If the world had stopped spinning and the sun had stopped shining, and the cloud covered the stars at night, Evie knew it would feel exactly the same as she had felt when she realised her sister was gone. The sight of her mangled body lying lifeless, leaking blood, in front of her was embedded in her brain forever now. She couldn't get rid of it, however much she tried; thinking of flowers at the market, and wonderful story books; and petit little rabbits wearing waist coats. It was cemented in and reinforced many times to ensure it never left again.
The events of the hour after the accident went by as a hazy gust of wind which blew through the house and wiped away every memory in its path. Their Nanny heard the bang as Belle had hit the floor, and had quickly appeared, bobbing up and down as she tried to run as fast as she could, whilst holding onto her neat bun which was beginning to fall out: obviously where she had leant on it when pretending to not be asleep. She bobbled down the stairs, and hurried to reach the child at the bottom, where she lifted her legs and back, forgetting to support her head, and hurried towards the door. Madame Grigsby then turned to face Evie, who was still in a deep state of shock at the top of the stairs.
"Evie, stay here. Don't leave. Look after Addison" Her tone of voice was slightly strained, but at the same time stern and motherly. To Evie, she just sounded like she was about to cry. She then took the hand that was connected to her supporting arm that was holding up Belles back, and opened the door handle, struggling the first time as it was sweaty and slippery. Before closing the door behind her, she turned to Evie again.
"Evie, I don't know when I'll be coming back. I don't know if she will come back." and then left, leaving Evie wondering whether her sister was going to be alright or whether she really wasn't coming back.
The minutes she waited, slowly turned into longing hours, and nightfall came with no news. She planned to wait up longer than any eleven year old should have, and worried. Worried about her sister, who she could picture lying on a table, a white blanket being pulled over her body and head, hiding her deep wounds and broken bones. She tried to care for her brother, but looking after him was a lot harder than she first thought, and only, after trying to place his head brace back on, did she really appreaciate everything that her Nanny did. Evie fed him, but didnt dare pick him up without the support he needed.
There was nothing more for her do once the last rays of light dissapeared beyond the marsh filled horizon. Though the clouds were a brilliant orange and pink, the deep blue sky that remained reflected her mood in a much better way, for she felt blue; lost, afraid of the unknown, afraid of the news she needed to know. But she had to wait. It's the only thing she could do. She felt sick to the stomach and didn't feel much like eating, so lit a candle by her bedside and readied herself for slumber without bothering to remove the ribbon from her hair, that had tangled up over the day, and leaving the same under-garments on from the day time so her night dress pulled over them, scruffily. Evie didn't mind that she looked scruffy though. There were other things more important to think about. She walked through the hall to check Addison one last time, but she knew that once he was asleep, he wouldn't wake for another fifteen hours or so and was confident that he would be ok left alone, just until their Nanny came home. If she came home...
The candle light from her room cast strange, flickering, shadows across the wooden walls of the hallway and as she walked along, a certain loose floorboard creaked under her weight, and she could have sworn the shadows danced into a face shape high up on the wall. It was as if the noise of the moaning wood had awoken the face within the shadow, and it scowled down on her because it had been disturbed. Quickly, she ventured back into her room and tucked herself into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chest, before exstinguishing the flame beside her and attempting the find sleep. The night was dark and the nocturnal animals that found comfort in the marshland behind the house, just beyond the town, were howling and calling to each other making the atmosphere more tense. It seemed impossible to close her ears and mind, and even her eyes, in fear, but after hours of laying awake, Evie slowly fell drowsy and gave in to the tiredness.
