Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Once the snow was no longer piled high enough for Abby to end up waist-deep if she took a wrong step, she braved the outdoors more frequently. She had taken a leave of absence from the school with the excuse that Katie needed her.

While this was true, it was also true that she didn't want to go outside. But Maeva, one of the teachers, came over for a standard congratulatory visit about a month after Aza was born and told Abby that the children missed her terribly.

She had been getting bored at home anyway so she agreed to come back. The students all tackled her when she walked through the door, letting her know how true Maeva's words were.

Abby was less involved in the curriculum now because Maeva and her assistants Carlene and Vashti had gotten things down to a system at this point. She let them do their thing, helping as needed, and when school was over she headed to the printing office and decided to work on illustrating some children's books.

Because this was now one of Kanta's most prevalent exports, older children were learning how to draw under the tutelage of the few people here with that skill. It was an apprenticeship of sorts since they would be able to work here once they had the hang of things.

The printing office had less than twenty people on staff including those interns of sorts. A few of the interns were actually from Raisha and were staying with friends or relatives throughout the winter so they could learn.

Come spring, they would be knowledgeable enough to take their work home with them. Al could bring the completed products back here when he made his usual visits.

"I wanted to make a picture book version of the play we did," Sidi's older sister Janna confided. "But I didn't know how to draw the Balrog and other things like that. You know the story better…could you make one? I think it would be really popular. All the kids here loved it."

Abby sent a silent apology to J.R.R. Tolkien for ripping him off out into the void before replying. "Sure. I'll do my best."

All of the apprentices crowded around her excitedly as she worked. It was difficult getting anything done with so many people hovering over her! Abby blew out a frustrated breath and kept working.

Drawing the line art took about a week but it took even longer to color all of the tiny details with colored pencil. After she finished it, she wondered how many other books from home she could rip off with no one being any the wiser (except Katie, who wouldn't rat her out).

Apprentices and older artists alike crowded around it to see how it turned out.

"Ooh, it's beautiful Abby!"

"We need to make engraving plates and start copying it right away; I can tell this will be a bestseller."

"You have the most amazing imagination. Where did you come up with this?"

Abby coughed awkwardly to cover her lie. "…I have very vivid dreams."

Tahvo, the man who ran the printing office, was so impressed that he decided to put her in charge of future story ideas for other artists to draw. Just like that, she had gone from headmistress to children's book author.

So she stole a lot of classic children's book stories and tried to describe them to the best of her ability to the other artists. The traders didn't come here nearly as often during the winter due to the snow so during the worst of the stormy season the books in the printing office really stacked up.

Tahvo and Maeva, who turned out to be siblings, fought over who got to keep Abby. He won but had to promise that she would come play with the children during recess if nothing else.

The rest of the winter was spent holed up in the printing office spitballing ideas and drawing or building elaborate snow forts for snowball battles with the schoolchildren. She didn't stop being cold but couldn't deny it was satisfying feeling like a part of the community again.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to breathe again," Abby announced dramatically as she arrived home and shook the snow off her coat.

Her nose had been running constantly since she started venturing outside again. No matter what she did, nothing could stem it. She knew it was a side effect of the cold rather than being sick but that didn't make it any less miserable.

Katie laughed from the chair where she nursed Aza. "Your time will come. Just wait until you experience spring around here; seeing the mountain in full bloom is indescribable."

With a sigh, she plopped down in a chair next to her sister and waited for Adam to crawl into her lap and beg her to read a story. It had become their tradition as soon as she got home for the day.

They had a variety of books to choose from. As the person who started the printing office, Katie owned the most children's books out of everyone in the village. Though there were a large number in the library that were free to check out as well.

This time he wanted a story about a friendly old truck and the adventures he went on with his pals. Abby recognized it as something straight out of a Pixar movie. She was not the only one stealing ideas.

"So you're a plagiarizer too," she said after she finished and Adam ran off to play with his toys.

Katie shrugged. "Is it really plagiarism if no one else knows it's plagiarism?"

That had been the same argument she used, more or less. Great minds think alike. The two of them stood out in this backward world because of where they came from even though back home they weren't considered very similar at all.

Their personalities were quite different. The only things they really had in common was a love of certain books and movies and the fact that they shared a lot of memories.