GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis female, she/her.
ORIGINALLY FROM: Cape Cod, MA.
OCCUPATION: Faculty at Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Cider Hill.
“There is no problem without a solution. If you didn’t it figure out, then it’s not the end.”
Trigger warnings/content warnings: child abandonment, divorce
The Holden household was a beacon of perfection. With their big garden, picture-perfect house, and the everlasting smiles, they were a staple of the high-class society of Cape Cod. Davis Holden was a high ranking employee at a Marketing Firm in Boston while Cordelia Holden, his trophy wife, was once a respected lawyer who gave up her career to properly raise their three children - Elena being their oldest one. Growing up in a community that enjoyed the finer things in life, Ellie quickly realized that life was about keeping up a facade if you wanted to make it through. The world didn’t want to see you struggle - either you succeed or you get swallowed alive. And during her childhood, this state of mind was what kept her quiet and shy. Ever since a young age, Elena showed signs of high intelligence. She grasped concepts kids her age simply couldn’t understand, she was observant and easily formed connections between separate events. The whole world was like a big puzzle and she loved solving it. However, a gift like that came at a prize. While her parents were perfect to the outside world, all their fights and her mother’s tears didn’t go unnoticed by the young girl. It’s not that they weren’t good at hiding their problems - Elena was just better at noticing things. And so she quietly watched her parents dance around each other while her younger siblings remained oblivious to the problems that worsened over the years.
Elena has just been accepted into an advanced mathematical program hosted by her high school when the news were dropped on her: her parents were getting a divorce. The siblings rioted, not knowing what was going on and what their family life would look like after such a change. But for Ellie, it was a surprise. She knew about most of her father’s affairs and she knew that her mother tolerated them for the sake of her children. However, what she didn’t understand was what was different this time around. And so she asked but the answer she got was more than she bargained for. One of her father’s past affairs ended with a pregnancy which meant somewhere out there, Elena had another sibling. The conversation she had with her mother that night was long and difficult but Ellie had to promise that she wouldn’t tell the other kids. Their world was falling apart, there was no place for another big change. And as much as she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, toss this burden off her shoulders and forget all the night she stayed awake because of her parents, she kept her mother’s secret. Eventually, once the divorce papers were signed, her father moved permanently to Boston and Cordelia stayed with the kids in Cape Cod.
College rolled around and it wasn’t surprising when the scholarships rolled in. Elena proved over and over again to be one of the sharpest minds of her generation, working on solving mathematical problems alongside the best in the US. Attending Harvard, she stayed on top of her class, breaking scores and taking on extra tasks on the side. The future was looking bright for her and for the first time in her life, Elena felt like she had found a space she could fill out. All her life she felt like an outsider in her own world. She didn’t care about money or status, none of that made sense to her because of how superficial it was. Most smiles growing up were staged, hoping to get something from it. But when she crunched numbers and sat in the big hall with her professors, she felt like she grew to her biggest potential. And just when Ellie was breaking free from her family, the last bit of it she had completely fell apart.
During an argument, her mother told the other kids the truth and bridges were burned. Not only were her siblings reluctant to understand their mother’s situation, but they also couldn’t wrap their minds around the fact that Elena kept the secret as well. And so new distance got in between the remaining family members which was the cause of Elena removing herself from the situation and standing on her own feet. Refusing further financial aid, she got herself through the rest of University and got her Ph.D., with a dream to became a Mathematician.
Graduating, the job offers came in high digits but before she could make a call, Elena decided to make peace with herself first and headed to Hawaii for some soul searching and a well-deserved rest. However, she didn’t expect to meet the love of her life there. William Harper caught her off guard, years of watching her parents fight made her reluctant on the topic of love but somehow, this man was able to tear her walls down with ease. The following weeks were filled with heart flutters and getting lost in his eyes only to see them again in her dreams. So once the vacation was over, they kept in touch. And when it was time to get serious at work, she accepted a job offer at a lab in Austin so she could give the newfound relationship a serious shot. And it turned out to be worth it. Four years after their initial meeting, wedding bells rang and Elena was no longer a Holden but a happy Harper instead, looking into a future where she wouldn’t repeat her parents’ mistakes.
Life in Austin treated her good, she enjoyed her job and was happy to see her husband prosper in the medical field. But one night, an offer from Harvard came in, asking her to become a part of their faculty and study mathematical problems with their team. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity which she really wanted to take but that wasn’t what really pushed her to move back to Massachusettes. All these years, Ellie wondered about her lost family member and eventually, she started to resent herself for not looking for them. So while visiting her mother back home, she searched her study until she found letters. Letters written by the mother of her half-sibling which stated that the child was a girl, who should be roughly thirty years old now and that she lived in Devinstone at the time the letters were sent.
It wasn’t a selling point but William and her were talking about kids, him potentially opening his own practice and the town was close enough to commute to Harvard on the days required. It felt like all the pieces were falling into place. And so the couple left Austin and moved to the small coastal town which quickly charmed Ellie and made her feel at home. So while she’s settling in, she’s secretly trying to see if her long lost sister is still in town. The woman is holding onto hope but frankly, the fear of being disappointed or of what she might find is making her keep it a secret - as if secrets have worked out so well for her family before.
+ observant, quick-witted, ambitious.
- cynical, idealistic, calculated.
