As Tani starred out the window in her bakery, she perceived it again. Rain on dry ground, petrichor. This in the past, was her signal that the dream had begun only that she wasn't dreaming now. She was fully awake.
Still, the dream she'd barely crawled out of that morning, stuck with her.
Until now, the dreams had been pleasant, a much welcomed escape from her reality. A world of wealth and luxury, where she wasn't the tired, broke woman who rose before dawn, just to knead dough that barely paid her rent.
Most importantly, she was apparently loved by a man who could never look at her in her waking world, but she'd died trying to become his Wife.
She sighed and leaned back on her counter, the thought weighing heavily on her and was at loss of what to make of it.
Was this a premonition? A warning? Or worse an end to her unexplainable dream era? The longer she dwelled on it, the less clear things got.
She shoved aside the thought like she'd done a thousand times and forced herself to focus on something else, work.
In no time the bakery smelled of butter and sugar, as she made magic. As she scrubbed flour from her apron, her phone lit up.
A strange number flashed on the screen, yet she picked up regardless.
"Hello?" she answered, cautious.
"Miss Zhani?" a woman said, polite but brisk. "This is Saint Arden Hospital. You're listed as next of kin for one Ms. Rhea Zhani. She was admitted last night after a minor accident."
Tani froze. "I'm sorry, who?"
"Rhea Zhani," the woman repeated. "She gave your name as her only family."
Family. The word hit hard.
"There must be a mistake," Tani said quickly. "I don't have a sister."
"Well, she has your name and other personal details on her file" the woman said. "You might want to come in."
The line clicked dead before Tani could protest.
Despite her doubts, Tani found herself heading to Saint Arden, the hospital that stood right between the two sectors in Vareth.
Curiosity pressed her forward faster than fear. She had lived her whole life alone, what were the odds, there was someone out there who actually shared her blood?
In no time she was in front of Room 419. Tani hesitated only once before she pushed the door open.
A woman sat up in bed, with a little bandage on her arm. She looked fragile but alert. Somehow she was kind of familiar in a way she couldn't explain.
"Tani?" the woman asked softly, smiling. "You came."
Tani blinked, unsure what to say. "Do I… know you?"
The woman's smile didn't waver. "I'm Rhea. Your sister."
Tani's throat went dry. "That's not possible."
"It is," Rhea said. "We grew up in the same orphanage, Sweet Angels, down in Bront Hill. They split us up when we were four. You were adopted, but I wasn't. Look."
She reached for the bedside table and handed Tani a worn photograph, two little girls on a swing, identical smiles.
Tani's hands trembled. The girl beside her could have been her twin.
"I found it last year," Rhea continued. "I've been trying to find you. When I got into the accident, they asked who to call. I said your name."
Tani stared at the picture again. "Sweet Angels was in my papers," she whispered. "But I thought it burned down years ago."
"It did," Rhea said softly. "After we left."
It sounded impossible, but the photo felt real.
The woman looked like her. Smiled like her.
Tani sat down and offered out of duty. "You can come stay with me," she said after a moment. "Until you're better."
Rhea's smile widened, eyes glinting strangely before she looked down again. "I'd like that. Thank you."
Soon after Rhea was discharged and free to go, as her injuries were basically scratches. Tani took her home and after settling her proceeded to round up her work at the bakery.
When she returned home, Rhea was already awake.
"You live here alone?" Rhea asked.
Tani nodded, setting down two mugs of tea. "Just me."
Rhea smiled. "Not anymore." Then she added, almost shyly, "Unless you mind."
Tani shook her head, smiling for real this time. "Of course not. Mi casa, su casa. My house is your house."
"Families oughta stay close," Rhea muttered, stretching her arms toward her.
Tani hesitated at first but when she finally let go of her reservations, she held on tight, a cozy feeling rising in her ribs. She hadn't been this near someone in ages.
They chatted deep into the hours just to reconnect - rambling through random topics or no topic at all until Tani slowly dozed off.
Rhea however wasn't sleeping, instead she watched Tani sleep intently, as if she was trying to decipher whether she had begun her dream.
She then whispered almost inaudibly
"Sleep dear, we've waited long enough."
She turned off the bedside lamp. In the dark her silhouette shifted to something older and colder, nothing of the warm Rhea.
Then it was gone, as soon as the clock struck five.