The Trees Whisper my Name

Morning Routine

An alarm rung through the room signaling the start of another day, as well as startling poor Riley awake. She groggily sat up and reached for the alarm to turn it off before she actually ended up getting out of bed. After dealing with the alarm she rubbed the tired out of her eyes and took the time to stretch and warm her muscles up. 

"Ugh... I really don't want to wake up today." she sighed as she slowly got out of bed and looked out the window, pulling back the curtains to see what the weather was like.

"Ah, a lovely sunny day. Great." she mumbled to herself, turning to her dresser to figure out what to wear today. Sunny days in her house meant lots of outside work for her and her siblings. They lived pretty deep in the woods so it rained a lot and they didn't get much sun. Riley loved when it rained; but not because it meant she didn't have to work. She loved the rain because she loved to listen to all of the mysterious creaks and whispers of the woods that seemed to be most drawn out when it was raining. 

After Riley got dressed, she had decided a pair of jeans and a standard blue t-shirt would do, she made her way to the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth before she would need to head downstairs for breakfast. When she reached the bathroom it was occupied by her older sister Sarah, much to Riley's annoyance.

"Occupied!" Sarah half-shouted, pointing out the door as a signal for Riley to get out of the bathroom. Riley rolled her eyes and closed the door, stepping to the side and sliding down the wall to sit on the floor and wait her turn. As she sat there, picking at the floor board her brother Dustin walked by and questioned why she was sitting on the floor.

"Is Sarah in there?" he asked, pointing to the bathroom door.
"Yea, she kicked me out." Riley stated in an annoyed tone.
"She really should let us go first, she takes forever." Dustin stated, sliding down to the floor to sit next to Riley. Riley nodded her head in agreement, then the door slowly opened and Sarah walked out.

"Why are you two sitting on the floor?" She asked, looking down at them.
"Because you take forever to get ready in the morning!" Riley replied, in a slightly agitated tone. She stood up while dusting off the none-existent dust that had accumulated during her wait for her sister to finish. 
"Oh quit whining, I didn't take that long. You're just impatient." Sarah retorted, stepping aside so Riley could get to the bathroom. Dustin also jumped up so he could run into the bathroom as well before the door was closed on him.

Riley began brushing her hair, attempting to tame the messy red tangles that her bed-head caused. Dustin laughed at her struggles and made a show of easily combing back his dark brown hair, to which Riley rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. After getting her hair under control, Riley grabbed her tooth brush and got to work brushing her teeth with Dustin following the same example. As they looked at each other in the mirror Riley grinned, having a devious and playful idea. She leaned over and poked her brother in the ribs, causing him to jump back and hold his sides in defense.

"Hey!" he sputtered, spitting toothpaste onto the counter tops.
Riley giggled as she finished brushing her teeth and walked to the door. She turned to her brother and feigned an innocent smile.
"You better clean that up!" she said as she laughed and exited the bathroom, hearing Dustin grumbling from inside the bathroom.

Riley made her way downstairs and turned into the kitchen where she saw her dad cooking breakfast, and her sister sitting at the counter eating. She made her way to the counter and sat down, seeing that a plate was already prepared for her.
"Good morning Riley." her dad spoke, waving to her for a moment as he was still cooking.
"Good morning dad." Riley replied, taking a large bite of warm scrambled eggs covered in melted cheese.
"How did you sleep, birdie?" her dad asked, turning around with a pan full of bacon in hand.
"I slept fine dad. In fact, I wish I could have slept more." she replied, sighing at the mention of her nickname. Her dad has a nickname for everyone. For her it's "Birdie", for her sister it's "Bunny", for her brother it's "Monkey", and for her mom it's "Flower".

"I know, you kids would sleep your life away if I'd let you. But today we have work to do, so we'll save the sleeping in for the weekends." He said, putting a few pieces of bacon on each plate.
Both Sarah and Riley groaned at the mention of work, though Riley knew to expect it. They also rolled their eyes at a mention of the weekend, because they knew they still wouldn't be able to sleep in. Dustin came down after their dad had finished plating all of the food, and excitedly ran to his seat at the counter to eat. 

"So... what is it that we have to do today?" Sarah asked, though she really didn't want an answer.
"Well, we have to collect some more wood for the fireplace because it's getting colder when it rains. We also have to fix the fences by the garden, and weed the garden. But that's pretty much it! Don't worry kids, I want be having you work all day this time."

There were several sighs of relief across the room.

"Who's doing what?" Dustin asked, a mouth full of eggs and bacon.
"Well, I'm probably going to have Sarah weed the garden, Riley will go into the woods to collect sticks for firewood, and Dustin, you'll help me with the fences."
Everyone seemed to nod in agreement, content with the job they each got. Once breakfast was finished, and believe me they tried to make it last, everyone got up to put on their shoes and coats and get to work.