It was the first day of spring. It was not yet warm, so many people still wore shawls or fur coats. The air was crisp and clean early in the morning. The flowers and trees had already started to bloom, and the air was thick with pollen. Honeybees skitted around the tiny earthen hamlet, pollinating flowers and souring small children.
In a comfy wooden home on the edge of town, crying could be heard as twin girls were being born. A healer was there to assist with the birth, and the girls' father was gripping his wife's hand like a vice.
"Push!" said the healer encouragingly.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPGgy9hICt
"I AM!" she screamed back angrily.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wmXZsKuRR
This shouting persisted for another thirty minutes until the twin girls started their shrill crying. The mother had tears in her eyes as she held her newborn girls. The father grinned madly from ear to ear as he held the younger of the two, the baby they had decided to name Natalie. She was wrapped in a hand-woven blanket her mother had knitted for her. It had little sheep on it in varying color and size. The other daughter's blanket, (they decided to name her Elle after her great grandmother,) was decorated with a sparkly view of the star forest. It was beautiful, complete with a white ground, trees with stark white leaves, and shimmering gold silk stars.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqPTReaBjO
Many weeks passed until their first birthday. They had just learned to walk, and they took their first steps holding hands. Elle's first word was Mama, while Natalie's first word was Dada. Their father, Jack, was the town's main healer and was gone most of the day. Their mother, Savannah, however, was the town's lesser healer and could bring the girls to the clinic with her. Elle would always watch her mother as she did her daily tasks and cared for the ill, but Natalie was very easily distracted and never sat still.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWbgrREzrF
When summer came, less people had serious illness, so their father could get off work most days and they would go watch the older kids play soccer in the school's back field. Mother didn't usually come home until dinner time most summer nights, so Jack made it for her.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5bb9lPUA7
Natalie's Narration596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHlTIhbgQO
We ate cabbage and salted potatoes until we were sick. Dad had never been an exceptional cook, but Mother was grateful, so we were grateful. That was a great summer. We used to catch fireflies and set them free in the house. Mother got upset when we first did it, but by the third or fourth time she just laughed and danced along.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUYqwYnwcp
In the fall, Elle and I played in the piles of leaves that were left when our family and the other villagers raked town square. Sometimes we would hop out of the leafy blanket and scare people walking down the street, but Dad made us stop after Mother found out and fussed at him about it. That winter was fun, too. We went ice gliding on the lake near our house and toasted imported sugar covered star wafers.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoD7wzdI7nA
After many days spent snuggled up in soft blankets by the spitting fire, spring came again. This spring was nothing like the last time. It stormed almost every day and we got torrents of rain. It was so dark and cloudy that we had to keep candles constantly lit in our house, even during the day. Mother and Father still had to work though. One day, after it had just finished raining, and the sun started peeking meekly through the clouds, a shivering and sopping wet messenger arrived at the door.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcq0c6ri2o
I opened the door and peered through. I had only just turned two a week ago. The celebration had been grand, complete with cake and colored streamers. The messenger, old and wheezy, stared back at me. His gray hair frayed and stuck up at odd angles. He grinned suddenly at me, but his face quickly fell. 596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCJetmtaWJ
"I- er- may I speak to the woman of the house?" he asked earnestly.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEoXzHGgai
"Yeah, let me go get mother. Stay right here!" I replied with wary enthusiasm.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOr68sAPaoV
About a short minute later, I returned to the messenger, Mother towed in my wake. I left her by the door and went to go see Elle in our small shared bedroom. I explained the situation to her and then we sat. We waited. Ten minutes passed until we heard the door shut. Soft footprints bounded up the stairs and knocked on our door. 596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlY30GDALI
"Come in," Elle said softly.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNqk7CsoSG
Mother opened the door and sat down on my small bed. 596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXX6bkxz0U
"Girls-" A tear slipped down her already reddened face.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0aK8kJsG1
She took a deep breath and started over.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2aqf4ZIbf
"Girls, Jack- Your father is dead." tears raced down her face and her eyes were swollen and puffy.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgvT6XkK0v
"They said he went down to the river in the rain to help a man who had been injured while hunting in the area and he slipped on the bank and fell in. They said he drowned." Tears were pouring down her face now, and my eyes were welling up quickly.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDegksFUe4
Mother was always so strong, and now she was crying. That and the fact that we had just learned our father had died was enough to drive Elle and I over the edge. We went full on ballistic. Tears fell like rain down our faces as the raindrops started outside again. That was, and still is, one of the worst days of my life. I was only just two, and I had already experienced great loss.
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