| 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚍 | 𝙶.𝙱𝚕𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚎 | 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍

2 | "YOUTH IS THE SEASON OF HOPE."

PART TWO

     "YOU DONT SEE me barging into your room whenever the mood hits me." Alice heard as she looked at the small animal under the microscope.

She jumped back and saw Nate stood there with a glare, he glanced at the book in her arm and his look softened.

"Good book?" He asked, sorting through the papers on his desk.

"Yes, it is. But, it keeping falling open to a chapter on gold and then I noticed that it seems to be the only one that's beloved." Alice responded, taking a slow seat onto Nates bed.

He suddenly slammed his hands on the desk. "I cant talk about it." He looked at the young girl and saw a frightened look upon her face. "I'm sorry. I'm just in a moral quandary. I'll know soon what to do. I want above all to do the right thing. Can you understand that?"

"Yes. But can I--" She was cut short when Nate grabbed her hand gently.

"I need you to hold a good thought and dont say anything to anyone...until I figure things out, and end this turmoil in my heart. Can you do that for me?"

Alice nodded and glanced at his hand upon hers, he watched the girl and gently moved his hand to her thigh with a small smirk before putting his finger to his lips and shushing her.

He soon let Alice leave, she held the book to her chest and ran outside, away from Nate. She knew she wasnt comfortable with that but didnt have the nerve to say anything.

-_-_-_-

     THE NEXT DAY, Alice had taken a cross stitch of the alphabet to Jerry to help him read and write.

"Voilà, the alphabet! Now we can get started."

"I was thinking about it, but...I dont really need to know how to read." Jerry said to the girl as he did his work. "Thanks anyways."

"Of course you need to know how to read! Reading is everything. Every book has a whole world inside it. Theres adventure, romance, ships, gunfights, knights on horseback! You never know what's going to happen until you begin. You can be anyone, go anywhere." Alice paused. "Reading can save your life."

As Jerry watched Alice move about the room speaking her words of wisdom, his mind changed. "Alright, I'll try it." He smiled.

"Yes!" Alice smiled back. "I am currently out of paper but...I brought some visual aids." She motioned to the apple she pulled out of her pocket.

She pulled Jerry infront of the cross stitch alphabet and brushed off some hay. "'A' is for 'apple. Those letters are here. 'A.' 'P' 'puh'."

"'Puh.'" Jerry nodded

"Another 'p'"

"'Puh.'" The pair smiled.

"'L.'"

"'L.'"

"'E.' Apple."

For the next two hours, Alice tought Jerry some words including their names.

Alice stayed in her room the next day as Anne and Mr Dunlop make pies downstairs. She looked outside the window and noticed that it had started to rain.