(Part three.)

Kalinka White in "There Arose Such A Clatter..."

It woke me up.

I was trying to sleep and it woke me up. I do not like being awakened when I am sleeping. It makes me very angry.

It just sounded like a lot of yelling to me. Just a huge mass of noise swirling around downstairs and I really wished that it would keep swirling and become a whirlpool and collapse upon itself and then everyone would be silent and I could rest again. But I knew that was impossible and decided to instead go downstairs and find out what the noise was caused by.

"Kalinka! Kalinka! Trevirn was outside!"

At this point, I did not really care that Trevirn was outside. I wanted them all to go outside. At least then I could go back to bed.

"So?" I answered, clutching my temples. I was more tired than I could ever have imagined.

"Trevirn! Tell her what you found!"

I stared at the black-haired boy for a moment. I surpressed the urge to scream at him for causing the noise that had woken me up, as his eyes were glazed and watery. I couldn't tell if it was from crying or simply for the wind.

"Well Trevirn," this noise was making my tired brain hurt, "what did you find?"

"I...I went outside because I wanted to see the snow as it fell. And...well, and I went for a walk. Just a little one," the boy's voice was shaking, "and, and I found this," he said, holding out the torn remains of a navy blue scarf. "Do you think...? Do....? Is it....is it his?"

I held the scarf in my hands. It had been torn apart and was being held together only by a few threads on either side. I wasn't sure if it was Marr's or not, but it certainly looked like his scarf.

"I don't know Trevirn," I said. "I don't know if it's his or not," I whispered and suddenly felt a strange tightening in the pit of my stomach.

I looked at the scarf again, and then out the window. What if it did belong to him? What could possibly have happened?

The snow whirled around the streetlights outside. It had begun to snow quite heavily.

The tightening in my stomach strengthened as I fingered the scarf. Standing there, in front of the window, with the torn scarf in my hands - I watched the snow outside and began to feel as if I would not sleep again for a very long time.