We came back home and Jordan, his fingers covered in chocolate, got down to inspect his car. After he was assured that the other vehicle didn't touch ours, we came inside and sat down on the couch. Jordan had the half-empty box of chocolates I gave him in his hands, and was thoughtfully looking at it.

"Go on, finish it. You don't need to ask Mumma!" I teased him.

But the moment the words left my lips, I realized I'd stirred the elephant in the room. He suddenly looked up and I saw his eyes glaze over. I felt so guilty for being so stupid and ruining his momentary happiness, which had reappeared after so many years, that I felt I could punch myself.

I quickly changed the subject. "I'll go call Larry to inform him I would be late today."

Without waiting for his reply, I got up, climbed up the stairs to my room as fast as I could, and shut the door behind me.

"How can you be such an idiot, Meg?" I spoke to myself. "Just when everything was going good for once in your life, you had to say something that brought up the past—Ughh." I went and lay down on my bed, watching the dull grey sky outside. It seemed as if it was going to pour down heavily any minute now. I shivered, imagining the cold winds that would make the rains lash against my window soon.

Just then, I heard, faintly, the sound of my phone's ringtone, and perked up my ears to listen more carefully. Sure enough, it was my phone...but where was it?

The sound seemed to come closer now, reaching just outside my room, and I hurried to my bedroom door. As soon as I opened it, though, I saw my brother standing outside with the wretched device in his hand. Which, incidentally, I was supposed to be using at that moment to call Larry, but which, instead, I had forgotten downstairs.

He stared at me with the phone in his hand, which was still ringing oblivious to the tension here. I grinned sheepishly. "Well... I was looking for it, thanks." I reached out to grab the stupid thing out of his hands.

"No, wait." Jordan replied, dodging, and answered the call. I raised my eyebrows.

"Hello? Yeah, Larry... Jordan here. Megan wouldn't be able to make it today, she's a bit busy with some things.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand, but look... she's not the only employee you have under your wing, is she?

"See, it's just a few hours, bro. Can't you call someone else?

"...Alright, thanks mate. See ya around!" He ended the call.

I stared at him open-mouthed. What did he get me a leave for? Okay, I'd be late if I went, but I would have worked an extra shift. Larry might be my brother's former classmate, but he was sure to cut a day's pay now, and we needed everything we could. At least, I needed to save for art college. I mean, I worked hard to earn even a penny more if I could. And here was Jordan, happily snatching away a day's pay from me (albeit reduced already) for nothing!

He returned the phone to me after his conversation, and said, "Sorry, but we need to talk. May I come in?" I moved aside to make space for him, still confused and annoyed by his behaviour.

"What about?" I asked and slammed the door shut as soon as he was in.

He sat down on my bed, and I took the chair from my study table. "Everything," he said, looking straight into my eyes, and sighed. "Everything that's been happening since the last five years, and everything that was, before."

That shut me up effectively—Jordan going anywhere near sentimental or retrospective was unheard of! I curiously waited for him to continue, and he did, taking a deep breath.

"You know, Meg, I... I don't want to lose you too. And I don't know how to start explaining my behaviour after our parents...went away."

I swallowed. There... it was the first time he had said it aloud, accepted the fact. Earlier, he refused to admit the reality we lived in by just remaining mum whenever the incident was brought up by anyone. I could imagine how difficult it was for him to come to terms with the fact.

He hung his head down, and I saw a teardrop making its way down his left cheek.

"It's okay, you don't have to— "

"No, that's the thing." He looked up. "It's not okay. What I did was wrong, Meg. I shouldn't have ever acted like this, but I was helpless.

"After the plane crash, I couldn't believe anyone when they said our parents were no more. They never let us see them at the end; just two coffins in the distance—that's all we saw. And I couldn't bring myself to accept the fact. I kept believing that it was all a misunderstanding, that they'd return some day out of the blue and everything would be as it was before." He stared out the window as he spoke.

He was right, though. Hadn't I convinced myself in a similar manner too that time?

Our parents had been travelling in a plane from Berlin to Phoenix. They had gone to Europe for some official work of Dad's and Mom had wanted to accompany him, planning to take a short vacation of a few days. On their return, however, something happened to the plane—exactly what, no one ever found out, though both countries tried their best—and it crashed into the sea.

While some theories went like this, others said it had lost its way in a storm and probably entered the Bermuda Triangle. The deep-sea divers eventually found the supposed wreckage of the plane, and with it, a few mangled bodies, too. The rest of the passengers' whereabouts remain a mystery till date.

Apparently, two bodies found among the few belonged to our parents, even though they said that the remains were torn beyond recognition, and wouldn't allow us to see them.

