#midstorm

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Rosie watched the little white balls drift from the sky. She sat behind the shop window where it was warm and toasty. She cuddled with her stuffed dragon friend that Gold got her for Christmas. He didn’t say much, but he was good company. However, as much as she liked being inside, she wanted to go out and catch one of the white crystals with her mouth. They sadly wouldn’t come indoors.

When Mr. Gold wasn’t looking, Rosie jumped down from her perch and scowered the floors. There had to be a way for her to get outside, and she was going to find it.

She went near the front door of the shop. She stared up at it, wondering how she was going to open it. She didn’t have to wonder long though, for the door had swung open suddenly and someone else walked in. They didn’t pause as they headed straight for the front counter. Rosie took the advantage and dashed outside before the door closed behind her.

In front of her was a field of white where the gray and green roads used to be. The snow made the town seem brighter than it usually was. She looked down at her feet, and lifted one to see the small paw print it left behind. She looked back up at the white balls as they now fell down. She began to jump up and catch them in her paws.

Around the third jump, she fell into a pile of snow. As she got up, she started to feel very cold. She shivered as she made her way back to the door. That’s when she realized she had no way back in.

Rosie started to get worried. She began meowing aloud hoping Gold would hear and let her in.

“Hey there, little guy,” a coice called.

Rosie looked above her to see a tall noy looking down at her. He had short brown hair, wore a very thick jacket with a striped scarf, and he looked so mixh younger than Gold.

He scooped down to pick Rosie up. She was at eye level with his smiling face. To her, he looked very happy and caring. His eyes reminded her of Mr. Gold. “Who do you belong to?” he asked.

She tried to tell him ‘Mr. Gold’, but all that came out was a tiny meow. 

In response, the boy scratched her head. “You have a collar, so you must belong to someone,” he mused.

Just then, the shop door opened and out walked Mr. Gold. “Hello, Henry- Rosie?” he looked curiously at the kitten.

The kitten meowed happily, but she didn’t make any moves to leave Henry’s arms. The boy’s jeacket felt soft anyway.

Rosie felt the boy tense up at the site of her owner, but he showed no fear on his face. “Is this your kitten, Mr. Gold?” he asked politely.

The older man nodded, and slightly bent down, leaning on his cane, to look at Rosie. “How did you get out of the shop?” he asked Rosie, bopping her nose with his finger.

Rosie meowed and licked his finger. Mr. Gold stood back up. “It’s getting rather cold out here, Henry,” he said. “Where’s your mother?”

Henry shrugged sadly. “She’s busy at work, and I was on my way to Archie’s.”

“I see,” he muttered. He chewed on his lip, looking down at the kitten’s big eyes and how comfortable she looked in Henry’s arms. “Why don’t you come inside for a bit and warm up? You can play with Rosie at a safe distance from the valuable stuff.“

Henry wasn’t sure whether or not it sounded like a good idea. But he’d never known Mr. Gold to harm other children. Not to mention getting out of the snow sounded nice, and he could play with a kitten. His mom would never let him have pets. “Sure,” he nodded.

Mr. Gold put an arm around Henry, and led him inside.

……………………

Gold made Henry a warm cup of hot chocolate as he sat near the window. The boy had taken his big jacket off so Rosie could cuddle up inside it to warm up. Every now and then, he would slip his fingers under a piece of fabric and move it around so she would try to catch it.

“Where did you get this kitten, Mr. Gold?” Henry asked.

“She had wondered into my house in the middle of a rainstorm,” he answered as he arranged some of the shop items, not glancing at them. “I took pity on the poor thing and let her live with me.”

“I see…” the boy replied thoughtfully.

Mr. Gold then went back to the front counter and started writing things down in his giant ledger book. Henry then reached for his bag and pulled out a thick book of his own.

Curiously, Rosie crept out of the jacket and crawled up to the boy’s elbow so she could see the book. She couldn’t read as well as Gold could, but she loved to stare at the words on the pages as he read. This book, however, had more pictures in it than text. She looked amazed at the photos as the boy turned the page.

