Estelle secured the heavy oak doors quietly, not wanting to wake her family. She wasn't dressed, - as was the custom - in white, but instead in a variety of grays and blacks. She knew if she were caught there would be trouble, but she couldn't bear the asinine rules any longer. The chilled winter air bit hungrily at her ears and she pulled her beanie down tighter as if to shut out the cold, …showed first 75 words of 1300 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1300 total…her sobs and hid, in the very same bush that Henry had each week. Eventually, she gained some control and begun frantically scribbling a message across the back of the note Henry had left for her. She was hoping that someday soon, he would find it, waiting for him as if he had all the time in the world. "Henry, Remember that not all is lost. I saw a star last night. It was gold"