"Wait up!" Eva called to Elias. They were headed to the park whilst there was still some light left in the day. The light in Dragon Valley during winter was always very low but it would soon be spring and the children knew they would not get a chance just to play for much longer. There would be plants to take care of, fishing would start up again, tending the chickens and milking the cows. In the winter Eva and Elias had the most free time they would have all year.
The problem with so much deep snow, was that you couldn't always see what was underneath it! Eva tripped over a branch and landed face first in the snow. It didn't hurt though, so she giggled and made a snow angel.
Elias ran back to Eva and helped her up. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern. "I'm fine, my face is a bit numb though!" Eva giggled, trying to wiggle her eyebrows. "It's your fault anyways, leaving me so far behind," she scolded.
"You know you are faster than me! I had to get a head start. Anyways, I've got something to tell you," Elias teased.
"Oh, well I've got something to tell you! Bet mine is more interesting than yours," Eva smirked.
"My mum is having a baby!" Elias burst out, before Eva could continue.
"So is my mum!" Eva said in surprise. "How weird is that?" She exclaimed.
"Wouldn't it be funny if your mum had a girl, and my mum had a boy, and they grew up to be friends like us?" Elias replied.
"You know what this means though, don't you Elias?" Eva said quietly.
"Yeah! A little brother to go hunting the dragon with!" Elias laughed, taking on a dreamy look again.
Eva sighed. Boys. "It means there is going to be less food and less money Elias. Your parents and my parents barely managed to get us all through this winter. Next winter, there will be extra mouths to feed. We are going to have to do whatever we can to help bring food and money into our homes," EVa said, wisely.
"I will pick as much fruit and vegetables as I can Eva, and you can sell them on the farm!" Elias said, reassuringly. He could see the little furrow on Eva's brow that appeared whenever she was really worried. "We make a great team, you and I," he said gently. Now was not the right time to be trying to make her laugh. "Come on, you go on the swing and I will push you," he said, reaching for her hand.
Soon Eva had forgotten all about her worries. Elias pushed her higher and higher until she was in fits of laughter. Secretly, he was even more worried about his mum having another baby than he let on. His mum was never at home already, the baby could only mean even more stress on his father and Elias guessed that much of the baby care would be left to him.
That night, Eva's dreams were full of her fears. Deep down, she was excited at the thought of having a brother or sister to play with. Maybe everything would be okay. Tomorrow was Sunday. That meant the whole family wore their best clothes and went to church. Eva would pray that her mother would have a good pregnancy and the baby would be healthy.
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