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Sasha Graves was unexpected. Her parents Christopher and Jeanette already had a daughter named Karen. Several miscarraiges afterwards, convinced them that another child just wasn't going to happen. Years passed. Then Sasha came along. Despite the big age gap, Karen and her sister were very close.

Sasha met her best friend Sonia Parsons, when she was in primary school. The girls had no secrets from each other. Sasha was the first to know about Sonia's butterfly tattoo; regardless of parental objections, she got it done on her most recent birthday.

For a while it was just the two of them. But as time went by, their social circle grew. Faye Radcliffe and Evan Mcgregor began dating in their third year of high school. Karl Reeves and Casy Barnes were cousins. Annalise Monroe, the new girl who started year 11 with them, fit into their group as if she had always been there. Her father was offered a better paying job, so the whole family moved to Blackwater Point.

Karen did not graduate high school. But thanks to Jeanette, who was a nurse, she got work at the local GP Clinic. Although she'd only just turned seventeen, Karen was willing to step up and earn her own money. What she didn't know, she soon found out. She became a favourite of regular patients.

Not all of the receptionists were as friendly or helpful, but most of the staff genuinely liked her too. This wasn't a forever kind of job. Karen had plans of moving on to bigger and better opportunities. She always had her family's full support with the choices she ended up making.

When Sasha reached the same age, she decided that she would pursue the concept of dating, perhaps somewhere in her mid to late twenties. It wasn't a top priority right now. Not that she didn't have a crush or two along the way, because she did. But nothing ever came of it.

Karen in particular was very vocal on the subject of boys, having gone through her own experiences. Sasha knew that her sister's warnings came from a place of love, so it didn't really bother her. Sonia had been dumped some time ago, but she was still kind of hesitant about putting herself out there again.

Annalise was also single. She was struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. Her friends were fine with it, but she hadn't yet told her parents. Casey was dealing with a similar problem; he fell for an older man and they were trying to hide their relationship.

Karl was a bit shocked at first, but he could see his cousin needed a shoulder to lean on, so he offered his. Faye and Evan were talking about moving in together. Life was throwing them all kinds of ups and downs, but they had each other, so it wasn't so bad.

***********

The 1st of September signalled the month for a long overdue spring cleaning. The Graves family tried to do this every year, but it didn't always work out that way. There was a lot of stuff this time around, which needed to be gotten rid of. Jeanette was busy in the spare room, while Christopher sorted through bits and pieces in the garage.

Sasha had nothing in her own room which she thought should be thrown out, so she wandered into Karen's now empty space. Her sister had taken most of her things when she moved out, but Sasha had already spied a few boxes that bared a closer examination. Who knows what treasures she could find? Karen had called earlier; she was coming over to help with the clean out and have lunch with them.

About an hour had gone by. In the back of the wardrobe, Sasha caught sight of a wooden chest with a lock. Curiosity got the better of her. She easily found the key in a separate drawer and opened the box's lid. Inside was her birth certificate, some baby clothes, a book of baby names, a picture of Karen holding a newborn, plus a framed photo of a young man that Sasha didn't recognise.

"So, here you are." The box fell from her hands and its contents spilled onto the floor. "What am I looking at?" Karen came into the bedroom, unable to meet Sasha's gaze. She sat in what used to be her favourite armchair. Sasha stayed put on the bed. There was total silence for a couple of minutes. Then Karen started talking. "I left the box behind on purpose. You would have learned about it sooner or later. After all, you need different forms of identification to obtain either a proof of age card or a driver's liscence, among other things."

Sasha had an idea of where this conversation was heading, but she waited for more details anyway. "As you have probably guessed by now, I am not your sister. I was the one who gave birth to you. But there was no way I could just give you up for adoption." At the moment Sasha was totally unsure of how she should be feeling about this. She did however have some questions.

"The other name on my certificate, Mark Buckley. He is my real father?" "Yes. I met him in a diner of all places. He was behind the counter. We flirted a little. He wound up giving me his number on a napkin. It was cheesy and yet kind of endearing. My previous boyfriend announced his engagement to the girl he cheated on me with. I thought I deserved a little fun, but it became a bit more serious."

Karen paused. Sasha could feel the strong bond that they shared, waver ever so slightly. Yes she was upset; who in their right mind wouldn't be? For the longest time, since she was born actually, Sasha had been living a lie; one not of her own making.

But she also felt sympathy for Karen. As her 'sister's' words came pouring out, the obvious anxiety and stress over revealing her secret had gone. In fact she looked somewhat relieved to finally have the truth be told. Karen continued speaking.

"Ten months into the relationship, I got pregnant. An irregular period was not uncommon for me, but the vomiting, sudden weight gain and mood swings began to worry us both. My doctor confirmed our suspicions. After the initial shock, Mark and I talked. It was the longest conversation that we'd ever had. We finally came to a decision; neither of us were ready for teenage parenthood.

The suggestion of abortion never even came up. We just really should have been more careful. It wont surprise you to hear that Mark and I broke up. I also left school. " Sasha nodded. Karen's overprotectiveness towards her made more sense now. It was not the concern of an older sibling, but that of a mother.

"So what happened next?" Karen smiled. " I had this horrible thought when I told them, that Mum and Dad would yell at me for my foolish mistake and kick me out. Instead they thought up a plan; they pretended to split up. The arrival of a 'new baby' would be the thing that brought them back together. Mum and I moved up to Grandad's cabin for a while. It was the ideal refuge. My doctor visited the week before I was due, which was just as well; you arrived early."

Sasha picked up the photo of her and Karen and stared at it. "Sisters usually resemble each other. It would have been easy to pull the deception off." "Indeed. I am so grateful that my parents raised you under our roof." "Is anyone else aware of the truth?" "Only Grandma, who completely adores you, and of course Mark. Over the years I have remained in contact with him.

He often asks how you are and he puts a bit of money into a joint bank account when he can. He's been married to the same woman for almost ten years. I'm not sure she knows about you. They have a son of their own." Sasha had sometimes wondered what it would be like, if she had a brother. Maybe she'll get the chance to see for herself.

"If you wish to reach out to Mark, I wont stop you. I think he'd be quite pleased to have you turn up on his doorstep." Sasha wanted to meet her father, but she wasn't sure she was ready for that yet. "One day perhaps." She gathered up everything and placed it carefully back into the chest. Karen took the box from her and put it away again.

Before Sasha even asked the next question, Karen had a response. "By the way, I am okay with you continuing to just use my name. You can still call Jeanette Mum." Now that she knew their full story, Sasha was sure of one thing. "You may be my natural mother, but you've been a big sister to me for my whole life. I think that is how I will always see you."

They were close enough to hug, so they did. Karen pulled back to look at her daughter. She tucked a lock of hair behind Sasha's ear. "That is definitely the right choice and a fitting end to the day's family revelations. I think we're done in here. We should head downstairs for lunch." Sasha's stomach grumbled, which made them both laugh. "Mum said she was doing tacos." "Awesome. Let's go eat!"

THE END