Read As White as Snow for Free Online

straighter, to speak in a firmer tone.
    Lumikki weighed her answer. She couldn’t say that she completely believed Lenka’s story. It was a lot to swallow at once. Lumikki had heard so many lies that sounded true in her life that she had learned to be wary. She knew from experience that anyone could smile pretty and swear their friendship one moment and then spit in her face the next.
    The bullies at school had told her over and over that if she just did what they wanted, the violence and humiliation would stop. But it never did. And they’d drawn other students into their schemes, bribing them to lie to Lumikki about all kinds of things. That PE had been canceled the next day or that the principal had asked Lumikki to come to her office. The moments of humiliation when Lumikki realized she had fallen for another one of their traps were burned into her mind.
    Don’t believe anything you haven’t verified yourself.
    The dirty windows of the house stared at Lumikki like bleary eyes. She touched the iron gate, which the sun had heated to an almost uncomfortable temperature. Lumikki felt like she was closer to discovering her own family’s secret than ever before. If she said she didn’t believe she was Lenka’s sister now, would she miss her only chance to uncover the truth?
    “I . . . ,” Lumikki began, but pulled up short when she saw a man had appeared at a second-story window and was looking down at her and Lenka. The man was in his fifties, small with narrow shoulders. His forehead bore deep wrinkles, and his dark eyes glared at them in anger. Lumikki flinched. Lenka followed her gaze, and the man quickly retreated. Lenka pulled the gate key out of her bag. She weighed it in her hand, waiting for Lumikki’s answer.
    Just then, the door to the house flew open and a woman in her sixties marched out wearing the same kind of light-colored linen clothing as Lenka. A long, simple skirt and long-sleeved shirt. Her gray hair was wound in a neat bun behind her head. Long before she reached them, she started yelling at Lenka in rapid, agitated Czech. Now and then, she looked at Lumikki, in her eyes the same antagonism as the man who had appeared in the window. Lenka tried to answer, and from her tone, Lumikki could tell she was trying to defend herself and explain. Grabbing Lumikki, she raised their linked hands up as if to show the woman that they were the same flesh and blood. Lumikki wanted to jerk her hand away. She hated being a pawn.
    The older woman did not relent. Her voice rose. Opening the gate, she seized Lenka so hard by the arm that she cried out in pain and released Lumikki’s hand.
    “You can’t come today,” Lenka whispered to Lumikki.
    Lumikki had figured that out. This reception wasn’t cold, it was downright icy.
    The woman dragged Lenka through the gate and slammed it in Lumikki’s face. Then she even made a shooing gestureand hissed something that sounded entirely made up of consonants. Much less would have sufficed. Lumikki knew she wasn’t wanted.
    Lenka’s head hung down in resignation as the woman led her toward the door, keeping her vise grip on Lenka’s arm. Suddenly, Lenka looked like a little girl who had received a scolding and knew she was in for a more severe punishment on top of it. She didn’t look back. Lumikki shuddered. The situation was strange. Why would a grown woman let herself be treated like that without a single word of protest? It had already been crystal clear to Lumikki that Lenka wasn’t a normal twentysomething, but still, such complete submission suggested the woman had an unreasonable degree of power over her.
    Lumikki couldn’t stand seeing people oppressed. Her fight response kicked in instantly.
    Hoping the older woman didn’t happen to be an expert in Nordic languages, she yelled after Lenka,
“I morgon klockan sjutton i slottets trädgård!”
Tomorrow at five in the castle garden.
    Lenka still didn’t turn, but Lumikki saw her stand just a hair