted ever since you got in the car," Luna observed, her eyebrows narrowing slightly at me. She turned to face me better, placing her index finger on her cheek. "What's on your mind? You should be bubbly after that trip."

I shook my head at her and gave her a brief smile, despite my head pounding. I had a list of symptoms I could've given her, a long podcast of rants I could've expressed but simply replied, "I'm fine. Just tired. Sorry, what were you saying? Uniform? That's not going to change, bambina." She frowned like a child, folding her arms. One wouldn't believe my sister was almost finished high school.

I continued as I stifled a yawn, "you don't have that long left to wear it."

"Other schools don't have to. Just the ones connected to Dream." Luna genuinely sounded low, a sulk on her face. That was when I realised how much little things like uniform could bother high school students. She didn't have to worry about work, money, relationships. At least not yet. She just wanted to wear her own clothes.

More empathetically, I responded, "you'll have opportunities in the future. Lots. You look cute today anyway, I like your pink eyeshadow with the star, although I'm not sure if your teachers will." Luna then brightly grinned at the compliment, her round, blush covered cheeks were high and those large eyes of her twinkling. She looked like a anime character with the makeup she took hours to do that morning. My sister had grown. I smiled at her, chuckling as she gave me a 'shh' look, a finger to her lips.

"Are you into fashion that much? I have an event coming up soon. Loads of designers will be there. Wanna come?" I casually told her but turned to see her gaping at me, in completely awe.

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping before she squealed, "shut up! Really? Ria, seriously? For real? No way!" She began hand combing her hair, blabbering already about what to wear.
"Thanks, Ria!"

I laughed again, pinching her cheek. Her teenage mannerisms never failed to amuse me. "Of course!" I tilted my head to the side and studied her behaviour. "Luna," I began, becoming aware of something. "Have you ever thought about a career in fashion? I know you're good with drawing designs. Why don't you take it seriously?"

Luna hummed before feebly answering, "I. . .I would but - well. ." She looked down, shyly sharing, "I thought you wouldn't be okay with it. Ballet was mom's life, it's yours and now it's mine."

"Honestly, I was never really into ballet," Luna revealed, her eyes meeting mine once more. She nodded slowly, pulling strands of her hair behind her ear. "I have to be."

Our mother had shaped our lives to revolve around the one thing she was obsessed with. I didn't want that for Luna, our mother's life didn't have to be hers too. "She's gone," I said unsympathetically, forcing the image of the balcony out of my mind. "And somehow I'm stuck with ballet." I shrugged, "I don't mind it."

"But you don't have to be. You're at a pivotal point of your life, Luna. Don't choose something you don't actually enjoy doing. You should know life is too short for that and I'm sorry if I made you think ballet is your life. It's not, it never should've been forced on you. I will support whatever you choose - scratch that," I thought more practically, knowing the wildness of my sister. "I mean we'll think about it together, but for now, let's focus on fashion."

Luna's wide smile came onto her face, her distracted eyes gazing up at me. She didn't say anything and simply stared at me, her head resting against the seat. "What?" I asked, looking down at my clothes as I hoped there wasn't a stain or something that caught her eye.

"I wish we were best friends from the start - no, sisters from the start. I'm sorry, Ria."

"Hey!" I scolded, lightly slapping her leg. "We said we wouldn't go back there. There's no point regretting the past." I looked away, suddenly feeling sentimental.

Luna chuckled, "I know, I know. Thanks, Ria. In a few years, I'll design your clothes for the shows." She sharply inhaled before sheepishly asking, "does this mean I can stop taking vocal and dance classes?" I nodded with a smile and she grinned, a little 'yes' coming from her.

The car drove over a speed bump a little too roughly. The driver apologised politely but my head spun again. I squeezed my eyes closed, wincing at the reminder of the banging headache I had since I got back from Greece.

"What's wrong?" Luna questioned again, her face concerned.

I decided to divulge some of the truth. "Nothing. I think I'm just thinking about it again." I could feel the heat begin to rise within me. Luna's eyebrows furrowed at me.

I sighed, recognising my own body. "I'm just annoyed."

"At me?"

"No, not you, Lu. Your sneaky little brother-in-law."

Luna laughed, playfully looking at me. "What did he do? Is that why you're so quiet today?"

"Oh, Lulu," I snarked, just as the car pulled up to her school. The thought of him already annoyed me. She undid her seatbelt and grabbed her stuff. "He'll get a piece of my mind today. Have a good day at school, I'll see you later, Luna."

After dropping Luna, I was making my way to see Rosa.

My head rested on the window as I contemplated during the journey. I had no idea as to why Leonardo was nowhere to be seen the next morning. On the flight, I considered all the countless different reasons why he had disappeared that night, and if any of them had anything to do with me.

