Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

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Erica awoke slowly, stretching her body and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Next to her, Faith lay sleeping. The room had an odd quality to it as she unwrapped herself from Faith's warm clinginess. Sitting up, she dropped her feet into the slippers that Faith had given her the night before. Crossing the floor toward the window in her borrowed nightgown, she'd finally noticed that the howling wind had subsided leaving an eerie silence to sit over the house. She'd become so accustomed to the howl of the storm, its absence left a void in the perceptions of her surroundings. Peaking out the window, Erica saw something she'd never seen before. Awestruck, she stood in wonderment at the beauty of the sight before her.

Everywhere she looked glistened with the sparkle of fresh fallen snow from the light of the waning three-quarter moon still in the western sky. She'd seen pictures of snow and knew what it was, but never before had her own eyes beheld the beauty of a morning draped in crystal and moonlight. Behind her, Erica heard Faith's early morning groans of awakening.

"Faith! Come look!" she cried.

Faith sat up slowly, sleep still blurring her vision. She could see her cousin Erica standing in nothing but her nightgown and slippers next to the window, jumping up and down slightly. Closing her eyes a moment, she moved toward her side of the bed and opened them again as she slid into her own slippers and made her way over to look out the window.

"What is it, Erica?" she managed to get out around a yawn. "What's wrong?" Looking out the window, she saw nothing unusual. "What?"

Erica continued to jump up and down, giddy as a schoolgirl. "It's snow!"

"I know it's snow. What's wrong? You act like you've never seen snow before!" Faith said with a perplexed look.

She shook her head. "I haven't! Isn't it beautiful! I had no idea it could be so... pretty!"

Faith shook her head in disbelief. "How can you go your whole life and never see snow? Don't they have winter in California?"

Shaking her head, Erica looked back outside. "Not like this! Winter there is rainy and muggy! Winter here is... is..." The words escaped her as she tried to encapsulate the beauty of seeing her first snowfall. "...it's breathtaking!"

Her cousin smirked. "Just wait until you have to walk through half a mile of it to get to the bus stop! Then it'll just be cold and wet!"

Even as Faith finished speaking, Erica dashed for the bathroom, grabbed the robe Faith had given her off the back of the bathroom door, threw herself into it, and dashed out the door of their shared room while still tying it shut. Skidding to a stop at the top of the stairs, she went down the steps as fast as her feet could carry her. Reaching the bottom, Theresa intercepted her.

"Hold up there, girl! Where're you off to so fast?" As she spoke, she caught Erica's arm and slowed her race to the door to a stop.

"Oh, Cook! It's snow! Real snow!"

Refusing to release her arm, Cook nodded in understanding. "Yes, dearie... real snow, and it'll still be there after you put on some clothes! You'll catch your death if you go out there dressed in nothing but your nightshirt and slippers!" Looking down at the girl's desperate need to see it for herself, she sighed. "Alright, girl! Just wait a moment and I'll get you a coat and some proper boots and you can go out for just a minute or two, alright?"

Erica could hardly contain herself, but calmed enough to stop trying to pull away and rush to the door. Waiting at the marble bench while Cook went into the closet at the end of the entryway, she looked up to see Heather descending the stairs in a graceful glide of seafoam green chiffon, silk, and lace. Curtsying slightly, Erica turned to her. "Good morning, Aunt Heather! Did you see outside?"

Heather smiled sweetly. "Yes, sweetie. It snowed last night. The way you're taking on you'd think it snowed flakes of pure gold!"

She shook her head. "This is better! I've never seen real snow before!"

Her aunt blinked, then realized the girl never would have, growing up in southern California. Smiling wistfully, she remembered the day she and her husband had bought this home. You were right, Richard! When she saw Theresa bringing over one of Faith's winter coats and fur-lined winter boots, she laughed and asked, "What's all this, then?"

Cook waved her off. "The girl was so anxious to go out and see it for herself, she nearly ran out in nothing but her skivvies. It can do her no harm to see it for herself so long as she's at least a little better dressed for it." She slipped the coat on Erica's arms and started to button it.

Scoffing, Heather shook her head. "Oh, that's nonsense! She can certainly wait until after the sun is up and she's properly dressed and filled with a warm breakfast! The snow isn't going anywhere!"

"You don't understand, Miss. She needs to see it, now, while the wonder's still fresh." Cook continued explaining as she had the newest member of their household sit on the marble bench so she could put the boots on. "Remember when you told me about your first trip to Paris? How you couldn't wait to get out of the airport and set your own eyes on the Eiffel Tower? You nearly got arrested trying to skip the Customs line!"

