CHAPTER 77: TWINSTER: CLAIRE DE LUNE

The storm outside raged like a creature losing its mind, wind clawing at the windows while shadows flickered across the halls of the mansion the Twinster still struggled to memorize.

They were not allowed to attend Elena’s funeral. "Family only," the adults had said, shutting the door before they could argue.

So they wandered through the empty rooms to distract themselves, turning hide and seek into a treasure hunt just so the silence would not swallow them whole.

It had been a year since they moved in, yet this house still felt too large and full of corners they did not understand.

Silas stopped first. A soft melody slipped through the crack of the drawing room door, delicate and familiar.

Adrian leaned in beside him and both boys peeked through the gap.

Lucien sat at the piano, fingers moving with a careful grace he always wanted them to admire, hoping they could point out mistakes even though they never could.

The melody of Clair de Lune filled the room, serene and soft, but Silas felt the sorrow woven through each note.

Lucien’s purple eyes looked so distant, as if he were trying to reach someone already gone.

They stepped into the room without speaking and stood behind him, letting the music guide the moment.

When Lucien reached the coda, his hands faltered. His shoulders trembled. A single tear fell onto the ivory key.

"Lucien..." Silas whispered.

"I will never play for my mother again," Lucien said as tears slipped down his cheeks.

"I only learned the piano because I wanted her to hear her favorite piece. I wanted her to smile at me again..."

His voice cracked as he covered his face. "But she is gone, and I cannot finish the piece. I do not know what to do now."

Silas felt something twist inside him, sharp and unfamiliar, a tight ache that spread through his chest.

He wrapped his arms around Lucien, brushing his shaking shoulders. Adrian quickly joined, pressing close as if they could hold him together through sheer will.

Lucien’s tears grew harder, painful to hear.

"It is my fault," he stammered. "She became sick because I am an omega. She must be disappointed in me! If I were an alpha, she would still be alive."

"No!" Adrian cried, louder than Lucien.

"Madam loved you. Her eyes were warm every time she looked at you. This is not your fault!"

"But she left me..." Lucien choked out. "If she loved me, why did she leave me alone? My music will never reach her again!"

The three of them clung to one another, crying in a tight circle, unsure how to reach someone who was no longer in their world.

"Your mother must be in heaven," Silas said gently.

"People always say heaven is in the sky. We can send your music up there with balloons."

Lucien pulled back from their hug, tears still streaming. "Is that real? Can it work?"

Adrian nodded with fierce determination. "We won’t know until we try. So let’s try."

Lucien hesitated, but hope flickered through the sadness. He finally nodded. The boys had a new mission: send his music to heaven.

The next day they began recording Lucien’s piano playing with Mikhail’s help, even though both Twinster couldn’t stand him most days.

But Lucien looked genuinely excited, and that alone made the suffering worth it.

They also spent hours making balloons by hand. The Twinster raced Mikhail, trying to beat the Devil himself at balloon blowing.

"Hah! That weak breath will never beat me," Mikhail crowed as he tapped a pile of twenty-five balloons.

The Twinster had only managed ten between them.

Silas smirked. "Of course you have more. You’re bigger. Honestly, it’s kind of embarrassing that you can only make that many."

Mikhail snarled. "Watch me, brats."

He immediately started blowing up even more, cheeks puffing like an angry bull.

By the end, all three were breathless, faces red, and the room was filled with balloons like a festival gone wrong. Lucien walked in and blinked at the chaos.

"What are you doing? Isn’t this way too much?"

"Nah, most of these are mine," Mikhail said proudly. He grabbed both Twinster by the head.

"So they can fly faster to heaven. These two are just burdens. Maybe I should send them up with the balloons."

Adrian kicked and squirmed. "Let go! We don’t want to go to heaven yet!"

"We still want to stay with Lucien!" Silas shouted.

"Over my dead body," Mikhail grumbled, tightening his grip.

Lucien clapped his hands for attention. "Enough. The recording is ready, and I wrote a letter too. So yes, we are using every balloon here."

He sighed, arms crossed. "Now help me tie everything before night comes."

They nodded, still glaring at each other while working. By sunset, one hundred balloons were ready.

Mikhail wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Everything we do is a pain in the ass. You owe me, young master."

"Hmph. Ask my dad."

"Fine. I’ll ask for the capo position."

"In your dreams," Lucien said, sticking out his tongue while Mikhail burst out laughing.

They walked outside into clear blue skies, so different from the stormy day when Elena passed. Mikhail held the balloons, then offered them to Lucien.

"You have to be the one to send them. She will love it. She will listen to it every time."

Lucien’s eyes shone. "Really?"

"Of course," Mikhail said, brushing his hair softly. "You are her treasure. More precious than anything."

"Lucien, do not let being an omega make you feel small. You are stronger than that." he continued as Silas looked at Mikhail in a different light now.

He could be annoying but also look so cool at times like this!

Lucien held the strings tightly. "Mother, I hope you like my playing. I miss you. Please be healthy and happy in heaven." Tears ran down his cheeks as he let the balloons go.

Adrian pointed at the bright sky as Silas clapped in excitement.

The boys watched the colorful cluster rise higher and higher, certain it would reach Elena. Maybe, after this, Lucien could smile the way he used to.

Silas prayed silently that Lucien would never be in pain again.