The high tension in the air was further deepened by the cries coming from Irene. Sitting next to Leslie, the teenager sobbed her heart out as she hugged her elder sister.
"S-sorry... I didn't know... Big Sister, I'm sorry..."
Irene's heartwrenching cries made it hard for Leslie to smile. But, she did her best to comfort the struggling teenager. After all, everything Irene had just heard was not pleasant.
"Why are you sorry ah? You're not... at fault at all..." Leslie gently stroked Irene's back. She raised one hand, running her thumb under one of the teenager's eyes, "Neither of them told you... the truth..."
Irene was indeed oblivious to the torment Charlene had to endure. Being around nine to ten years old, what else could she do when her own parents refused to tell her why her elder sister was exiled.
