Pristine White

Chapter 1: Mushrooms

I crunched the snow beneath my feet, stomping deep into it.

"Lyn! Lyn! Where are you?" My little sister Estelle tumbled through the bushes. I helped her up, and took a couple of sticks out of her blonde hair. I did not inherit my dad's platinum blonde hair, I got my mom's dark raven hair.

It was a common joke between us that I was their child of the night: mysterious and introverted. And Estelle was their child of the sun: bright and extroverted. But that was before.

"Esty! Did you find Win!" I recognize Eva's voice right away, Eva is my two year old cousin who always calls me Win. She comes barreling through the bushes. "Hi Win!"

"Hi Eva. How are you?" I ask, picking her up.

She squirms. "Could you put me down Win, I want to eat the snow."

I laugh and set her down. Her chubby little fingers wrap around a clump of snow. I offer her one of my hands and Estelle the other. We walk back home with Eva toddling in her toddler way.

Aunt Molly was cooking supper as I walked through the door. "Hello Lyn!" She called out. "Did you find the orange mushrooms?"

"Only five, I'm sorry, they are just extra rare this year." I walked over to the table and set down the unusually small sack.

She clanged the spoon against the pot, letting all excess soup go back in. Then she set the spoon down. Aunt Molly walked over and kissed me on the head. "Good job though. It was more than I found last time." She picked up Eva, and rested her on her hip.

"I can take Eva if you want." I suggested. Aunt Molly was heavily pregnant with her next child.

"Oh, super niece to the rescue? No don't worry. It's fine. But you and Estelle could cut up the mushrooms?" Aunt Molly laughed.

"Sure!" Estelle smiled brightly and ran to grab the knives.

"Don't run with knives!" I called out.

"Sorry, I won't." Estelle slowed down and came back with the knives.

Carefully we sliced and diced the mushrooms and helped Aunt Molly slide them into the boiling pot.

"Mhmmm! Smell something good!" Uncle Johan tramped through the door with Danny on his shoulders, his accent echoing through the room.

Uncle Johan wasn't originally from Marida with the pale skinned people and rosy cheeked, he came from the Silent Desert down south in the mainland. He was a merchant until he fell in love with Aunt Molly, then he moved here and became a blacksmith. Danny and Estelle's were the same age, 9.

Eva freed herself from Aunt Molly and ran up to Uncle Johan. "Daddy!" She shrieked with joy. Like she hasn't seen him in a  lifetime. I remembered when I had done that, but that was years ago. Those memories had to be dimmed down and locked in a box or else they became too much. Click, the treasure chest was bolted shut now, time to forget.

Danny slid down Uncle Johan's shoulders. "Hurrah!" He shouted, it was his new favorite word, he had heard a royal guard say it, and now he repeated it like a parrot all the time.

Uncle Johan stomped all of the snow off his boots and set them near the empty fireplace. He handed Danny a broom, and gestured for him to get the own snow off of his boots and brush the snow out the door, as to make it easier for Aunt Molly.

Meanwhile, Uncle Johan started up a roaring flame in the fireplace and walked over to the kitchen, he hugged Estelle and planted a kiss in my hair, then he went up to Aunt Molly and kissed her, afterwards kissing the baby bump. It was sweet, and was his ritual, every time he came home.

Eva clung to his leg and told him all about her day. The chatter filling up the silence. My heart banged as I remembered those cold nights where I would sit in my dad's lap, we would play a game, it was called 3 questions. We each asked 3 questions about each others day, and at the end, we would have to describe the other ones day with 3 adjectives, whoever's adjectives better embodied the day would win.

Aunt Molly clanged the spoon against the pot of soup. "Dinners up!" She called through the house.

Danny came running, his socks sliding on the wooden floor. He set the broom down and grabbed the utensils drying from earlier use. He set them on the table and pulled out two chairs. One for Aunt Molly and one for me. It was what he did. He said it was what his teacher had taught him about respecting the older women in his life. We had laughed about that, but in reality it was sweet and warmed my heart each time.

Uncle Johan set the pot of soup on the table with a big wooden ladle. He spooned out soup into each of our bowls and asked Eva to go collect snow in a bucket.

Meanwhile, Danny and Estelle sat down and stared at the soup intently.

"Danny! Estelle! Go eat, you don't have to wait, it's gonna take Eva a bit to get the snow, and then we still have to melt it for water, the pipes being frozen really sucks." Aunt Molly said laughing.

Danny eagerly went at the soup, Estelle set her spoon down and stared off into space.

After a bit, Uncle Johan came back with 6 glasses on a tray filled with water. He set them down and we all reached for one. Then dinner began.

The soup was rooty and cozy, Aunt Molly could really work wonders with food. Afterwards Estelle, Eva, Danny and I ran upstairs. There were 3 bedrooms. One for Danny, one for me and one for Eva and Estelle. The new baby would probably share a room with me or Danny depending on the gender. Danny and Estelle's were the same age, 9.

I helped Eva dress in her frilly green nightgown, gifted by Uncle Johan's family. It wasn't quite made for how cold Marida was, but it certainly looked cute. I piled a few blankets on her bed, and made sure Eva brushed her teeth. Then I set her in bed, and tucked the white sheets up to her neck. Of course Tilifumph the Teddy bear was tucked in with her.

Estelle was all ready when I tucked her in, her long platinum hair braided neatly and a thick blue nightgown on. Her nose was red, as if she had already caught a chill, she did get cold rather easily. I tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams." I whispered softly.

I called to Aunt Molly, to let her know they were ready.

Danny was already fast asleep with the candle light on. I blew it out and brushed the hair out of his eyes. I double tucked him in and left the room.

By the time I went to my room, Aunt Molly was finished up with Eva and Estelle.

I opened my door quietly and changed into an insulated yellow nightgown with birds all over it. It had once been my mom's. I relaxed into my bed, and closed my eyes for a little rest. But then I fell into a deep sleep.

That's the end of this chapter! Make sure to vote and comment!

-Luna