The first things we saw upon entering the square were people, lots and lots of people. At the age of nine, Alec and I barely reached the peoples’ waists, having always been small for our ages. The second things were the rows of booths, selling candy and sweets and toys and everything we could imagine. Alec and I stared around, wide-eyed with wonder. The celebrations seemed so much bigger without our parents.

A boy we knew from class jeered at me, and I snarled back at him. We’d had a fight lately. He said girls were stupid and weak. I told him we were just as tough as boys were, even more so, and proceeded to beat him in a fight, proving my point. His lip, I noted with satisfaction, was still slightly swollen, and his eye not quite recovered from the bruise, though the fight had been two weeks ago.

Alec chuckled, and I realized we must have been thinking along the same lines. “I don’t think he’ll want to fight you again, Jane. You really beat him up badly, didn’t you? He’s still got bruises. I’m glad I’m your twin; you wouldn’t dare fight me.” I growled at him, baring my teeth, and he quickly added, “though you’d beat me, of course, so I wouldn’t try to fight you.”

As we walked around, the table in front of me caught my eye, and I gasped.

“Alec! Look!” He turned his head in the direction of the table I was pointing at and scoffed.

“Really, Jane. Plastic vampire fangs? I thought you were through with believing in those childish fairy tales.”

“They’re not fairy tales,” I muttered. “Vampires are real. Just you wait and see.” He laughed and shrugged.

“Okay, Jane. Tell me once you meet one.” His tone was joking, light. I turned and growled at him.

“They are real. I’ll prove it to you someday.” I walked up to the vendor and stared at him, the picture of innocence in my pink dress. While I despised the clothing, it came in handy at times.

The vendor had brown hair that was turning gray. Wrinkles lined his face like a road map of the years he’d spent on earth, an account of the places he’d done and things he’d seen.