Chapter 3 – The Mischievous Twins
The morning after their first task, Clara woke with a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation. The warm glow from the Wishing Bell still lingered in her thoughts, though she forced herself to push it aside. Today was the second assignment — another pairing task that promised more chaos than comfort.
As she met Sara outside her apartment, Sara nudged her with a grin. "Ready for task number two? I heard the librarian's twins are… well, something else this year."
Clara groaned. "Please don't tell me it involves another ladder."
Sara laughed. "No ladders, just two very energetic kids who think decorating their rooms is an Olympic sport."
When Clara arrived at the town library, the twins greeted her and Ethan with wide-eyed excitement. "We get to decorate for Christmas!" the boy exclaimed, while his twin sister immediately began rearranging tiny ornaments on the shelves.
Ethan shot Clara a glance, both silently acknowledging that surviving this task would require patience — and possibly a little tolerance for chaos.
As they organized garlands, lights, and festive trinkets, the twins ran around, laughing, shouting, and occasionally hiding decorations in odd places. At one point, they tied a string of tinsel to a chair, creating a small obstacle course. Clara tripped and nearly fell, and Ethan caught her just in time.
"You always do this," Clara muttered, brushing imaginary dust from her coat.
"And you always expect me not to," Ethan shot back, a smirk tugging at his lips.
The chaos reminded them of college, and a laugh escaped Clara. "Remember the time we tried to sneak cookies into the display at Mrs. Dalrymple's shop? And you ended up with frosting all over your nose?"
Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. "How could I forget? You almost got us caught laughing in the supply closet."
For a fleeting moment, their old camaraderie returned, filling the room with warmth despite the twins' chaos. But the memory of the betrayal, the incident that drove them apart, lurked just beneath the surface. Clara's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression.
"Well," she said, placing a garland carefully along a shelf, "I think we've had enough nostalgia for today. Let's focus on finishing this task properly, okay?"
Ethan nodded, his jaw tightening slightly. The playful laughter had reminded them of better times, but reality — and the walls they'd built between each other — remained.
The twins, oblivious to the adults' tension, ran off to play another prank, giggling as they tangled a ribbon around the library's small bell. Clara and Ethan exchanged a look, both silently agreeing that surviving the day together required more teamwork than either had expected.
By the time the library was decorated, the room glowed with festive warmth. The twins were exhausted but thrilled, and Clara and Ethan shared a brief, grudging smile. Task two complete, yet the distance between them — unspoken, unresolved — still lingered, waiting for the right moment to resurface.l