Prologue
Gasping for breath, the girl ran through the dark forest. She glanced over her shoulder without stopping. No one was in sight. Still, she kept running. Panicked. Her heart pounding.
The damp pine needles on the ground muffled her footsteps, and the smell of fire had long since dissipated. It was foggy, and the air was damp. The simple tunic hung loosely on the little one's body, her reddish-brown hair clung to her face, and her breath came out in steamy clouds. The only warmth, the only sign of life.
Branches whipped her face. She stumbled over a limb and fell to her knees. She pushed herself up from the damp ground with her hands, scrambled to her feet, and ran on. She couldn't stop. Had to run faster.
Everything looked the same. Tall firs, wide spruces, scattered bushes.
She hurried forward as fast as she could and jumped over a root. A twig snapped behind her, but she didn't turn around. Ahead, it was getting brighter. She rushed towards the light, her breath coming in gasps. But this wasn't the edge of the forest. It was just a smallclearing where a woman sat on a fallen tree trunk, her face turned towards the sun.
Somebody shouted, "Ava!" But perhaps she'd only imagined it. With her last ounce of strength, she stumbled into the clearing and collapsed onto the grass in front of the stranger.
Chapter 1
Aloud rumbling and clattering echoed through the store, startling Ava. She tossed her pen onto the counter and rushed from behind it into the stockroom, where her aunt lay buried under a mountain of decorative flowers, vases, candle holders, and a ladder.
"Aunt Helen, what are you doing?"
Her elderly aunt groaned. Ava hurried to her and moved the ladder aside. Then she pushed away the decorations and helped her stand up.
"Are you hurt?"
"My backside hurts. It'll be black and blue tomorrow. But nobody's going to see it anyway." She made a dismissive gesture and placed a hand on her hip. She wasn't standing very steadily yet, but she emphatically freed herself from Ava's grip.
Shaking her head, Ava surveyed the chaos. Her chestnut brown hair fell into her face, so she quickly removed the hair tie from her wrist and tied the strands back into a messy bun. "Why did you even climb up the ladder?"
Her aunt brushed the glitter dust from her shortgray curls, and it fell sparkling to the floor as if she were a fairy fluttering her wings. In reality, she was a down-to-earth, robust lady with a special knack for decorating, which was why the business was booming. "I wanted to redecorate the vases for the autumn festival."
Typical. If there had been a prize for stubbornness, Aunt Helen would have been the one to receive it.
"You know I'm the one who gets the things from the top shelf. Just let me know."
Helen rolled her eyes demonstratively. "I'm seventy and might not be the youngest, but I'm not out of commission yet. I can't call on you for every little thing."
"Yes, you can, and you should. That's why I'm here. I don't want you to get hurt."
"But you shouldn't feel obligated to stay here. Once you finally start living your own life, things will have to work without you."
They had certainly already discussed this topic to death.
"You know I'll never abandon you!"
Her aunt's gaze took on a sad tinge. "You wouldn't be abandoning me by fulfilling yourself. You're a grown, beautiful woman. You can't spend the rest of your life in my shop. Go out into the world, find some adventure!"
They hadn't had this discussion in a long time, since lately Ava had managed to steer clear of it. Of course she wanted to see the world, forge her own path, and do more than sort bills and decorations day in and day out. But Helen had entered her life when no one else had been there for her—when she'd had nothing and no one in the world except her own skin, the necklace with the broken heart pendant, and the clothes on her back.
She had taken Ava in, even though no blood ties obligated her to do so, as if they really belonged to thesame family. Helen had made everything possible for her: a good school, warm meals, clean clothes. And, when Ava was old enough, she'd given her a job in her gift and decoration shop. Ava had been working there for about fifteen years now.
She avoided her aunt's gaze. "A life by your side is enough for me."
"But it's not enough for me!" She grabbed Ava by the wrists. Her grip was firm and unyielding, forcing Ava to look into her brown eyes. "Life won't wait for you forever."
"I have a beautiful life! I'm happy!" Ava freed herself from her grip just as decisively as Aunt Helen had done earlier, climbed the ladder, and retrieved the decorative branches with berries from the top shelf. Helen followed her with her eyes, eyebrows raised skeptically. She tapped her toe up and down as she did so.
"When was the last time you went out? When was the last time you had fun with people your own age?"
"You know I'm a loner." Ava pushed the decorations into her aunt's hands and collected the sunflowers and poppies scattered on the floor. Most of it was still usable. They'd just have to sweep up the glitter dust. Since Ava should have swept the stockroom days ago but hadn't, the situation at least had one advantage: She'd only have to pick up the broom once this week. "I like being by myself. I don't need anyone."
