8 ~ Aurora

There was screaming downstairs. My ears perked up at that. I left my sketchbook and immediately stepped out, curious to know what the yells were about.

My inquisitiveness made me find my way halfway down the stairs where I saw two slight brunette girls who looked very alike who were hugging my mother in-law. She smiled so widely as she engulfed them in her embrace one more time while I looked on almost longingly. Somehow I wished that she would ever hug me like that or at least smile at me.

As I turned to head back up seeing that they were caught in their own bubble, I heard her call out to me.

"Aurora?"

"Ma'am?" I answered. She had sternly instructed me to call her that and who was I to go against it? River asked me if she thought I was one of their employees and I just shrugged.

"These are Leo's cousins, Leah and Lira." She said, smiling in my direction for the first time.

"Hi..." I said with a small smile. "You're twins." I stated the obvious. They were so identical.

"Yes we are."