HEJ, MY LOVE

ONE PIECE

Again Jonas sought assistance despite Jacob's advice, and he found himself on his parent's doorstep.

"Hi, dad."

"Hi, are you okay?" his father asked.

"Is mom in?"

His father stepped aside to let Jonas inside, "no, she's bringing her patients homeopathic remedies today."

"I see."

"Ah, you wanted to talk to her. I'm here, though."

Jonas gave a timid smile, "eh."

"Come sit down. We don't really chat, do we?" Jonas' father said.

The statement was true. Jonas tried to recall a moment when he and his father had a long conversation, but none came to mind apart from the day in the kitchen when Jonas told his father and brothers he wished to marry Sierra. He swiped a hand at the back of his head.

"You can say it, Jonas. We don't talk often. Still, I'm here. How is Sierra?" The older man asked.

"She went to work today. I don't know what to think of it."

It wasn't that Jonas thought it was too soon. No one knew better than Sierra when she could pick up her daily routine again. Jonas was just taken aback by the sudden move.

His father shook his head, "don't think anything."

Jonas took a deep breath, "we haven't spoken since, dad. Can you imagine, I haven't spoken to my wife in a fortnight."

Anders frowned, "what are you waiting for?"

"I don't want to mess up. I don't want to say the wrong words."

"Your mom had a miscarriage," his father said, breaking the silence.

"What?"

Anders' words distracted Jonas, who forgot his worries for a second.

The older man shrugged, "I know; we never speak of it. She was pregnant with twins."

All wondered how Joshua had twins when neither his wife's family nor theirs had the history. Everyone looked at the paternal side of the family and overlooked the maternal. Jonas discovered it was in their mother's family tree. Within one sentence, the man resolved one of their family mysteries.

"So we would have been eight?" Jonas asked.

"No seven."

The answer made the man frown, and his father continued his explanation,

"One twin survived. They call it the vanishing twin syndrome. The one who survived has always been different. You have always been different from all your siblings, Jonas. Your taciturn nature made your mom, and I wonder whether you felt lonely, yet at the same time, you seemed so happy alone, always reflecting. And your talent it as thoughㅡ."

The survivor takes all.

The remaining tissue and placenta were resorbed. Thus, Jonas fed and lived thanks to his brother in his mother's womb.

Jonas' eyes widened in shock, "why didn't you tell me?"

"What use? We did what we thought best. We love you, and if I've never intervened much in your life, it's because you seemed so self-sufficient, unlike Lars or Elsa. Howeverㅡ."

Again he's father hesitated. Of all his children, Jonas was the greatest enigma. The lonesome twin carried a form of melancholia as if he knew something was missing.

His father smiled, "you changed when you found out you had a son. And Sierra, that woman she'sㅡ."

"She's my missing piece."

No, the men didn't speak frequently, but that one conversation clarified Jonas's thoughts. His father helped him see life went on even after such a tragic incident. His parents had Elsa and Lars after him. They were happy and never once showed their grief to their children. Jonas understood better why his mother insisted on him being with Sierra and speaking with her. Parenting didn't begin at the child's birth. The communication between the couple during the pregnancy posed the foundations. Fears and queries, the couple had to share them to understand and support each other.

Jonas and Sierra always attempted to spare one another when it was by doing so they hurt the other the most.

Sierra was home and already in the guestroom when Jonas returned after picking up Leone.

Nothing indicated Sierra had eaten. Jonas cooked, hoping his wife would come and sit to share the meal, but she did not reply when he asked.

Of all the days since her miscarriage, this one where she returned to work was the hardest. Facing people was challenging but not as heartbreaking as seeing Jonas.

How Sierra longed for his comforting embrace; would the man ever hold her again?

"Sierra."

She opened her eyes.

It was quarter past ten, and Leone was fast asleep.

"Sierra, I don't know if you're awake."

The woman left the bed and walked to the door, "I'm awake."

Jonas sat back to back to the closed door. He took a deep breath and spoke, "I miss you, Sierra. I miss my friend, my wife, and the mother of my children. I know it may sound like something unattainable, but we'll have children if you still wish to have them with me. And there's Leone; you're his one and only mother."

Sierra pressed her hands and ears against the door. Jonas's voice was calm as still waters. It seemed like an eternity since she heard him.

"I visited my parents today. Do you know what I found out? I had a twin," the man pursued without waiting for an answer. "He died before birth. I spent my whole life wondering why I felt so lonely when I unconsciously missed my brother."

Jonas paused and wondered whether he would have been half as crafty or talented as some said if his twin were alive.

"You know what, Sierra, I haven't felt lonely since I met you." The man's voice seemed to pick up in a cheerier tone, and Sierra could almost hear him smile.

 Indeed, the man's lips curved as memories of their first encounter and date together came to mind. He saw himself carrying Sierra like a rug. The first time she touched him. And when he knew he would marry her.

"Call me crazy, but you're a piece of me, Sierra. Right now, I'm suffering to see you in pain. I wish I had the power to erase this from your mind and heal your body, Iㅡ."

Jacob told him any word from the heart would do, "it's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself. You did nothing wrong. These things happen, and we're no better than anyone else to be exempted." Jonas sighed and leaned his head back on the door, "I'll never say it enough, but I love you. I will always love you. Talk to me, Sierra; you can curse me if you desire. I don't want this silence. I can't bear being without you."

Jonas wasn't an eloquent man, but he always went ahead of himself for Sierra, though shy. Perhaps his words were not what she wanted or needed to hear, but Jonas hoped they attained his wife right then.

A minute passed, and the man sat while his dog watched the scene like a movie. Suddenly the door opened. Jonas' quick reflexes allowed him to escape falling backward on the bedroom floor. He got up, "Sierra."

The woman stepped forward and hugged him.

Jonas immediately wrapped his arms around her. He lowered his head to whiff the scent of her shampoo and sighed with relief, "I'm sorry, Sierra. Sorry for letting you down."

Sierra's head shook against the man's chest; she looked up, "you didn't let me down, Jonas. I'm the one I lost our son."

"No, Sierra, it isn't your fault. Please, don't say that."

Sierra cried in her husband's arms that tightened around her.

Time, they both knew ten days wasn't enough. It would take time for them to advance, understand each other better, and heal.

At that instant, while he held Sierra in his arms, Jonas felt whole. He was patient and willing to wait as long as his wife remained by his side.