Ever Shade by Alexia Purdy Page B

of her throughout the day and it was nice to have some privacy at night. Of course that meant Anna, her little sister, had her own room too. Shade smiled, taking in the loveliness of the room. The quilt on her bed had pink and red patches in it. The walls of her room were a light shade of rose. There were also various shades of pink and purple items scattered throughout the room. She loved to decorate and had tons of girlie stuff all around. Most of her things she had obtained from thrift stores, from people at church or from friends who had given them to her. Everything was a treasure to her.
    She sighed, as she opened her drawers and began rummaging through the clothes, stuffing some in her backpack. She riffled through her closet; found and grabbed a pair of hiking shoes. After Shade finished throwing in some towels, a pillow, and a few blankets into the backpack she noticed a picture frame on her nightstand. All of her family was in it; it had been taken at the park on a sunny spring day. All of their faces were gleaming with laughter and flashing smiles that showcased their white teeth.
    Shade picked up the little frame, feeling her eyes burning with tears. How she missed them already and it was just yesterday that she last saw them. She held back a sob and stuffed the picture into the pack as well. She reached over to hook up her cell phone for a quick charge while she finished packing. She then began getting things ready for the day ahead. She pulled a clean outfit out of her closet and laid that on her bed, clean undies, bra and socks were also tossed by the outfit. She peered in her dresser mirror; her hair was lying in tangled waves, glistening in the morning sun that streamed in from the windows. What a disheveled mess! She sighed and looked around once more, now… for that shower!
    She finished quickly, tossing her toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash and sponge into a Ziploc bag, to stuff in her backpack. She ran her brush through the tangles of hair and groaned at the knots. She finally got them out and the brush went into her backpack too. She loved Ilarial’s spell, no need to worry about packing light with that! She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, it was still sopping wet from the shower. All set except for the water and food downstairs . She listened for a moment for Soap but he was mighty silent for cleaning out the cupboards. She shrugged and left the bathroom and went down the stairs.
    Soap was standing by the kitchen window that looked out at the side yard including the front yard. He didn’t seem to notice her coming in. She paused and watched him. He seemed so serene. She wondered how old he really was and how he could pass for a senior in high school, just like her. She smiled at the thought of Soap in gym shorts and shirt, not really a fitting look for him.
    He was staring at her when she came out of her thoughts. “What are you smiling at? Do I have breakfast stuck to my face?” He looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows, baffled.
    Shade laughed and shook her head. “No silly, I was just thinking about how you would totally not fit in at school, you don’t really look like a human teenage boy. How old are you anyway?” She glanced down at the pile of cans and water bottles on the floor, piled neatly in the middle of the kitchen. She bent down and began shoving them into her pack.
    “I am about twenty in human years, approximately. That’s about one hundred-twenty in fey years; that is if you go from me being six years old when I was found. Anyway, that was what they guessed me to be. Who knows really, I don’t remember anything before that.” He bent down to help her with the food. His long ponytail hung over his face as he kneeled over the pile.
    “Wow, so you could be older or younger huh?”
    He nodded, not looking up. They finished and stood. “Can you think of anything else?”
    “I found flashlights for you, I don’t need them but you might.” He tossed some at her; she caught