Letters Through the Snow

Chapter One The First Blank Page January 1945 Clara began the new year by counting the letters in the biscuit tin. There were seventeen. None had been posted. She almost felt foolish until Mrs. Mercer came by with a basket of mending and asked what Daniel had been told about Christmas. Clara read the letter about Peter Ellis and the wrapping paper. Daniel’s mother laughed into her handkerchief. “Put that one on top,” she said. “He ought to read it first.” Outside, Clara’s father was repairing the gate. Its hinges had sagged through two winters, and he had finally decided that waiting for Daniel was no excuse for letting it fall. Clara watched him lift the heavy wood back into place. That evening she wrote about the gate. Then she added something she had not admitted in the other letters. I am frightened today. I still intend to tell you about tomorrow. She folded the page and found room for it in the tin