Taki clutched the shoebox on her lap, the only thing that survived the fire.
Tears poured from her eyes and into its white cardboard surface as she kept her head down.
Naki had arrived at grandmother's farm way faster than the police and the fire department, yet he too was late.
Rita's farmhouse, which she took pride in for the fact that she built herself through her hard work after her husband's passing, was burning down to the ground.
The flames of the fire flared when Naki arrived as if to mock him.
Down on all fours, he heaved and huffed out a gust of strong air that instantly killed the fire, but he was too worried for his grandmother to gush about how well it worked.
Without hesitating, he ran straight into the burnt-down house which no longer had doors or walls.
"Grandmother Rita," he weakly called as he kicked things out of his way, already knowing deep down that he would not get a response.
He fell to his knees, gagging with a hand over his mouth as hot tears flowed down his eyes.
There her body lay, unresponsive and completely burnt beyond recognition, the only thing showing that it was Rita was the silver bangles she wore on both her ankles.
"...and now that we lay her body to rest, we pray that her soul finds peace, and may the Lord God ease our crying hearts and help us find healing, and may we once again meet someday at the gates of Heaven, we pray this and believe in our hearts, Amen."
The priest finished his prayer as the casket lowered to the ground.
Sarah was a crying mess at the loss of her only sister, she got up from the chair she sat in and weakly walked over to the open grave.
Himari followed right after her, a somber look on her face as she could feel and see the pain her boss and the twins were going through.
"Please greet mom and dad for me," she choked out as she threw a single rose on the casket, "I'm sorry I was never there for you as often as I should've been," she broke into another fit of tears, Himari pulled her into a hug as she rubbed her back, carefully leading her back to her seat.
Naki walked up next, the image of her burnt body still fresh in his head, "you didn't deserve this, fvck what the universe wants!" had almost growled, his hand tightening around the stem of the rose she held, "I promise, I will take care of Taki and great aunt Sarah, I won't let anything happen to them no matter what the universe wants, I promise you this," letting the rose go, he watched as it fell onto the polished wooden surface of the casket which they requested to remain closed through the whole ceremony, for obvious reasons.
Tears fell down his cheeks as he stared hard at the casket which was to be buried in a few moments, wishing and praying with all his might that it would miraculously open and his grandmother will walk out alive and in one piece and hug him one last time.
A hand rested on his shoulder pulling him back down to the harsh reality.
Taki smiled at her brother, although there was too much pain in her eyes for the smile to look as genuine as she hoped.
"We'll be okay," he nodded pulling her into a hug, and she completely broke down.
"I just wish we got to see her one last time," she sniffled, turning away from her brother and crouching down to the open grave.
"This isn't fair, no one should go like this," she whispered weakly, "I love you so much grandmother, I don't know if I can do this without you," she cried throwing her rose.
Naki pulled her up as the memorial service workers began filling up the grave with sand.
Despite the bright sun, the rain suddenly began pouring.
A black van pulled up on the curb, and after giving their final goodbyes, they all piled in and were driven home by a hired driver.
Tenants who heard about the tragic news offered their condolences to the small family as they walked through the lobby, some even brought flowers and other little gifts to show their support.
Himari was about to resume to work when Sarah dismissed her, telling her to take the rest of the day off.
The twins and Himari watched wordlessly as Sarah took the elevator up, either to her penthouse or her office, and judging by which floor the elevator stopped, it was the latter.
"Hey," Himari nervously scratched her arm, "I'm so sorry for your loss, if you two ever need someone to talk to or have tea or anything, my apartment is right above yours," she said in a soft voice while looking down at the black ankle boos on her feet, being sincere and nice was not something she was used to.
The twins were stunned at the new side of Himari which they were experiencing for the first time.
"Thank you, Himari," Taki smiled patting her shoulder, "I'm just gonna go lay down for a bit," she sighed looking over at her brother who had a distant look in his eyes.
"Naki," she called out to him and his eyes instantly shifted to her, "we're okay."
"We're okay," he nodded.
Taki then left for her apartment, leaving Naki and Himari in the lobby.