I woke up in a cold bed on my own, naked and confused. Since then, he hadn't answered a single one of my phone calls which meant we had gone almost three days without speaking.

I supposed he was kind enough to arrange a breakfast for me. Sofia had made a full Greek breakfast when I came downstairs looking for him. But I didn't want food. All I wanted was to wake up with him right next to me.

I was still annoyed when I reached the apartment back home despite having enough time to cool off and after dropping Luna to school, my frustration had not subsided.

To calm myself down, I drank some water and decided to let go of the matter for a bit. Getting myself worked up would not solve anything. However I knew that when I did get the chance to see Leonardo again, the emotions would all come running back to me again.

Rosa opened the door moments after I knocked. She was definitely a different person to weeks before the last time I had visited her place.

Her cheery smile had returned and her eyes were filled with vibrancy again. Her bliss had rubbed off on me, I smiled back, hugging her tightly.

Rosa's apartment was back to how I was used to; cute pillows everywhere, funky rugs and 90s art hanging on the walls. Tidy and cosy. Her mental health seemed to reflect the state of her place, she was happy. I was glad to see her back to herself.

We sat on the sofa for a while and spoke; talking about the concert, life, weather, funny moments. We laughed about so many pointless things that I forgot about my previous frustrations. I filled her in on everything that had happened between Leonardo and I, it was nice to speak to someone about everything built up in my mind. I missed speaking to her, my best friend. Talking over text wasn't the same.

"Did you. .manage to make a decision on. ." I trailed off, my eyes unconsciously moving down her to stomach. She was wearing a loose t-shirt so it was hard to tell if anything had changed.

Rosa hummed lightly, a small smile on her face as she looked downwards. She calmly disclosed, "I didn't get to choose, Ria. I miscarried." Her hands slowly clasped together on her lap, her fingers rubbing against each other.

I sat up straight in shock, my wide eyes looking at her. "What?"

"It was a week after we met," Rosa looked thoughtfully, nodding slowly. "I was bleeding."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked desperately, holding her hand. I closed my eyes, sighing at myself. I wasn't there for her.

"You were away," she gently chuckled, reminding me with a reassuring smile. "It's not your fault and I should've told you but. ." She sighed, meeting my eyes once again. "I just. .needed some time to accept everything."

I exhaled, shaking my head at myself. My lips initially parted but nothing came out, I struggled to find something to say, the guilt was already eating me up. "Rosa. .how are you feeling? I wasn't there for you." The stinging at the back of my eyes began to blur my vision.

Rosa squeezed my hand before picking up a tissue from the box and dabbing away the stray tears of regret slipping from my eyes. My heart felt heavy and my chest felt tight, a sudden weight was onto me. "Hey. ." Rosa teased, giving me a kind gaze, "don't cry, Ria."

"All that was going on with you while I was gone and I-" I sniffled, unable to contain the tears any longer. "I wasn't there - I'm sorry. That was so shit, I should've-" I felt regretful. There I was having fun in Greece without even realising my own best friend was suffering.

"Girl," Rosa interrupted, giving me a stern look. She wiped my cheeks and firmly reassured me, "I'm not blaming you, I know that you care for me." She sighed, cupping my face with her warm hands. She warmly smiled again. I closed my eyes, fighting the rest of the tears.

"I'm glad that I was alone," Rosa genuinely told me before releasing my face. "I got the time to feel. To regret, to cry, but to also appreciate and remember."

"It's for the best as bad as it sounds. Neither of us were ready for each other. It's just a sad things turned out this way. I didn't take care of myself which meant that I didn't take care of. . ." She couldn't even say the word. Rosa twiddled her fingers before adding composedly, "these things happen. I don't blame anyone or myself." She seemed self-assured and confident. I was glad that she had accepted everything and moved forward.

"It's a reminder to not let just anyone into my heart." She smiled and said on a brighter note, "so I'll come back to Dream next season. For now I want to rest. . .and sleep in!" She chuckled, making me smile. I wiped my eyes once more and nodded, holding her hand again. "Okay," I softly agreed, analysing her face. She was telling the truth. Rosa was back.

"Are you doing okay?" I asked. She nodded, "I wasn't at the start. But I am now. I promise. I still run, I still dance at random parts of the day. I still eat and sleep on time. I still enjoy and I still live."

"I'm glad," I gently responded, "I'm really happy that you're doing better."

She squeezed my hand again and in an uplifting tone changed the matter of conversation, "what about you? How do you plan to settle your anger?"

I sarcastically laughed, shaking my head at the thought of all the ideas and plans running through my mind.

"I'm sure it'll come to me when I see him."

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~ Author's Note ~

It's nice to see the sisters getting closer! The upcoming event Maria mentioned will be a significant one. . .

Rosa has been going through a rough time but at least she's taken the right decision to spend time taking care of herself.

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