Jordan continued after a minute of silence, his voice soft but thick with emotion, "I don't know when I decided this, but I ended up ignoring everyone who was once close to me. I even isolated myself from you, Megan, because I didn't know myself how to deal with it and couldn't bear to see you in that state either, or answer any of your questions, which I was sure you'd ask."

He looked at me, and I realized the tears were flowing freely now from his eyes. Seeing him, I felt the water in my eyes too and quickly, nonchalantly, wiped my sleeve over them once.

"I wish you'd have at least tried talking to me once before coming to conclusions." I sighed. "I was numbed beyond measure, Jordan, and only the Grands know that because they helped me out of it back in Belgium, by distracting me in every way possible. I tried to talk to you, ease you out like they did, but you just detached yourself from us." I pointed out; my own voice heavy with emotion.

"What could I do? I wasn't ready to believe anyone, and I was afraid of getting attached to anyone else. I couldn't even trust anyone anymore. It was easier to hide my weakness and loss by putting up this impenetrable shield around me. So, I absorbed myself in studies, tried to forget it all, but it was no use. No one understood me, not even my so-called friends at school." He paused, and I felt I could taste the bitterness in his voice. "And at college, not once did anyone bother to ask me if I was fine. You'd think it was my fault for not trying to approach people, but I didn't want anyone to take advantage of me in the hard times I was facing, and definitely didn't want people to pity me. I just didn't want to talk about it, Meg, I simply didn't."

"Tell me about it," I said, sniffling. I was lucky to have found Char and Grid before it all happened, but even then, it was not at all easy to open up about it to them. Jordan laid his hand on mine, and gave me a sad smile.

"I had forgotten I had a bigger responsibility, then—that of being an elder brother. I was the one who was supposed to take care of you, not the one to shut you out of my life because I was drowning in my own sorrows... and, obviously, I did realize it later on, but it was already too late. By then I had made the wall between us too solid. I mean, if I were you, I would never forgive me now," saying this, he broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, "but I'm sorry, Meg, I'm extremely sorry..."

"No, Jordan," I got up to sit beside him on the bed, and gently rubbed his broad back. By now my own lips were quivering and I was trying my best to control the dam holding back the flooded river of my emotions. My sight was blurry with my own tears, and at last, the dam broke.

I leaned on Jordan's shoulder and the sobs racked through my body violently. We both stayed like that, weeping and sniffling for a long while until Jordan faced me, held my hands in both of his, and looking at me for a second, pulled me close and hugged me tight. I returned the hug with renewed tears.

We both must look so miserable and stupid right now, crying like little babies, I thought even though I was crying as hard as ever. Jordan soothed me in the same way I had, gently caressing my back, and it actually made me feel good. I smiled beneath the tears, which were getting fewer and fewer each second.

"Grandma sent another letter along with the one I gave you, but it was addressed just to me. When I read it, I realized it was high time I let the past go. I thought when all of you could embrace the future, what was stopping me? And I got the answer—it was my own denial of the truth. I knew, then, that I had to confront it to move on. Just like you."

I nodded earnestly; my heart was too heavy to allow me to speak. He gently pulled me back, held me by my shoulders and looked right in my eyes as he spoke again.

"So now, I want everything between us to be as it was five years ago. We won't hide anything from each other, and I promise to never change again the way I did. I will not hole up my emotions and feelings inside me anymore, because, you know, it becomes a very heavy burden to carry sometimes." I smiled, nodding again.

"Will you help me, Meg?" He asked, and searched my eyes for the answer. He needn't have, I was always ready for him.

"I missed hearing you call me Meg." I said, quickly hugging him for a few seconds so he couldn't see the fresh tears escaping my eyes, even though my voice was heavy. "And of course, you dummy! Is that even a question?" When I pulled back, he was smiling gratefully.

His real smile, after so many years! No smirk, no hidden taunt, no sarcasm. His plain, cute, genuine smile. And the dimples that accompanied them were enough to make anyone adore him. Although his nose was completely red against his pale face, which looked so funny I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Your nose," I said, still laughing.

He scrunched it up, and made a face, and we both ended up laughing till our stomachs hurt.

Then he furnished a bar of chocolate out of his jeans pocket, and tore open the wrapper. Breaking it into two equal halves, he gave one to me and stuffed the other whole into his mouth.

I grinned. "Thanks, J." I used to call him just 'J' when we were children and played detectives. I winked. That was kind of our sign language for 'mission successful'.

Between bites, he managed to utter, "You're welcome, M." He winked back.

We both cracked up.

"Oh, and we're going to Namur, after all."

"WHAT??" I almost shouted in disbelief.

"WE'RE GOING TO BELGIUM!!"