Alive in the Snow

4. Building Another Fort

"Right, welcome to my house. It's not a very large one but I think you would enjoy it here. We will be moving soon though." - Yuvan stated as he unlocked the front door. Luna and Velorra dashed inside, and up the stairs, which was then followed by loud thuds on the wooden planks.

"Please, don't break anything!" - Yuvan called out from below as he hung his hat on the wall.

He murmured to himself about what he should do next. He was financially stable enough to bring up two girls including himself but worried about the new responsibilities. Looking outside the window, he saw that all the snow from the previous night had melted away.

10 minutes passed and a knock on the door was heard.

Peeping through the tiny window on the door, a group of men in suits and ties were seen standing slightly side by side. Yuvan also spotted his friend, Archie, waiting with the men. Presuming that there were no potential threats outside, he opens the door.

"Ey Yuvan, just came to ask ya somin. The men behind me are sum guys workin' for the government. Just to accompany me and make sure I'm doing my job properly. Anyways, you got any kids aged 10 to 13 in ya home?" - Archie questioned. "Ya also weren't at work today."

"Err...I do not. Wasn't at work because I was at the... I was visiting my mother."- Yuvan replied calmly, making direct eye contact with Archie whilst barely maintaining a straight face.

"Alright, I trust ya mate. Will ya be there at 5 PM for yer next shift?" - Archie asked, not suspecting anything from Yuvan.

"Yeah mate, see you then?" - Yuvan replied. Archie nodded and left with the others.

With the girls upstairs...

"Father didn't tell us which room we could stay in. Eh, let's just go in this room. It looks pretty!" - Velorra exclaimed as she dragged Luna with her.

"I'm old enough to walk by myself goddamn it!" - Luna complained, getting a grip and launching herself onto the untucked bed. Velorra opens the wardrobe and discovers garments, blazers, pants and more as well as 5 feather-stuffed pillows in the corner.

"Take the pillows. We can build another secret hideout. Father will never find us." - Velorra babbled as she seizes the bedsheets of the bed that Luna laid on.

"Wait, we ain't getting in trouble for this, are we...? You just ripped some thingies off the bed and I don't think that's allowed!" - interrogated Luna which made her reconsider her actions in helping Velorra build the pillow fortress.

"Come on Luna, we will just put the stuff back once we are done with it, alright? Plus it would be so much fun~." - persuaded Velorra giving Luna a smirk.

"Alright, but it will be all your fault if we get in trouble!" - scoffed Luna.

Taking a few minutes to gather all the items they needed, the sisters began stacking the pillows to form the fortress walls and also left a space so they could enter. Following this, the bedsheets were thrown over the stacked pillows to act as the roof. After finishing building the base, they enter with caution, trying not to shake the pillow walls too much so the structure wouldn't collapse.

"Now what?" - Questioned Luna, sounding uninterested and bored. "Maybe we could scare father when he enters the room."

"And how will we do that?" - Velorra asked, facing her sister with a confused look.

"I will count from 5 when I hear him coming up the stairs then we will jump at him." - Replied Luna. "Hey, I think I hear him coming up...5...4...3...2...1...ATTACK."

As soon as Yuvan enters the room, he gets pounced on by the girls, knocking him to the floor.

...

"Gah! Ouch... What the hell just happened?" - Yuvan sighed as gets up from the ground, glaring at the girls. Keeping his calm while glancing at his wrecked bed, he told them that dinner is now ready. Pushing past Yuvan and dashing down the stairs as if they were racing, the girls quickly sat down at the dinner table and waited patiently for Yuvan to join them.

"I told you we would be in trouble!" - Anxiously stated Luna. She then turned her attention to the oven which had black fumes pouring out of it. In a state of panic, she screamed, "Father, the oven is on fire!"

When hearing this from upstairs, Yuvan swiftly made his way down and grabbed the fire extinguisher. "Girls, stand back!" - Yuvan commanded. Luna and Velorra compiled, shifting themselves out of the room.

"Hey Vel, you think we're gonna die?" - Luna asked as she peeped around the room's corner to see the progress of the fire.

"Don't be silly, father has got it all under control." - Reassured Velorra while she watched Yuvan helplessly put out the flame from afar.

"Sorry, looks like we will be having uh...burnt potatoes tonight." Yuvan apologised as he brought out a tray of blackened vegetables.

...

"Just kidding." The potatoes are then scraped into the bin.

"So...there's nothing to eat?" - Luna questioned nervously.

"Dinner... will be another 5 minutes. I will just prepare a salad quickly." Yuvan sighed, exhaustion clear in his voice. "Just go play for a bit."

The girls returned to the room, where they built their base, and noticed that the bedsheets had been neatly folded, as well as the bed returning to its perfect condition. Only the pillow wall remained untouched.

"Aw man, I think we should just put the stuff back now."- Velorra suggested; she then grabbed 2 pillows from the floor and placed them back in the wardrobe. Luna follows but then notices something strange out of the window. Taking a few steps closer, she heard clattering against the window panes.

"Raining ice? Vel I think there's something wrong with the sky." - Luna stated while still peering out the window, mesmerised by the unusual weather.

Velorra glances at the window to see what Luna was referring to. She replied, "It's called a hail storm idiodka, Luna."

"Hey!"- Luna shouted, not liking the name 'idiodka'.

A few minutes passed and Yuvan yelled, "Salad is ready, come down!".

"Hey Vel, race ya!" - Luna exclaimed as she sprinted past Velorra in an attempt to get a head start.

"Unfair!" - Called out Velorra, chasing Luna down the stairs.

Reaching the kitchen and taking a seat, the girls are presented with a plate of greens. Yuvan leaves his seat at the table and walks towards the door. Since the weather was terrible, he grabbed the umbrella.

"I am going out tonight to finish my work at the police station. Whatever you do, don't leave the house or make another fort or you will be in big trouble." - Yuvan warned. "Just leave your plates at the sink when you are finished."

Looking at his watch, he read: 4:24. "I'll be back at 6 PM hopefully." - Yuvan added before shutting the door.

END OF CHAPTER 4 - Building Another Fort

NEXT CHAPTER 5 - Erasing The Worthless