Shadows Express
by: Kayna Amy Ivenson
Winter jerked awake, as usual, a few moments before the loud knock started on her bedroom door. "Time to get up!" Gobbler, the head house-elf, yelled from the other side of the door. Winter jumped up and washed her face in the cold water in the basin on the rickety dresser next to her bed. Winter looked excitedly into the cracked mirror. Today she was ten! She shared the same birth date as her triplet cousins, Gretta, Ellen, and Helen. She got dressed quickly. This morning, she did not want to annoy her uncle and aunt. Today, perhaps they got her something. Winter was living with her Aunt Fai, her Uncle Harris, and her three cousins at Greyman Hall. The old castle has been in Uncle Harris’s family for centuries, and he had inherited the title of Lord Greyman from his father. Her uncle and aunt and cousins’ rooms were located upstairs. Winter slept in the cellar. Her room had no window and not even a carpet. Winter made her bed and then pulled her door closed as she hurried up the stairs. The family was in the dining hall. The table was set, and breakfast was being served. She got the usual greeting of scowls from them as she sat at her place at the very end of the long table, far away from the rest of the family. The smell of bacon, sausage, mushroom, egg, and toast hit her nostrils, and Winter frowned. Wow, she thought. Her sense of smell was strong this morning. Her senses have always been sharper than the rest of the household, but never like this. Volume4: Issue 1
The triplets were looking at piles of gifts in front of them. Helen and Gretta were already opening theirs, but Ellen had a frown on her face. "Why is my pile so small?” the blackhaired girl asked, her hands in little fists next to her body. Her pile was not small at all actually. Winter saw only one parcel in front of her own plate. The triplets’ piles had at least seventeen gifts each in front of them. Gretta's eyes started leaking tears and she sobbed. Quietly, Winter ate her breakfast. The triplets had perfected the art of crying to get what they wanted. And that strategy worked on all the grown witches and warlocks around them. Winter silently started counting, and she got to the count of five when Uncle Harris chuckled and came to hug Gretta. "There, there, my darling. We will take you clothes shopping this afternoon." Aunt Fai beamed from the other side of the table at the triplets. They had her green eyes but Uncle Harris’s black hair, and, like their father, they were slim and tall. Aunt Fai liked dressing them in the latest fashions. Aunt Fai was athletic in build and had dark auburn hair. Winter ran her fingers through her own light auburn hair before opening the packet in front of her. She recognized the pair of jeans, the pair of sneakers, and the shirt and denim jacket. They were clothes the triplets did not want anymore. "Thank you for the gift,” Winter said. They all looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. Page 22