The old house in the middle of the woods was my inheritance from Grandmasomething Id wanted to see for years, but Mum always forbade it. Now I knew why.
As a child, I barely remembered my maternal grandmother. Just fragmentsa few years of vague visits, then nothing. It all stopped abruptly. I never understood why. Too young to question it, and later, when I asked Mum, shed just brush me off.
Time passed. I accepted it. Then came the news: Grandma had passed. I didnt feel griefhow could I? I hardly knew her. But one thing shocked me: shed left me her cottage in the countryside.
Curiosity outweighed my indifference. I wanted to see it, maybe even sell it. But when I told Mum, panic flickered in her eyes.
“Dont go there. Please.”
“Why not? Whats wrong with it?”
“I just dont want you to.”
“Mum, what arent you telling me?”
“Nothing.”
“Youre lying! Why did you cut her off? Why wont you talk about her?”
“Just dont go. Youll regret it. Thats all I can say.”
Her fear only stoked my resolve. Too many secrets. I had to see it.
The cottage stood deep in the forest, weathered brick with a sagging porch. Ordinary, almost quaint. The key still lay under the mat.
I turned it in the lock, pushed the door openand froze.
Inside, dust hung in the air. I moved through the rooms until my gaze caught on a photo frame. A family portraitMum, Dad, me as a toddler and a boy. Maybe ten years old.
My breath hitched. Who was he? Why had I never seen him before?
Hands trembling, I called Mum.
“Whos the boy in the photo?”
Silence. Then, a shuddering breath.
“You werent supposed to see that” Her voice cracked. “You had an older brother.”
The words punched through me. “A brother?”
And then the truth spilled out. Years ago, wed visited Grandmas. I was three, my brother, ten. Hed climbed a treelost his grip, fell. The impact shattered his spine. He didnt survive.
Mum never forgave Grandma. Blamed her. Cut her off. Hid it all from me, terrified the past would hurt me too.
I stood there, phone clutched in my hand, the boys face seared into my mind. My brother. A life I never knew existed.
