No Big Secret

Clay stared at the piece of paper that had been locked in his father’s desk for five years.

“I found it. The envelope was still sealed,” Dan said quietly.

“What does it say?” Scott asked.

Clay cleared his throat, but at first he could only stare at the words.

Dear Scott, Clay, Robert, and Daniel,

I’m sorry. For everything. For the secrets I kept, for the person I really was who certainly wasn’t the person you called your friend. I’m sorry I never told you the truth and never trusted you with who I was, even though you trusted me with your lives. I’m sorry for any pain I caused, and I promise you will never see me again. I wish all of you the best and hope you find serenity and happiness beyond the disaster that marked the end of your youth.

Farewell.

Thank you for keeping my secret, Dan.

Clay could almost hear her voice, as if she were kneeling beside him on the bed and whispering in his ear the way she had, sometimes, when she was translating something important and forgot, for one moment, that he wasn’t his brother.

Then his brow furrowed. “What does this mean?” And he read the last line to his brother.

“It means she told me a secret and she wants me to continue keeping it,” Dan said.

Scott’s eyes narrowed. “She kept enough secrets from us. Spill.”

“It was no big secret,” Dan said. “No national security issue.”

(248 words)