It was a cold, rainy night, with soft thunder and lightning brightening up the sky every so often. Scilla was reading in the cozy nook next to the bookshelves in the living room. Lofi was playing in the background, and a cup of green tea was sitting on the windowsill. Scilla had a purple knitted throw blanket covering her legs and her brown hair in a neat bun, her glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, her brown eyes fixed on the words in her book. She was lost in her adventure book as her older sister Aurelia came down the stairs, walking into the kitchen to grab a glass of milk. Aurelia had her blonde hair tied up in a loose ponytail, blue eyes gazing out the window her and her sister Scilla both loved the rain. "How long do you think the rain will last?" Aurelia asked her younger sister, "It's supposed to be raining all week." Scilla responded while flipping a page through her book. The girls were a year apart, so they grew up very close. Scilla and Aurelia had different fathers; however, they shared the same mother, who they lost almost two years ago to cancer.
They both resembled their mother however, Scilla looked the most like their mother, but she was her father's height, standing at 5'9, and Aurelia was their mother's height at 5'7. You could hear the fire crackling in the living room, giving a nice, peaceful glow and cozy feeling. The girls were still adjusting to their mother's absence; the void that was left was massive, leaving the sisters feeling numb and in pain. They lost their mother, Canna, in September. It was early in the morning, the world was asleep, the sisters were too scared to sleep, waking to every phone call, praying it wasn't the one that said their mother was gone. One September morning at 3:30 in the morning a phone rang from the kitchen, Scilla asleep on the couch woke from a dead sleep and ran to the phone, her sister Aurelia running down the stairs racing to where her sister was at the kitchen counter Scilla looked to her sister and answered the phone putting it on the speaker. They both held their breath, bracing for the worst; their heartbeat was so loud it was blaring in their ears, and they were shaking clear down to their bones. "H-Hello?" Scilla asked in almost a whisper, her voice trembling.
Aurelia was holding onto Scilla's arm tightly, both trying to stay standing. "Is this Aurelia or Scilla Sandringham?" Asked the tired, gruff-sounding doctor, "Y-yes, this is us." Scilla replied. "I'm sorry to inform you of this, Canna Grace Sandringham has passed away. She lost her fight to cancer tonight." Both girls screamed and fell to the floor, crying, neither able to catch their breath. "I am sorry for your loss. She went peacefully. She said she saw rainbows and butterflies." The doctor replied. From 3:30 A.M to 7:45 A.M, the girls were awake, processing the bad news and crying on each other's shoulders. They finally passed out, unable to keep their eyes open. Cuddling up to each other on the couch, crying in their sleep. Their mother was gone by morning's light, leaving an overcast over their home. The house didn't have the life it used to have when their mom was alive, and the girls felt stuck as they did their best to navigate through their new reality.
When Scilla and Aurelia finally woke up, they were both in a daze. The following two weeks, they went through the motions, preparing for a memorial for their mother's cremation, writing her obituary, and visiting their mother's lawyer, Samuel Dean Webster, about their mother's Will. Everything their mother owned; the girls owned fifty percent of everything now. Canna had even set them up; they both got fifty million from their mother thanks to the policy she had. Samuel gave the girls each a fancy, hard, golden envelope with silver trimming and a bright red wax stamp sealing both envelopes closed. Each with one of their names on it. "Aurelia Hope Sandringham" and "Scilla Faith Sandringham" Both looked at the lawyer, confused and anxious, before taking their assigned envelopes. Both read the same thing, the only difference was the names it was addressed to.
Dear Aurelia/ Scilla,
My precious flower, if you are reading this, then that means I am no longer physically with you or your sister anymore. I am so proud of you both, you and your sister are the light of my life and my reason for smiling. I know as much as I wanted, we couldn't have more time together. No more you girls dancing on my feet or the random karaoke through the years. Baking cookies and late-night dinners, no more reading Scilla's beautiful writings or seeing Aurelia's gorgeous paintings. Like all good things, it must come to an end, and I must go home and let this body sleep. I love both of you so much, and I am so proud of you girls. I had made sure you two were sent, and everything I owned you both now own fifty-fifty. I got the highest Insurance policy I could to ensure both you and your sister are set and taken care of for the rest of your lives. I know this will be a big change, and it may seem unfair, but I believe you two will keep each other strong. The Holiday's won't be the same, I promise it will get easier over time. If there is another life, I'd love for you two to be my daughters again. Take care of each other and keep your heads up, stay strong, and continue to chase your dreams. Scilla be that professional author, and Aurelia be that famous painter. I know you two can do it!
Love,
Mom
Aurelia and Scilla cried reading their letters; they both found custom sterling silver rose gold necklaces with the first letter of theirs and their mom's name with their birthstones on the necklace. Aurelia's necklace went "C, A, S" with a diamond first, then a ruby for Aurelia's birthstone, then peridot for her younger sister. Scilla's went "C, S, A" and the birthstones went diamond, peridot, then ruby. Each girl put their necklace around their neck, and for almost two years, now that's where their necklace has stayed.