The box of photos had been shuffled off to the side the other night, and Mihai had taken it upon himself to remove it from sight for now. His childer were too distracted and distressed to deal with it right now, and he’d wanted a closer look. It was a simple photo storage box, blue, with a handful of photos. He went through them all, and sighed. Kashi and Malina were truly special, and he had been so very willing to bring them across, believing it was part of his svadharma to do so.
They’d made him promise to take care of the twins should anything ever happen to them, in turn believing that was what was meant to be. He never once had regretting embracing the twins, he loved them every bit as much as he had loved their parents, if not more, cherishing them in their own way. They were family, and that was what mattered to him. He regretted, though, not being able to take care of them as children; he regretted not being able to protect Kashi and Malina.
He studied the message at the bottom of the box, then inspected the box itself closely. There was nothing untoward about it, though a thought occurred to him. He flipped it around to the side where you would insert a label, and slowly pushed the piece of paper within up through the slot and out. It was a bit tricky, as it was slightly thicker than it should have been.
It was thin paper, but folded, which is what had made its removal a little tricky. He carefully opened it up, to find a brief sentence written therein, typed. “Eye for an eye, Mihai. You took my heart, now I will take yours.” He froze for a moment, and tried to think. It had to be her. He could think of no other who would want him to suffer so, and now he worried for the twins’ safety. As much as he didn’t wish it, perhaps another hunting trip was in order; to take her out before she could cut the twins’ svadharma short.
No, he decided. He would contact someone else to handle the matter. He could not leave the twins alone now, no matter what. Carefully, he put the box back together, minus the note left for him – no need to concern the twins further right now. He would put it back where it had been, and keep near his precious childer. He’d promised to keep them safe, after all.