Six Years From Now

Part One: Leaving Treegap

"Winnie, are you all packed?" her mother called up the stairs.
"Yes, Mother!" Winnie called as she managed to snap the clasp on her brown suitcase. She hefted it up and tried to walk downstairs with it.
"Can I help you with that?" a voice asked. Winnie turned to see Hugo standing in the doorway.
She smiled. "If you don't mind."
He walked over and lifted the case. "Woah, what do you have in here?"
"Clothes," she said, putting on her travel overcoat.
Hugo nodded. "And each of your dresses weighs fifteen pounds?"
Winnie grinned sheepishly. "I might have snuck some books in there..."
"I thought so." Hugo smiled, then asked, "You'll write, won't you?"
"Of course. Which reminds me- here's where you can address your letters." Winnie reached into the pocket of her maroon calico and handed him a slip of paper.
He opened it. "Joseph Pulitzer? He's your uncle?"
"Apparently. Mother says that after the war, he started the World and got married. He never really kept in touch with my parents, even when Dad was an editor there. Finally Mother and Father earned enough to move into Father's childhood home." She motioned to the house around them.  "He hasn't really contacted us since."
"When you said you were staying with your uncle Pulitzer, I didn't realize you meant the Big Guy," Hugo said, impressed.
"Yes. I've never met him or his daughter before, though."
"I bet she'll love you. She's your age?"
Winnie nodded. "I guess she's a reporter for the New York Sun."
"Why not the World?" Hugo asked.
Winnie shrugged. "I don't even know her name. I-"
"Winnie! You'll miss the train!" her mother shouted.
"Oh no!" Winnie hurriedly tied her bonnet on and flew downstairs, Hugo behind her with her suitcase.
She hugged her mother. "Write to me," she ordered, smiling.
"Of course," Winnie promised. "Every day."
Hugo helped her into the buggy and shoved the suitcase under the seat. She waved goodbye to her mother as they drove off.
They arrived at the station in the nick of time, with only seconds to spare. Just as the train began chugging, Winnie leaped on with her suitcase. Hugo ran alongside. "See you in a month!"
"Goodbye!" she called back. Once he was out of sight, she found a compartment and took a seat.
The ride from Treegap to New York was long, so she ended up dozing off.

"Six years from now, when you turn seventeen, you can drink from the spring. We can get married! We'll go everywhere- the Taj Mahal, the pyramids, the Californian frontier, anywhere!"
"Anywhere?" she asked.
He nodded. "Your choice."
She smiled and dangled her legs off the edge of the silo. "Maybe Paris? I'd like that."
He nodded. "Just think- the whole world to ourselves!"

Winnie awoke when the train screeched to a halt. "Last stop before New York City!" someone called.
She felt around her neck for the empty vial she'd worn since Jesse had given it to her. Sometimes she regretted not taking the drink- but most days she was happy with her life. She only wished that she could someday see the Tucks again.
But there was no point in wishing that. They were gone, living their own endless lives. She was left to live her normal, average-length life.
Which was exactly how it should be.
She passed the rest of the time looking out the window, watching the green hills fade into brick buildings.
"Last stop- New York City!"