Summer Days

Chapter 1- In The Woods

        "Achoo!” Steven sneezed. 

"Ewe, gross", I said, "You're not getting sick again are you?" 

"No, of course not", he replied nasally.  I knew it, he was sick once again.  I grabbed a tissue and handed it to the little boy. 

"Can you not go one week without getting sick?” I asked shaking my head in disbelief.  "Go drink some tea; it's on the coun-"

"Ah!” I heard a scream from upstairs and I groaned in response.

"George! Keep it down; you don't want to scare away every creature in the forest, do you?"

“But Harris wants to play with my cars", he whined.  Ugh, these kids were so immature.  But what was I to expect from a couple of 4-year-olds? 

"Then let him play with them", I yelled back up to him. 

"Achoo!"  Steven sneezed again. 

"Steven, go drink the tea right now!" I uttered.  These kids were really getting on my nerves. Then I smiled, for what were they to do without me?  I promised their mother I would take care of them as she lay on her deathbed.  I couldn't break a promise like that, especially from someone who had given me love and a home.  I sighed, watching the little boy run off to get the tea.

     After my ordeal with the huntsman years ago, I stumbled across a quaint cottage in the woods. There lived Alison.  She gave me a home and treated me like her own daughter even though she had just met me.  It was great for around 2 months, but then she gave birth to septuplets.  She fell ill giving birth, and made me promise to look after her children.  I agreed, and for the time being, put away the thoughts of revenge.  It isn't easy raising 7 children by yourself when you are an adult, let alone only 15-years-old.  But I did it. I did it for Alison.

     Thump, thump.  Someone was knocking on the door. 

"A visitor!" Steven exclaimed, looking up from his cup.  I looked cautiously toward the door, not knowing what to do. In my 4 years of living here, there had only been 3 visitors, one of which who had tried to kill me. 

     I wondered who was here and why.  Steven jumped off the stool and trotted over to the door, giggling over the excitement of a visitor. 

"Stop Steven, I got it", I said as I walked over to the door.  I paused for a second before gripping the handle and opening the door.

     An old lady stood in the doorway.  She was holding a basket with cloth, dresses, and other clothes.  "Well hello, my dear", her voice was raspy. 

"Um, hi", I replied, "How come you’re this far out into the woods?"  I decided to get straight to the point. 

"Selling dresses, of course!” she said as if it were a completely normal thing for some 80 year-old lady to just gallivant miles into the woods to sell clothes. 

"Interesting", I stated and then paused, causing an awkward silence.  "Well, you only have a few hours left in the day, so you might want to go north to the nearest town before it gets too dark"  I was trying to politely 'shoo' her away.  I was uncomfortable with anyone coming here.  There was no way to know if they were someone my mom had sent, even if they were old grannies.

     "Why aren't you wearing a pretty dress?” Dill asked the old woman, tugging on her black cloak and looking at the dresses in her basket.  The cloak was kind of creepy, and it swooshed around her like a shadow as she walked into the house.  I was getting nervous, so I once again kindly asked her to leave.  She ignored my request, and turned to Dill.