He stopped for a moment on a photo of a tall woman wearing a long, silky black dress and held an apple in her hand. Rosie could’ve sworn the woman looked like the mean Regina lady.

She placed a paw in the crook of Henry’s elbow, causing the boy to glance at her. “Do you wanna see?” He asked, moving the book as a gesture.

In response, Rosie jumped over his arm and into his lap. Henry giggled, then balanced the book on his legs so she could see. He pointed at the picturw of the lady. “I have a theory,” he started whispering to her, “that this woman is my mom.”

Rosie looked up at him at that. Did he mean that the evil Regina lady was his mother? How could that be? Weren’t mothers supposed to be nice?

“She’s not my real mom, though,” he continued. “I was adopted.” He then started turning more pages until he stopped on a page with two people, a man and a woman, pictures there. “I think these two are my real grandparents,” he continued. “They sent my mother to this world so she could one day save everyone from the curse this town is under.”

Rosie stared at the faces of the characters for a moment. They did look a little worried in the photo. Maybe it was because of the curse Henry spoke of?

He started to explain the curse more to her as he kept turning pages. From what she understood, everyone in this town is in this book, but the Evil Queen wanted to bring everyone out of the boom world and into this world because she didn’t want anyone else to be happy. It sounded like something the evil Regina lady would do…

When he started turning the page again, she batted the page to stay down. A big photo had caught her eye.

On the page was a green man holding a woman with brown hair bridal style. They were both looking at each other with wonder in their eyes. Rosie had seen those looks before on the magic box. When two people looked at each other like that, it meant they were in love.

“That’s Belle and Rumpelstiltskin,” Henry answered for her. “He saved her kingdom, and she agreed to be his maid in return. They both fell in love, but Rumpelstiltskin scared her away…”

She didn’t hear the rest of his words. She was busy staring at the man’s face. To her, Rumpelstiltskin looked a lot like Gold.

Rosie’s thoughts were interrupted when they heard the bell above the door go off. She and Henry looked up to see a tall man with curly orange hair look down at them.

“Hello, Henry,” the man greeted. “Mr. Gold called me and told me you’d be here.”

Henry mumbled something under his breath, then looked down at the floor ashamed. “I’m sorry Archie. I stopped in here to get away from the cold, but I lost track of time.”

“It’s alright,” the man assured him. “I’m just glad you’re safe and sound.”

“You won’t tell my mom I accidentally missed the meeting?”

Archie knelt down to Henry’s level. “It’ll be our little secret,” he grinned. He then took notice of the small kitten in his lap. “And who is this little one?” He scratched the top of Rosie’s head. The kitten purred in response.

“Her name is Rosie,” Henry replied. “She’s Mr. Gold’s cat.”

Archie arched his eyebrow at him. “That’s funny, I’d never peg Mr. Gold as a cat person.”

“I’m more a ‘non-animal’ person if you ask me,” Gold replied, making his presense known.

Archie stood up quickly, startled by the other man’s sudden appearance. “Thank you for looking after Henry, Mr. Gold.”

“It was no problem,” he replied. “He was good company for the cat.”

Archie nodded, then turned bavk to Henry. “I think it’s about time we start heading back to your home. I told your mother I would walk you back after our session.”

“Okay,” the young boy replied. He gave Rosie a small hug and gently placed her on the window seat.

Rosie’s ears drooped. She didn’t want to see her new friend go home, especially since his home was with the Evil Queen.

As Henry put his jacket on, Gold spoke up and said, “Henry, if you like, you are welcome to come and visit with Rosie anytime you’d like.”

Henry’s eyes lit up for a moment. “Really?”

Mr. Gold nodded. “As long as it’s okay with your mother, it’s fine with me.”

Henry smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Gold. I’ll come and visit tomorrow after school.”