My sister left me speechless.
No matter how many second chances she was given, she always wanted more.
Was there nothing that could make her see the light?

"I'm your sister. I'm not looking for a lecture, I need you to rescue me. Do you understand? What would Mom and Dad think if you left me here to rot?"
"Did you think of Mom and Dad when you murdered me?! I'm choosing not to rescue you from a mess you went out of your way to get yourself into. I think they'd be fine with that."
I was dumbfounded.
No matter how dire her situation, nothing could diminish her delusional sense of entitlement.
Despite lesson after lesson, she had never been able to accept that one day she might have to face the consequences of her actions.
Who knew if this time—once she had finally gone too far—she would get another chance at life, just like before.

I was unwilling to let my sister bring me down any further, and so I hung up without so much as saying goodbye.
To stop her from disturbing me further, I added her optical computer's serial code to my own computer's blocklist.
Around lunchtime, Isaiah returned from the training ground.
When he had finished giving milk to our daughter, he held her in his arms and sat down next to me.

He kept giving me furtive glances.
"Is there something you want to say?"
I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Your sister called me, begging for help. Dirk ripped out her eyes. She wants me to rescue her."
He lowered his head and kissed my brow.
A dark cloud had suddenly descended over our happy family home.
I couldn't help but scoff.
I should have known my sister would try to contact Isaiah directly.
Sensing my anger, Isaiah sat up straight.
"Maria, I will hand this matter over to the alliance for them to investigate." He sounded resolute.
Despite my unwillingness, I knew this was his duty.
All I could do was suppress the rage I was feeling inside.
If the worst came to the worst, I could always take things into my own hands once she was back.
After all, I knew she would never give up her old ways.
And I wasn't planning on spending the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.
"When do you think they'll decide what to do?"
"It will take them a month or so to investigate and determine whether a rescue mission is warranted. And Dirk is an experienced pirate, even if the rescue goes ahead, simply detecting his ship's signal could take two or three months."
His voice was serious.
If I hadn't heard of his great deeds from others, his plain way of talking might have led me to believe he was just a regular drone.
"Then I guess we just wait for them to make up their minds."
I embraced him more tightly, smiling brightly.
I couldn't even be sure that my sister would hold out long enough to be rescued.
Four months passed and an official decision was made.
Isaiah was to lead troops against Dirk in an attempt to rescue my sister.
In all this time, we had received no further word from my sister.
It was said that no news is good news, but knowing my sister, I felt it unlikely that what she was experiencing was anything but bad.
I wasn't worried for Isaiah.
The only thing that was bothering me was that he thought me incapable of looking after myself and had asked Enoch of all people to see that I was alright.
"Fear not, dear admiral. While you're away, I'll make sure no unsavory characters come a-knocking."
Enoch was stood at the bottom of the starship's steps, a look of utmost sincerity on his face.
This whole spectacle was enough to make me blush.
They both held great status in the alliance and neither were afraid of embarrassment.
As for me, I was self-consciously uncomfortable under the gaze of the gathered crowd.
Fortunately, it was all over quickly.
Once it was done, Enoch escorted me to his home.
It was like something from a dream.
The grounds of his estate were filled with flowers and facilities for amusement.
Me, my daughter, and a second white wolf pup whiled away our days here playing and frolicking.
That's right, by this point, I had given Isaiah a son.
He was a white wolf, just like his father.
But unlike his father, he was silly and playful.
He would often trip over himself when running too fast.
Isaiah would sometimes wonder out loud if this truly was his son.
But Enoch loved my little wolf pup.
Unlike Isaiah, who was always so serious, Enoch was garrulous and romantic.
He would prepare wonderful surprises for me each day.
Not that I was ready to accept him as a guardian.
My son, on the other hand, was already swayed. Enoch had even convinced him to call him "Daddy".
I was worried that when Isaiah came back he would be furious with this ungrateful son.
The battle between Isaiah and Dirk raged for half a month before finally coming to a close.
As the most wanted pirate in the alliance, Dirk was hauled back to Tanbas to await sentencing.
When Enoch took me to welcome Isaiah home, I could see that Dirk had already lost his maniacal aura.
"What's wrong with him?" I whispered to Isaiah, curiously.
I looked past Dirk and at the empty space behind him. There was no sign of my sister.
Isaiah lifted me up and nuzzled his nose into my hair.
He paid no attention to the looks we were attracting from the crowd.
It was only when I pushed his head back, that he finally said:
"When we arrived, your sister was already dead. He had bitten her with his venom. Ever since then, he has been begging for death. The alliance has already passed sentence: he is to be executed three days from now."
My heart skipped a beat.
In truth, if it hadn't been for my sister, it's unlikely I would have lasted long by Dirk's side.
It's just a shame that she couldn't learn from her mistakes; when given a second chance, she threw it away through her arrogance and impetuousness.
But, maybe she would be fortunate enough to be given a third chance, in a parallel universe.
I hoped that if that happened, she would make the right choices, and live a better life as a result.
As for me ...
I was perfectly happy in my own universe, enjoying a life of beauty and blessings.