Penelope admired the elegant Japanese design on her new diary. Tiny figures dressed in kimonos knelt beside a lake while sparrows flew over their heads. She ran her finger along the gilt flowers embossed on the border of the cover, then flipped open the magnetic clasp and turned to the first page. She put her pen to the paper and paused, wondering what to write about.
She glanced out her bedroom window and looked across the lawn to the edge of the woods that surrounded her house. On her window ledge lay a silver money clip she’d found earlier that week during one of her walks in the woods. It was laying partially covered in a dry stream bed. The sun glinted on it, catching her eye. As soon as she picked it up, she felt something inside her shift, a whisper said “It’s mine,” and she knew it was hers to keep.
She picked it up again and turned it over in her hand, inspecting it. After she’d cleaned it up, two initials appeared on the crest, AD. It was a handsome piece of work, tarnished from age, but still held a beauty of its own. She imagined its owner, perhaps he was dark haired with piercing eyes and a sensuous mouth. A small smile curved her lips as she began writing about her fantasy man.
As she was writing, deep in thought, she heard her bedroom door click behind her. She turned to see that one of the twins was standing in her doorway watching her. She knew he was Destin, the older brother by 10 minutes, because he always had an impish smile on his face. Plus his bangs flipped slightly more than Aiden’s.
“Destin, where’s Miss Wendy?” she asked him. She got up from her desk and took him by the hand, leading him back to the playroom where their nanny should be with her other brother.
“Miss Wennie is playing wif Aiden,” he said. A small pout puckered his mouth. “She din’t wanna play wif me.”
To be continued…
Tales from the Aether 
