The Weeping Willow

Chapter One

Chapter One

Aurora and Wren

**The store was located in the middle of a small town on the outskirts of Pennsylvania. The two girls had been friends for as long as they could remember. It was their same routine. Once a month on a Sunday, Wren and Aurora would go to Thrift Village and gorge on antiques, extravagant clothing, and everything in between. This shop in particular was always a place where they knew they would never leave empty handed and a place they could let loose without worrying about who they were.**

Wren roamed aimlessly through the aisles of the thrift store, the smell of musty old clothes and disinfectant sprays lingering in the air. The size of the store was larger than many thrift stores she had visited and that was what made this place so spectacular. The store was organized by male and female, and further arranged by colors, starting with the darkest and leading to the lightest colors of the rainbow. There was never a Sunday that Aurora and Wren left the store empty handed. Wren hummed to herself as she made her way down the aisle that ended in green clothing. She shifted through the green clothing; each article was a different shade, the fabrics ranging from satin to wool. She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, but she knew she looked good in green and always started her search there. She slid her hand along the fabrics as she slowly walked down the aisle, her eyes perusing the array of clothing before her. Her fingers quickly brushed against a familiar fabric and a smile formed on her lips. Stopping where her fingers brushed against the velvet fabrics, she found a long velvet dress that dipped low in back. A grin tugged at her lips as she held the dress up against her body to see how long the dress would hang against her legs. Wren was tall for a girl. Most women who looked at her were jealous of her height, but the curves that ran across her body made most men's heads turn. She might have been tall, but she was anything close to a size 6. She looked down at her body as she watched the fabric brush the floor, her hand holding the hanger at her shoulders.

"Oo lala." A voice called from her left, coming from the end of the aisle. She spun around, losing her breath, to see Aurora making her way down the aisle with an array of clothing slung across her arm. She had forgotten for a second where she was, getting lost in her own mind as she looked through the racks of greens. The smell of mothballs reminded her exactly where she was and she smirked as she turned towards Aurora to face her.

"Damn it, Aurora. You scared the shit out of me." She whispered, slinging the velvet dress over her right arm and took a few steps towards her friend.

"Relax, freak. You're so skittish." Aurora said as she came up to her, her eyes finding the velvet dress she had just slung over her arm. Aurora extender her hand towards the exposed fabric. "Velvet." Her voice was malicious as her fingers brushed further along the fabric before she took a step back. "Our favorite." She said with a smile as she turned from Wren and walked further down the aisle, to where she stopped and let out a sharp whistle.

"By the Gods. Look what I just found." Aurora said. She held up a velvet jacket that was the darkest shade of green. The shade of green reminded Wren of the deep forests; where the shadows deep within could barely hold light. What caught Wren's attention was the small array of beading on the back that almost looked like stars twinkling in the dark midnight sky. Wren beamed at the find as her eyes met Aurora's as she finally looked away from the jacket.

"Velvet. Our favorite." Wren mimicked Aurora as she went to grab the jacket but Aurora pulled it out of her grasp. Wren's brows furrowed as she looked at Aurora with intent.

"It would look better on me..." Aurora said with a grin, holding the jacket to her chest. Wren let out a laugh, tossing her hair over her shoulder before she replied, "You know what's yours is mine and what's mine is yours."