Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : YoungAdult

Chapter Four: A New Beginning

"Hello? Are you awake? Hey... HEY!" I opened my eyes slowly, and saw a young girl, who looked to be about Kay's age, standing over me. "Oh good, you're finally awake," she said sweetly. "You have been asleep for days."
"Days?" I said confused.
"Yes, days. Your sister and I both thought you weren't going to make it... Oh! And if you are wondering where your sister is, she's over there." She pointed to Kay, sleeping in a bed next to me. I sat up and looked in that direction. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully. 
"Kay?" I said. 
She quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked over at me. 
"Sissy? Sissy!" She exclaimed.
"Sissy! You're awake!" She ran over and hugged me. We both grinned. "I missed you sissy!" She said sadly.
"I missed you too Kay." I looked over at the little girl. She seemed to be smiling. I smiled too.
"Oh! Did you meet Winter yet? She gave us these glass eyes. See?" She held a small, hand-held mirror up to my face. 
"Wow! You look good Kay. And... So do I... It's almost like..." I turned to face Winter. She smiled, and seemed to be acting bashfully.
"Did... Did you do this all by yourself?" I asked kindly. 
"Yes ma'am." She said, still acting bashfully.
"Well, you did a very great job! I can hardly tell there was ever even an injury."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. And if there's anything we can do to repay you..." 
"No repayment is due for my work ma'am. But if there's anything you need at all... I'll always be here to help." She said.
"Well... Winter, if you don't mind me asking, where are we?" I said, confused.
"I don't mind you asking at all miss. And you are on our small, quaint little farm of Arnabor. There's not many people who live here. It's just me and my uncle. But you're welcome to stay if you'd like." 
"Thank you, very much. We would be happy to assist you around here during our stay." I said.
"That would be wonderful miss. Thank you."
"You're welcome... But I still have one more question..." I paused.
"Yes?" She asked bashfully.
"How did you get us here? No offense, but you're just a little girl..." I said sounding confused.
"Well..." She started. 
"My uncle kind of did that part. But he brought you guys to me, and told me to tend to your wounds. He said that you were unconscious, and your sister was asleep. He said to make sure that, you especially, were okay."
"That was really nice of you guys. Thanks.  But... Where is this uncle of yours?" I asked sweetly.
"He is just out picking apples. For the pies. He should be back soon though. It normally doesn't take him long to..." She paused as we heard boot impressions on the wooden porch getting closer. The door opened and a young man, who looked to be about my age, walked through the door.
"Uncle Will!" She said as she ran at him and jumped into his arms, hugging him. 
"Look! She's awake!" She looked back at me. I smiled. He smiled too. He gently put her down, and kissed her on the forehead. 
"Why don't you any your new friend go and play on the farm, and show her around a bit?" He said, gesturing towards Kay. Winter grabbed her by the hand, and they both ran out the door giggling.
"How are you feeling? Better I hope." He said, concerned.
"Y-yes. I feel so much better." I said nervously.
"Are you sure?" He responded. 
"Because you seem kind of... Nervous." 
"No, I feel perfectly fine... I promise."
"That's great to hear." He said, sounding almost relieved.
"So... Um... No offense, but you seem kind of... Young to be an uncle. Don't you think?" I said jokingly.
"Yeah, I guess so. It's just because my sister had Winter when she was so young. I was only a couple of years younger than her. She was only 16 when she had her. The father didn't want anything to do with them once he found out about the pregnancy, and my sister died while giving birth to Winter. I was the only one left in our family that could possibly take care of her. And now... I'm her caretaking uncle."
"Wow... I'm so sorry. It must be so hard taking care of her all by yourself..." I said sadly.
"Well, actually it's not as hard as you'd think. She's a well behaved child. But the only challenge with her, though, is her nightmares." 
"Nightmares?" I asked.
"Yeah. They aren't that bad though. They are just your typical 'monster' nightmares. And she only has them every so often. But when she does have them, she usually just sleeps in the bed with me. I guess she just seems safer there...?"
"I guess so."
"She seems to trust you and your sister too. When she met you guys, she just seemed to... Click... With you two. She really likes you guys. And you both seem fun and energetic to be around.Your sister, Kay, looks like a great role model to Winter. And so do you.... You guys are just... Different."
"Different? How different?" I asked confused.
"You guys are just different from the kind of people we usually get around here. The only people we get here are either greedy, thieving old men, or bratty teens who 'need help' because they tripped and scraped their knee." We giggled. 
"You know, we could always use some help around here... It's hard to keep up with a farm, hurt strangers, which we always try and help out of good conscience, and Winter. You know?" 
"Yeah," I said.
"I totally understand. We would be glad to stay and help for as long as you need us to." I said, as I began to smile.
"Thank you so much! I really appreciate it." He said. He hugged me and patted my back. I blushed. He backed away, and looked at my blushing red face."Huh..." He whispered as he began to smirk. I looked down and smiled. My face was still as red as a tomato. 
"So... I should get started on the pies... Would you like to help me?" He asked kindly.
"Sure." We both got up, and headed into the kitchen. As I walked behind him, I smiled. Things were starting to get better. Maybe we have found a new, better life...