Splinters in November
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Nova - #a88400
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Nova made her way up the spiralling staircase to the Owlery, Trixie sitting on her shoulder. It was a rather cool day, and she had pulled on one of her absolute favourite sweaters. It was one of the reasons she loved November; all cosy outfits and hot drinks. Trixie squeaked as they finally reached the door of the Owlery, pushing it open to reveal Owls of all colors and breeds.
There was a rather pungent smell in the air, most likely due to all of the gifts the owls had left. Carefully tiptoeing around it, she reached one of the school’s owls. She had sent him off with a letter for her family, but it had been almost two weeks by then. The owl was holding a letter and she carefully took it, smiling at him gratefully. Trixie squeaked quietly, somewhat hidden by Nova’s hair.
Opening the letter, she was surprised to see, not her father or mother’s name, but her brother’s. His messy scrawl of handwriting was easily recognizable, and she raised an eyebrow in confusion. Leaning against one of the walls, she read.
Nova’s stomach twisted. First in confusion, then in anger. Her parents were fighting loud enough her siblings could hear them? She was almost certain this had something to do with whatever they were hiding from her, but that wasn’t the problem. Her parents were never the kind to fight, and even when they did, it would happen so Nova and her siblings wouldn’t catch on.Hi Nova,
I’m really scared. When I was going to go to bed I heard mom and dad fighting a lot. It was really loud and I heard them say we were gonna move. Are we really going to? I don’t want to leave home! Please tell them no! I don’t know why they are fighting so much. It makes my tummy hurt when I hear it. I don’t like it. I wish you were here because when you are here it feels better. Please write quickly!
From, Oliver.
Her grip on the letter tightened and her heart pounded in her ears. It was one thing to keep things from Nova, to tell her everything was fine while lying straight to her face. But to not even notice their fighting was loud enough to send Oliver to sleep with his stomach in knots made her heart clench in anger. Trixie seemed to squeak, but Nova didn’t notice. Holding back a yell, she stormed towards the door, letter now creased in her hand.
It was an unusual reaction. Nova hardly ever got that mad, and even if she did, she’d end up crying. But this time, she felt no sting in her eyes. Just a steely expression on her face and a vulture-like grip on the letter she had received, anger bubbling up in waves. The door shut behind her, and the occasional sound of a hooting owl slowly faded.