Xyla’s Letters
The quiet of the library enveloped Isla as she sifted through shelves lined with ancient tomes and scrolls. The weight of the sanctum’s history pressed on her, but a small part of her hoped the answers she sought might be hidden within these walls.
It was by chance—or perhaps fate—that her fingers brushed against a loose panel behind a row of dusty books. Curious, she tugged it free, revealing a stack of yellowed papers bound with a faded ribbon. Her breath caught as she pulled them out and read the familiar handwriting on the top sheet.
“To my dearest Isla.”
Her mother’s handwriting.
With trembling hands, Isla unraveled the ribbon and unfolded the first letter. She hesitated, her silver eyes scanning the opening lines before she began to read aloud.
“If you’re reading this, it means you’ve found your way back to where you belong. It also means I’m no longer with you to explain what I couldn’t when I was alive. For that, I am sorry.”
The words blurred as tears filled Isla’s eyes. She forced herself to continue.
“The power in our bloodline is a blessing and a curse. It is beautiful, but it is dangerous. I feared what it might do to you and Seraphine, and that fear drove your father and me to make impossible choices. I hope one day you’ll understand that everything I did, I did to protect you both.”
Her voice broke as she read the final line of the letter. “I love you, Isla. More than words can say.”
She sank to her knees, clutching the letter to her chest, as tears streamed down her face.
One by one, she read through the rest of the letters. Each revealed pieces of her mother’s thoughts and fears: warnings about their legacy, regrets about their separation, and a desperate hope that Isla might one day forgive them.
“There are forces in this world that will stop at nothing to control what we are, and I couldn’t bear to see you or Seraphine become pawns in their game. If I failed you, please know it was never because I didn’t love you.”
The last letter ended with a plea: “Be strong, my little moonbeam. You are the light this world needs.”
Isla sat there in silence, clutching the letters to her chest as the weight of her mother’s words settled deep in her heart.
