Blue

one

Winter skipped outside, feeling the hot summer sun beat down on her skin. She spotted a glimmer of brown hair and happily ran towards the woman in the garden, letting her dress flow freely behind her.

"Boo!"

The woman jumped, causing Winter to giggle and plop down to ground beside her.

"Hey goofball, you scared the crap outta me," her aunt laughed, ruffling Winter's hair. "What's up?"

"Uncle Danny told me to get outta' his hair, so I came out here," Winter shrugged, leaning over to watch what her aunt was doing. "Are those roses?"

"Tulips," her aunt corrected her, continuing to use the small shovel to dig small holes in the garden. "Don't listen to him. He's just grumpy," she added, giving Winter a soft smile.

"I know," Winter smiled widely. "I just try to be nice to him, cause if you're nice to people, then they have nothing to hold against you. Right?"

"Right," the brown haired woman nodded, crinkling her nose. "How'd you get so smart, kiddo?"

"You," Winter laughed, crawling forwards and helping her pat down the dirt around the tulips she'd just planted. "And my parents, when they were alive, at least."

"You talk about them a lot, yeah?" Aunt Amelia paused her motions and looked over at Winter. Confused, the smaller girl just nodded.

"Is that a bad thing?" Winter asked, tilting her head to the side. She liked talking about her parents. The more she talked about them, the easier it was to remember them. The last thing she wanted was to just forget them.

"Of course not," her aunt laughed softly. "I'm just surprised."

"I like talking about them," Winter shrugged and studied the flowers intently. "They were good people. They deserved to be talked about. I don't think they would want to be forgotten, would they?"

"You're too smart for your own good, kiddo," the brown haired woman smiled softly and squeezed Winter's shoulder. "I'm proud of the person you're becoming, did you know that?"

Winter giggled shyly and looked down, shaking her head. "You are?" She asked, looking up once more.

"Of course I am," the woman laughed, turning her attention away from the garden. "You're not the type of girl to just sit back and blindly accept what people tell her. You question things. You see things, and you interpret them. You're pretty extraordinary, Winter."

The smaller girl smiled bashfully and clasped her hands together. "I'm glad I get to stay with you guys," she said softly.

"You're not staying with us, Winter. You're just with us. This isn't a temporary thing. We're a family now, okay?"

"Okay," Winter nodded softly, crawling over and wrapping her arms around her aunt. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me," the older woman laughed softly, ruffling Winter's hair. "Now go on inside and grab your script, okay? We'll practice one more time for the play before dinner is ready. I expect you to be the best Tree #2 your school has ever seen!"

Giggling, Winter nodded. She scrambled up to her feet and ran back into the house, finding her script and smiling widely. Maybe this whole 'family' thing could really work.

Exactly 16 hours later, Amelia Levi was pronounced dead due to natural causes. Winter found herself in the hospital bathroom, tracing her fingers across the red blotch on her cheek. How could her uncle do something like that to her?