𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓽𝓸𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝔂 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 3

'Don't touch me! I know my rights!' Gillian Cobbler hears on her way to the bakery. Gillian looks over to see a young woman being forced into a carriage. She only wonders what it's about for a second before the smell of pastries hits her and makes her forget everything else.

Gillian enters the bakery and gets a few sweets and treats before paying and walking out of the store. She takes a bite out of the small cupcake as she walks to her next destination. The extra pastries she had gotten were for her little siblings back at home, which is where she was heading.

Gillian gets to the boot and knocks twice before entering the front room. She's immediately attacked by three small bodies as she enters.

'Gilly! Happy birthday!'

'Did you bring us anything Gilly?'

'How are your friends? How's Jax?'

'Jax? When did you start caring more about my friends than me?' Gillian asks, picking up her little brother, Hamish.

'Well, he did kind of save us. Plus, he's really cool.' Han says, hugging his older sister.

'Sure, he's kind of cool. I'm still cooler though, right?' Gillian asks, putting her brother back on the floor and turning to look at his twin.

'Hmmmm. Nope. He's cooler.' Han replies after pretending to think for a moment.

'What?! I'm your sister! You couldn't possibly think that my friend is cooler than your own sister! I'm family!' Gillian exclaims, pretending to be extremely insulted.

'Well, if everything goes well, he'll be family soon too. What do you think Dad?' Trixie counters, turning to look at the man that just walked into the room.

'Hm? Oh, I don't know. Maybe someday.' Hal replies, taking off his gloves and placing them on a table near the entryway.

'Dad!' Gillian exclaims, coving her face as is turns bright red.

'Happy birthday.' Hal laughs, ignoring Gillian's complaint.

Gillian shakes her head, letting out a small laugh before thanking her father.

'Now, let's all do something fun before I have to go back to school. Where's Felix?' Gillian asks, looking around for her little brother.

'I'm here. Under the table,' a small voice says. Gillian looks under the table to see one of her little brothers sitting there, reading a thick book.

'Hey. Is that a good book?'

'Yeah. I think it's pretty good so far. I'm only nine chapters in though, so there's still time for me to change my mind.'

'Do you want to take a quick break and come with me to the theatre? I have pastries.'

'Okay. Can I take my book with me?'

'I don't think you'll be able to read in the theatre since it's going to be dark, but sure!'

'Okay, I'll go then.'

'Thank you. Best birthday present ever.'

Gillian helps her little brother to stand back up, and they hug each other before preparing for their trip. As her brothers and sisters got dressed and put on their shoes, Gillian looked through the photos on the walls of her house. A few of them had been saved from the fire, but they were all a little burnt. She closes her eyes and remembers those days, the days captured in the pictures forever.

'I miss when you were home all the time. I miss when we could take pictures whenever we wanted and see smiles all around, even when you didn't see the camera, or even know that the picture was being taken.' Eva appears, seemingly out of nowhere.

'I miss those days too. Maybe we'll be able to see that again soon though. Maybe someday everything will go back to normal,' Gillian says, hugging her mother.

Her mother laughs, tears coming to her eyes. It wasn't normal for Eva to cry, especially not in front of her kids. She always tried so hard to stay strong.

'I wish that were possible, but you've all grown so much. You're 15 now! Just yesterday I was pushing you on swings at the playground and giving you piggyback rides home from the store. It almost seems impossible to ever have anything go back to the way it was before.' Eva continues laughing, even as the tears roll silently down her face. They aren't devastated tears, but they aren't happy either. She's sad about what she's lost, but proud about what she's gained, proud about the person her daughter has become.

'Aw, mom. You can still do all of those things! Han, Hamish, Felix, and Trixie are still small enough for piggyback rides.'

'But you aren't! You've grown so much.'

'I have, haven't I? It's weird to think about, actually.'

'I know it is. Soon enough you'll be moving out, getting married, changing the world even more, and moving on. You won't even need me.'

'Mom, I'll always need you. Even if you don't know it. You made everything I do possible! You're definitely in my top 20 list of favorite people.'

'That's quite a long list.'

'I know a lot of people. You're in the top five though. I love you mom.'

'Aww. I love you too Gilly. I'm going to miss you. I already miss you.'

'I miss you too.'

'Gilly, we're ready to go!' Hamish comes running around the corner, running directly into Gillian and falling to the ground.

'Okay. Let's get going then. Bye mom, I'll see you soon.' Gillian kisses Eva on the cheek before helping her little brother up and walking out the door with the rest of her little siblings.

The train to the theatre was quiet as they all ate their pastries. No one approached them, which was strange since everyone seemed to know the Cobblers, but it was nice. The silence was anything but maddening. The silence was the complete opposite of what was about to happen.