1. Author: Ben Dolce Date: 2 December 2016
Subject: Three sisters Style: 1800's classic
Hills Length: 3 Paragraphs
Countryside Revision: 5
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*** 1862 ***
It was late November in the Denver countryside and the nights were getting cold. Nora was a plain
looking twenty-two year old woman with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She slowly woke
from her slumber, pushed the colorful handmade quilt aside, and could see both of the other beds in
the room were empty. After a moment she started to feel the cold and she rose from her well stuffed
feather bed. Still groggy from a poor night's sleep, she put on a robe and crocheted slippers for
warmth and then made her way to the fireplace in the well furnished parlor. The pinewood floors were
brutally cold, even through her slippers, so she made sure to walk on the hand knotted carpets where
she could. After throwing some logs on the night's remaining coals, she stared pensively at the
crackling fire as it struggled to come back to life. Nora was still riled about the argument from the night
before with her sister, Carol who was three years younger, and could not clear her memory of it. She
knew they should not argue so; after all it was just the two of them now. Their youngest sister, Bella,
had passed at age fifteen succumbing to scarlet fever. It had happened just a couple months past and
the death still weighed heavy on her heart. She convinced herself depression was why she argued so
vehemently with Carol about the quilt which had belonged to her late sister. It irked her that it was
missing and she had even gone so far as to accuse Carol of taking it.
She then realized Carol was not in the parlor as was usual for this time of morning. Nora moved to the
kitchen and found that empty as well. So she returned to her bed chambers and dressed. Not in the
usual fine corsets and pretty dresses, there were too many chores to do this day so she chose a more
appropriate maroon skirt with a beige jacket. She hurried to fasten all the buttons and pull on her
boots as she was sure she might catch her sister doing something improper. Carol was acting odd the
last couple of days and she was certain her sister was up to mischief. Finally, Nora placed a straw hat
on her head and wrapped a knitted shawl over her shoulders for additional warmth then headed out to
the barn. That was when she spied Carol under the leadened sky on the edge of a fallow corn field.
It sat on a semi-flat piece of land between the tree covered hills that dominated the area. Nora made
her way out into the field through the winter oats, expecting an icy reception from Carol after their
having words. But she found Carol on her knees, head hung low, praying with her hand placed on top
of a mound of earth. She was still garbed in her nightgown with only her robe to keep her warm.
Carol was also weeping. Nora asked, “What troubles you, my dear?”
There was a clumsy silence. Carol never lifted her head and finally answered through her tears. “Two
nights past I heard Tess whimpering in the barn and went to see what was the matter. She was
