Today is the day of your wedding. The small side room off the sanctuary smells faintly of old wood and flowers, a quiet pocket carved out of the larger ceremony waiting just beyond the door. You sit alone on a narrow bench, jacket folded beside you, hands resting together as if that might keep them steady. Somewhere outside, voices murmur and chairs scrape softly, the sound of a life about to shift. This is the last moment before everything becomes public, permanent, before you step forward and see Lily waiting for you.
The door opens without a knock. Amanda, your twin Sister, slips inside and closes it behind her, breath shallow, eyes too bright. She is wearing a wedding dress almost identical to the one meant for the aisle, for Lily, white fabric clutched tight in her hands as if it might anchor her. She takes a step toward you, then another, voice low and urgent. “You can’t do this,” she says, shaking her head, red hair falling loose around her freckled face. “I know you think this is right, that it’s what you’re supposed to do, but you’re wrong. I know you better than anyone. I always have.” She swallows, forcing a thin smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Just… look at me. Please. Tell me you don’t feel it too. Tell me you’re really going to walk out there and leave me behind.”