Chapter 16

16

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There was bittersweet irony in the growing bond between Haru and Katlyn. Kat initially hated the very idea of him, but seeing Haru's determination to find Caste was proof enough that he hadn't meant to steal her away. That he had sincerely wanted a family. He was, to her surprise, a wonderful father. Nothing like Caste's father, who'd walked out of her life the moment he'd learned Kat was expecting. No, he was destroying all of her preconceived notions and making her regret her decision to estrange herself. But nothing can make the hands of Time turn back, and regretting the past did nothing in the search for answers as to Casterline's untimely disappearance. Kat and Haru had never seen eye to eye but had wanted the same thing all along...to keep Casterline safe. And through the years, they would lean on one another in their deepest depressions, all the while trying to keep Harumi's unraveling hope alive and well. They took significant pride in their candlelight vigils. A guiding beacon of hope that Casterline would never get to see.

Those warm and quiet vigils that Haru and Kat so carefully and proudly planned were always held in the darkest hours of the night every year, not on the date of Casterline's disappearance, but on Harumi's birthday. What she knew was meant to be a loving celebration of remembrance secretly made her heart break further and her bitterness grow with each passing year. Her birth would forever be overshadowed by her mother's loss. That was a special kind of cruelty that she kept deep inside. She hadn't wanted gifts, nor prayers, nor candles for her mother held by well meaning strangers. She'd wanted to see her father smile like he used to. She'd wanted to see Grandma Katlyn beat her illness. She'd simply wanted...her mother.