Full Circle - Day 8

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Day 8

Ivan walked across the room now, and sat protectively between his wife and daughter. Victoria stood a few feet in front of them, much like a teacher before her class.
“Well, well.” She said, resting against the small marble table that stood regally in the center of the room. Placing the small handgun on her lap, she continued. “Finally, we can bury the dead. So to speak,” she added, with a hollow look in her eyes.
Viola felt her heart began to race. And even though Ivan’s face was stone, she saw his jaw clench and tighten. She didn’t even have to look at Alexandria, she could feel the warm tears pool on her arm as they fell from her daughter’s eyes. She had to do something… to say something. “Victoria,” she said, her words pleading. “leave it be. Please.”
Victoria laughed- but it was a dark, dangerous laugh. “Why, Mother? So we won’t disgrace Father? Should we pretend forever that Camille never existed?”
Her words seemed to freeze time. The air in the room grew thick with tension. No one dared to move. Suddenly, they were all transported back to the past. A past that no one spoke of and was only reminded of in their nightmares. No one spoke. No one wanted to remember. Except Victoria.
“She was real, wasn’t she, Mother?… Father?” she asked, breaking the silence.
Ivan quickly regained his composure. “I’ll not have this!” he demanded. Angry now, he started to stand but was quickly reminded by Victoria that she was running the show… at least for now.
“Oh yes, Father. We are going to do this, and we’re doing it now. Today… finally.” She said, with deadly determination. “Today we are going to talk about Camille Sophia Van Cort. You remember her don’t you? Let me see, I think she was probably silently referred to as the Van Cort blemish. Isn’t that right, Father?” she asked, staring desperately into his eyes.
Viola summoned the courage to stand and walk over to Victoria. All the while, her eyes pleaded with her not to disturb the past. “Victoria, you were only eight years old. You were so young. Please, just let it go.” She said, desperately trying to reach her.
Victoria kept one hand on the gun still on her lap, with her other hand, she brushed away a tear that had begun to fall from her eyes. “I can’t, Mother,” she whispered. “I can’t. I’m haunted by this… by the past. There are so many missing pieces and I feel so tormented by all of this.”
Viola stood before her, silently, wishing that she could hold her and make all of her pain, all of their pains go away. But she didn’t even know how to do that. Feeling helpless, she looked over her shoulder at her husband.
Ivan seemed to look right through her. Clearing his throat, he spoke now. “Victoria, I’ve done all that I could do to keep this family together. To give us all the best life imaginable. Sure, I’ve done things that I’m not very proud of. But I did it for all of you. Most men wouldn’t dream of going to the lengths that I have, but I did…”
“But for who?” Victoria asked, cutting him off. “Who did you do it all for? You did nothing for Camille, Father. Nothing. She was completely disposable to you, wasn’t she? I don’t even think you want to remember her. To you, she was just a blemish. To all of you.” She sobbed. Victoria covered her face with her hands. The gun fell from her lap and landed with a soft thump onto the crimson Persian rug. But no one seemed to notice.
Ivan’s deep voice sounded like thunder in the room. “I did the best for Cam… “ his words caught in throat. “I did,” he said, softer this time, with tears in his eyes. “I made some mistakes,” he struggled to continue. “But everything I did… everything, was so that you, all of you could have and be the best.” Ivan’s breath quickened as images of the past began to crowd his thoughts. “I did love her,” he sobbed. Images of Camille, Victoria’s identical twin sister, becoming more and more vivid. Her small body so frail and weak. He remembered the day Victoria and Camille were born. Victoria had been the larger and much healthier of the two. And then there was Camille. She looked nothing at all like Victoria. It was immediately clear that something was definitely wrong with her.
Be sure to look for the continuation of this story in about 3 days.