Heather remembered it like it was yesterday. Smiling, she looked away at some distant place as though she could see right through the world and time itself and look at it once more. "Oh, yes! That was so foolish of me! I was just so excited I couldn't think straight until I'd seen it for myself!" Pausing, she looked over at Cook putting the second boot on Erica. "Oh, but that was different!"

Cook shook her head. "Not to Erica, it isn't. Snow is her Eiffel Tower ma'am, just as wondrous and mystical as that silly collection of iron was to you before you laid eyes on it."

Tilting her head to the side, she gave in. "Oh, very well." Walking over, she crouched and tied one bootlace while Cook tied the other. Smiling up at the giddy girl, she helped her to her feet and led her to the door. "Now just for a minute or two, alright sweetheart? I don't want you out in that cold too long without proper winter clothes to keep you warm and safe. Promise?"

"Yes, Aunt Heather! I promise!" Erica nodded vigorously.

Nodding in acceptance, her aunt opened the door.

Erica stepped out on the front porch, marveling at the awesome beauty of it all, gazing at the beauty of clear moonlight reflecting off every surface with a gleam like a million diamond flakes scattered as far as the eye could see. Hearing the door close behind her, she exhaled and watched her breath condense into a fog that drifted through the air like smoke rings.

A giddy feeling washed over her as she stepped gingerly out into the cold. She could feel the bitter chill of the air on her ankles and slightly up her nightgown, sending a shiver up her spine. Reaching the edge of the porch where the snow had only accumulated lightly, she knelt down until her fingers could touch it. Scooping some up, she felt the coldness of it bite into her delicate fingers, turning them red.

Rolling the snow over in her hand, she marveled at the simple beauty of it. A few flakes broke away and slipped between her fingers, while others melted against her warm skin. Gathering up another handful, she packed it together into a snowball, reared her arm back, and let fly with the first snowball of her life with a squeal of delight. Stretching her arms out, she spun around in the cold like a top, exhilarating in the feeling.

Remembering her promise, she drew her arms back in to cover her chest and slowed her spin until she was facing the door once more and slowly started back inside. The door opened for her and she stepped in to see Fredrick holding the door and everyone else smiling at her. Faith, her aunt Heather, Cook, and even grouchy Franchesca greeted her from her first foray into a winter wonderland.

"Welcome back, Miss Erica." Fredrick intoned with his usual grace and refined dignity as he closed the door. "May I take your coat?"

Letting Fredrick take the coat before walking over to her aunt, Erica flung her arms around the woman before standing on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Oh thank you, Aunt Heather! It was wonderful! Cold, but wonderful!" As she turned, she saw Cook take a picture of her.

Grinning at Erica as the girl giggled, Cook nodded toward the housemaid. "Franchesca took a movie of you with this thing while you were outside. Lord knows how!"

Franchesca snatched her digital camera back from Theresa. "Fat lot you know! I'm surprised you knew how to take a picture with it!" Turning back to Erica, she almost smiled before returning to her natural grimace. "You just be grateful I took time out of my busy schedule to teach these fools that moments like this are why we invented cameras!"

Erica padded over to Franchesca, slipped her arms around her in a genuine hug, and said softly, "Thank you, Franchesca!"

Stunned, and unused to such overt affection, she stood there numbly for a moment, her arms spread in a wide circle around the new member of the family with her camera in one hand and a dumbfounded look on her face. Finally she closed her arms around Erica and returned the embrace. "You're quite welcome, dear." Releasing her hug, she stepped back, leaving Erica standing there grinning at her. Handing Erica the camera, she said in a snippish tone, "Now don't you go breaking that! You can look at the video and pictures, but then I want you to return it to me post haste! I'll get you a copy of them, when I have time!"

The girl smiled ever wider and said again, "Thank you, Franchesca!"

"You can thank me..." she quipped as she headed up the stairs, "...by keeping your room clean so I don't have to!"

Stepping up next to Erica, Faith joined her in watching Franchesca ascend the stairs. Once she'd disappeared around the corner of the upstairs landing, Faith said, "Wow! She hugged you? She must really like you!"

Everyone except Fredrick giggled at Faith's remark, and even he cracked a half smile, removing it before anyone noticed.

Heather directed Erica back to the bench to remove the boots, while the two young girls looked at the pictures on Franchesca's camera. Once done, Fredrick took the outerwear to put away while Heather directed both girls upstairs to change for breakfast. The two raced upstairs, ran to their now shared wardrobe, and flung the doors open to decide what they should wear.