"I can't imagine what it must've felt like...to see that," Himari took a step closer to him, "despite how she had to go, I know she's resting in a wonderful place, Sarah told me what an incredible kind-hearted woman she was," she placed a hand on his shoulder, the soft fabric of the black suit gentle on her palm.
Naki spared her glance, liking this side of Himari, although he hoped he was meeting nice Himari under better less tragic circumstances.
"Thanks," he lowered his head, exhausted.
"I'll get back to work, I know she said to take the day off, but someone has to keep this place running," Himari sighed.
Naki cracked a small grin, "you, Himari, deserve a promotion," he patted her head as he walked past her to the elevator, missing how the action caused her pale cheeks to redden.
"Well be sure to put in a great word for me to your great-aunt," she called after him, catching the smirk on his face as the elevator slid shut.
Taki lay on her king-sized bed with her eyes fixed on the roof of her ceiling, the box on her stomach.
She contemplated opening it and building a shrine of the possessions of her grandmothers but quickly dismissed her ridiculous thoughts.
Although it did not seem like such a bad idea.
She got off her bed and walked out of her room, slipping on some slippers, she walked out of the apartment only to bump into Naki who seemed to be just entering his apartment.
"Oh hey I was just coming to get you," she told him.
"Did you see how fast the rain died down?" he asked and got a small smirk as a response, "did you open it yet?" he took notice of the shoebox in her hands.
"I was hoping we'd do that together, maybe share whatever's in here," she patted the box.
Naki nodded, "with Sarah too," Taki agreed.
They both locked their apartments and made their way to their great aunt's office.
"Come in," her weak voice called out after they had knocked.
A sad smile made its way on her face as they entered, she got up from behind her desk and enveloped both of them in a warm comforting hug, which they all needed.
"Are you kids coping okay?"
"We'll be fine, what about you?" Taking asked her as they all sat down on her L-shaped couch.
"It will take a while, but I have you two here as a distraction," she sighed, "she will always be in my heart, in all of ours."
Taki presented the box to her, "this was the last remaining thing from the farm that didn't burn with everything else."
"Did you open it?" she asked and the twins shook their heads 'no'.
"We wanted to do so together," Naki said.
Sarah took the box from Taki and gently pried it open.
"Typical Rita," Sarah scoffed in amusement as she picked up the photo album of the twins from when she first brought them to Japan and to the last picture they took before leaving for the city, there were even a couple of other photos of Rita and Sarah as kids and teens before their difference in careers and lifestyles made them see each other less.
"What's this?" Naki picked up a piece of paper that lay at the bottom of the box, underneath a couple of rings and old pearls.
"Never cursed, always blessed," Taki read, she made brief eye contact with her twin as they both recalled her saying it to both of them, especially when they realized the things they were capable of doing and the not-so-normal changes their bodies were going through.
"You're not cursed, but heavily blessed, you two are very special, and someday you will save the world," she had told their eleven- year old selves, making them giggle and jump around in excitement, if only they had known the dark turn they would take.
"It's a matter of self-control and not letting your emotions cloud your judgment," Rita wiped twelve-year-old Naki's wet cheeks who was crying out of guilt because he had just hurt her sister in his nonhuman form after an argument.
"It's okay Naki," Taki tried comforting him, "look," she put her hand over the bite mark on her forearm, "it's gone."
The truth was, the wound was gone but the pain remained, she did not figure out that part of her powers yet.
"But I still did it, I'm a monster," Naki cried.
"No you're not, you're my brother," Taki jumped down from the high stool her grandmother put her on to examine her wound, she walked to him and gave him a big hug.
Rita smiled at the twins, her heart warming at the sight and for the millionth time, she thanked whichever powerful force worked in her favor that night to have her on that dock at the right time.
"You two..." Sarah began grabbing their attention, "need to stop running away from who you are, you were blessed with amazing abilities beyond human understanding, it's only fair you do right to the universe by embracing them."
The twins were quiet for a while, contemplating her words.
"If it helps, I'm willing to train you two to learn how to master and control your abilities, Rita kept me updated all your life so I know what I'm dealing with," she told them.
"You know, that doesn't sound too bad," Naki shrugged.
"A distraction sounds nice, when do we start?" Taki managed a grin.