The Windy Staircase

Brother for Sale

"It is!" Winn cried emphatically. "I heard it from my thirteen-year-old cousin who lives in New York! And they don't lie in a place like New York."

Melody frowns at Winn's laudable tone. "So my parent's are trying to replace me?" She crosses her arms, smudging the polish on her nails.

Winn shrugs nonchalantly. "Maybe."

The girls lapse into silence as Winn applies another coat to her nails and Melody stares around the room, thinking.

Finally she asks simply, "Why?"

Winn shrugs again. "I dunno. Could've been something you did. Something you didn't do," -She gives Melody a meaningful look -"Or maybe they just got bored of you. My cousin said that happens. It happened with my parents. That's why they had Ash, see? He's the replacement."

Melody remains quiet, not quite ready to believe her parents have tired of her after just nine years.

"And then, of course," Winn continues, unconcerned, "they reached the two-kid limit and that was that."

"The two-kid limit?" Melody asks warily.

"Yes, I heard that from my cousin also." Winn says. "Families are only allowed to have two kids. You have to pay the government a very large amount of money to have more. That's so the world doesn't become overpopulated. Funny, huh?"

"Yeah," Melody says slowly. "Funny."

"Want me to do your make-up?" Winn asks, clearly done with the conversation.

Melody agrees and the rest of the afternoon is spent pampering and beautifying themselves like only nine-year-olds can.

"Melody, your parents are here!" Winn's mother, Mrs. Shaw, calls down the hall to the girls. Melody looks at the window in surprise; it's already dark outside. She trudges down the hall, Winn at her heels. Her mother is standing in the front doorway, talking with Mrs. Shaw. She smiles when she sees her daughter, her green eyes tired but bright.

"Daddy's at home with Brady." She tells Melody. "They're both worn out from the flight."

"I bet," Mrs. Shaw says sympathetically. "We'll have to come visit in a few days, once you've all slept, won't we Winnifred?"

Winn winces at the use of her full name but nods dutifully, giving Melody a meaningful look from behind her mother's back.

"What?" Melody whispers, getting closer to Winn.

"Replacement." Winn murmurs.

Winn's words echo in Melody's mind through the rest of the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Melody awakens to a cacophony of sounds, most of them coming from the wailing terror the parents call "Brady".