Erica was torn. On the one hand, she wanted desperately to go out and play in the snow for the first time, which necessitated a warmer winter weight outfit. On the other hand, it would be the first time she could chose a dress to wear for herself and wanted it to be pretty.

Faith made several suggestions before Erica found one dress that she felt could fit both desires. It was a heavier broadcloth, so it was warm and soft to the touch. The design was a simple girl's A-line with mid-length eyelet sleeves, a scoop neck with a V-shaped lace fringed white eyelet collar with a thin pink ribbon woven though the eyelets at the edge. Darts at the waist of the skirt flared to a wide hemline trimmed in a floral lace that came down to mid-calf. The material was patterned in pink and white gingham, giving it an older but very pretty look with the accents. It also had a sash tie at the waist to draw in her figure, which helped to offset the child-like style that would otherwise make Erica look younger than her age.

Once the two girls had picked their outfits, Faith started to undress at her bedside as she always did. Erica blushed as she gathered up her things and started for the bathroom.

"Why are you taking your clothes in the bathroom?" Faith inquired. "I'm going to need that in a few minutes!"

Biting her lower lip, Erica was suddenly very self-conscious of stripping bare in front of her cousin. "Um... I just thought..."

Faith interrupted her stammering. "Just get dressed out here with me! It's warmer out here than in the bathroom!"

Trying to figure a way out of her predicament, Erica dropped the majority of her clothes on the bed except the bra, panties, and slip. Taking just those into the bathroom, she stated, "I'll be out in a minute or two!" and closed the door behind her. Undressing quickly and dropping her dirty clothes in the wicker hamper, she donned her undergarments as fast as she could manage. While struggling with the bra, a gentle knock came at the door.

"Are you almost done in there?" Faith asked.

Struggling with the training bra, she answered brokenly. "Just... give... me... another... minute!" she panted.

While Erica continued to struggle, the door cracked open. Seeing her cousin facing away from her and having so much trouble, Faith entered the bathroom and came up behind her. "Here, let me help." she said blandly.

Erica nearly jumped out of her skin as Faith spoke and suddenly, without any warning, started pulling at the straps of her borrowed training bra. "Yeeeaaahhhh!" she cried out.

Her eyes widened and Faith stepped back, startled at the reaction. "Erica! You scared me!"

Having nearly climbed the far wall over the pedestal sink, Erica slowly slid back down. "I scared you? You about scared the life out of me, Faith!"

Undaunted, Faith put her hands on Erica's shoulders, spun her around to face the sink, grabbed the back of the training bra, and pulled it down. Smoothing out the twists in the shoulder straps, she bade Erica turn around to face her. Seeing Erica blushing profusely as Faith straightened out the cups of the bra against Erica's non-existent breasts, she smiled shyly and tried to console her cousin. "I know you don't have anything up front, Erica. It's no secret! It's also nothing to be ashamed of! Lots of girls our age haven't started to develop yet! You're still the prettiest girl I know!"

Feeling her heart in her throat as Faith futzed with the bra overly long, Erica just stood there like a silly lump and let her do whatever she wanted.

"Take your slip out with you. I need the bathroom." she demanded. "I'll be out in a few minutes to help you get dressed!"

Erica grabbed the slip and stepped out sideways to avoid bumping into Faith, facing away from her the entire time. After stepping back into their shared room, she went over to the bed. Deciding to wait on the slip as it would make putting on tights more difficult, she picked up the white tights and sat at the vanity.

Following the example her aunt set the morning before, she started putting them on. She was just pulling them up over her rear when she heard the toilet flush and the sink faucet turn on. Hurrying, she dashed over to the bed and grabbed the slip, pulling it over her head just as the bathroom door opened and Faith returned to their bedroom.

Smiling as she passed Erica, Faith picked up Erica's dress, unzipped the back, and held it up as high as she could. "OK. Put your arms up and step in." she instructed.

Faith's shorter stature conspired with Erica's lack of experience at putting on dresses, making her lean too far forward trying to push her arms up the dress and into the sleeves. Losing her balance, Erica fell into her cousin, knocking Faith back and onto their bed while she slipped down the side.

Mortified, Erica could scarcely move, now trapped by her awkward position, the side of the bed, and Faith's legs. For her part, Faith found the entire situation hysterical and began giggling, which did nothing to help Erica's embarrassment. After a moment, Erica felt Faith's legs move off her back, finally freeing her to be able to stand once more, albeit with some difficulty as her arms were still trapped sticking straight up in the bodice.

