Snipet #10

Evelyn grew up quickly, or so it seemed to her mother. One day she was toddling about the house, knocking things over and the next, she was a young lady. Through those years, Sara had marveled at how calm the weather had been, how peaceful it was. But nothing lasts forever, and it was on Evelyn's 13th birthday that the wind returned with a vengeance.

The day had started out like most other Saturdays, with chores to do around the house. Evelyn and her mother always spent their Saturday mornings doing laundry and cleaning those things that had been neglected for a week.

Evelyn loved to tidy up her room. She would dust the furniture, search through her jewelry box, alphabetize the books on her shelf, and then take them down again and sort them by author and then go back and alphabetize again . It seemed to her she was putting her life in order by putting things in order. Evelyn liked it that way in her room because it gave her the feeling of warmth and safety. Touching all these beloved things also gave her a sense of connection with the past, with her ancestors whose belongings were bestowed on her by her mother. She had her grandmothers radio, her great aunt's attempt at a self portrait and her mother's ruby ring. It didn't matter to Evelyn that the radio hadn't worked in years or the self portrait was poorly executed or that the ring needed cleaning. These were her precious things. They were her reminders of a time she couldn't possibly remember but of which she felt an intense connection. That was one of the things about Evelyn that made people uncomfortable. She seemed to be part of another time and she just didn't quite fit in. She seemed to walk on the fringes of reality, touching both sides of things and feeling equally at home in both.

She was all light and energy. She was full of abundant magic. She was a force of nature that the inhabitants of Willow Falls had never experienced. Even the wind could not compare.