"Here. Let me help." smiled Faith. Coming around behind Erica, she put her hands on Erica's waist, steadying her until she could stand on her own. Taking the sides of the hem in each hand, she tugged the dress down until it settled into place and Erica could lower her arms. After she closed the zipper up the back, Faith suggested, "Maybe next time we should just try having you step into the dress. You can't do that when you're wearing a petticoat, but this dress has crinoline built in, so you can just step into it."

"Why didn't you say that before?" Erica giggled lightly.

She paused in the middle of tying the sashes into a bow. "I guess I just didn't think of it. Can you grab the knot with your fingers so I can pull it tight?"

Reaching behind her back, Erica fumbled around until Faith directed her hand to where the loose knot was. Pinching it, Faith drew the sashes together, tightening the dress around Erica's waist and narrowing it like a corset. "Does it have to be so tight?" Erica begged.

"Yup." Tightening the bow in place Faith said, "OK, you can let go now." Fiddling with the bow for another minute she exclaimed, "There! All nice and pretty! Now you can help me, and then we'll do each other's hair!"

She followed Faith around to the side of the bed nearest the vanity, the one they agreed would be 'Faith's side'. Watching her cousin walk ahead of her in nothing but her undergarments gave Erica a funny feeling. The swish of her own dress's crinoline against her legs as she walked seemed to make it even more acute. Holding her belly she noted, "I wonder if I might be getting sick. I feel sort of queasy."

Faith immediately stopped and turned around to face Erica. Putting the back of her hand against Erica's brow, she waited a moment before putting a hand on Erica's left chest, just over the training bra. "Well, you sort of feel warm to me, your cheeks are flushed, and your heart is beating like a rabbit! You should tell Mamma."

Erica's eyes grew wide. "But she might make me stay inside! I just can't, Faith! Not today!"

"I guess I understand." Faith shrugged. "I think if I were in California and about to take my first trip to see the Pacific Ocean, I wouldn't want to tell Mamma I was feeling ill." Turning back to finish walking to her side of the bed, she picked up her tights, donned them in seconds standing in place, and then dropped her slip over her head. "What are you going to do?"

Erica noticed that once she was focused on the snow outside, her stomach quieted down, her cheeks felt cooler, and she couldn't feel her heartbeat in her neck anymore. "That's weird! It's OK! I'm starting to feel better."

Looking back at her cousin with a smirk, Faith picked up her own dress. "Uh-huh! Suuuure! I promise I won't tell!"

While Faith stepped into her dress, Erica came up behind her to help the same way Faith had. "No, seriously. Maybe it was falling down and getting frustrated that made me feel sick. I feel fine, now." Erica zipped up Faith's pale blue dress with Faith holding her long blonde curls away from the back of her neck. She watched as Faith spun in place and kissed her on the cheek with a giddy smile.

"Thanks, Erica!" she sung. Faith watched as Erica's cheeks, which just moments ago were indeed no longer flushed red, blushed again and she could almost see Erica's pulse rise on her thin neck. Puzzled, she cocked her head to one side again. "OK, that is weird! You did look fine for a second, then when I kissed you, you got all red and flustered..." Stopping mid-sentence, her eyes grew wide and a smile crept back across her pink lips. "Are you embarrassed that I kissed you?"

The slightly younger girl shook her head as she walked over to the vanity once more. "Not really embarrassed... it's just..." She searched for the right words as she took her seat. Faith came up behind her, picked up the brush, and started brushing out Erica's dirty-blonde hair.

An eternity passed while Faith waited for Erica to explain her reaction before Faith offered her own. "Come to think of it, you were like that when I was helping you get dressed. You got all red then too, which was before I kissed you."

Erica shrugged as Faith worked on a knot in her hair. "Like I said... it's not embarrassed... it's... something else. I don't know what it is, but it happens whenever I see a pretty girl."

Swallowing hard, Faith stopped brushing. "You... you think I'm pretty?"

Looking in the mirror at her cousin, Erica nodded. "Sure! You're more than pretty! You're beautiful!"

This time it was Faith's turn to blush and get a fluttery feeling. Looking down and feeling shy, she replied, "You're just saying that!"

Erica shook her head and turned to face Faith directly, looking up at the blonde girl with a slightly dreamy expression. "Oh no, Faith! I really mean it! I think you're about the most beautiful girl I've ever known! Even prettier than..." As she spoke, a wave of sadness crashed over her entire being as the memory of the night before came back into her mind.