Frank couldn't believe it. He had asked his grandmother for help carving a wooden statue of the god Hades. It was small and would fit in the palm of his hand, but Frank thought Nico would appreciate it. This year, he was making gifts not only for his family, but for Hazel's.

Frank's grandmother sat beside him, watching as he struggled to shape the wood with his knife. "Remember to hold the knife away from you," she said. "I don't want my clumsy ox of a grandson to cut his finger off."

Frank nodded and repositioned his knife. "Neither do I."

     His mother came over. "How is it coming along?"

    "Uhh," Frank said. "Take a look."

       He set down his knife and placed the block of wood in his mother's eyes. It didn't look like that much yet, but he couldn't expect it to be perfect after spending all morning on it, could he? "Keep at it," Emily said, handing the carving back to her son.

     Frank smiled and returned to carving. As he shaped the wood breath his fingers, he thought of Hazel. Seeing her yesterday head bern great and he wished the winter would end, so that they could spend their days together again. Every moment without her felt slower, as if Kronos was deliberately making his time without her stretch out.

      Frank found his thoughts wandering. He imagined stumbling on a fortune and showing Hades his wealth. He'd convince her dad that he'd value her more than any gold. Hazel would give him a soft kiss on the cheek when their betrothal was announced and thy'd begon preparing for the wedding.

    Frank could see it happening. He'd buy cloth dyed with Tyrian purple for Hazel's chiton to woven from. She'd wear enough gold to power a small polis, but none of it would compare to the sweet words they'd share on their wedding night. She's flower him with kisses and he'd woo her with poetry. In this daydream, all of his clumsiness was gone and he was an eloquent as a lyric poet. Every word he'd say wold be beautiful, but a thousand of them were not as precious as a single of Hazel's smiles.

     Frank felt someone rapping hm on the shoulder. "Fai! Fai, are you even awake?"

    Startled, Frank jumped and dropped both the knife and the carving. He blushed as he picked it up, not meeting his grandmother's stern gaze. "What's gotten into you?" She asked. "Do you think your father ever got distracted like that in battle. No — he was fighting instead of daydreaming. Why, your great-great grandfather fought Heracles. Is this what he should've desired from his descendants?"

     Frank lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, grandmother."

    "As you should be," she snorted.

     "Now, let's not be harsh on Frank," Emily said. "I dream too, son, but remember to work towards your dreams."

    Frank nodded and lifted his chin. "Of course I will. I'm a Zhang and that's what we do."

***

Hazel laid the vellum paper on a block of wood, which she balanced on her knee. She used her fingers to make art. She couldn't afford many pigments, so she used soot from her family's hearth and powdered dirt that she had collected in the summer.

       Hazel hoped that Frank would like the gift she was making him. The idea had come to her while she was trying to fall asleep and she woke up with the thought fresh in her mind.

     The rest of the household was also busy preparing for the Dionysus. Maria bustled around the house, cleaning everything. Hazel had tried to help her, but Maria wanted to work alone. She swept the floor, washed the dishes, and cleaned their small, wooden altar until it gleamed.

     Nico has been sleeping more then normal and he was still laying on his mat, a wool blanket draped over his still body. Hades stoked the fire from time to time and sat by it, sipping watered down wine and exchanging occasional smiles with his wife. The scene was cozy, but it somehow seemed empty without Bianca. She had always been so full of life and Hazel found herself thinking of her sister almost as much as she thought of Frank.

    When I finish this drawing, she thought, I'll make one for Bianca. The idea cheered her up and she went back into the flow of drawing. Everything else disappeared while Hazel was in this state. The slight draft in the house, the crackling of the fire, Nico's snores — they all disappeared as Hazel's fingers flew.

      Only when she finished the drawing did she become aware of her surroundings again. Her fingers and arms now felt sore and she looked at her drawing. She had depicted a herd of goats led by a piping goatherd. The ash pigment gave the drawing a hazy, soft feeling and Hazel liked it.

     She set the drawing aside and took a break to eat something before starting on her drawing for Bianca. She decided to draw a temple to Artemis. She didn't know what Bianca's temple looked like, but she had seen enough temples and shrines to imagine one. She sketched a temple with ionic columns and a statue of Artemis accompanied by one of her hunting dogs.

Bianca, depicted as a priestess, tended the altar, which was outside the temple. Hazel smudged her fingers against the door to give the impression of smoke rising from the altar. Then, she drew more figures around the temple: other priestesses and petitioners hoping to pray to the goddess. "That's a beautiful drawing."

Hazel turned around to see Nico, bleary-eyed. His hair was mussed and his tunic wrinkled. It was obvious that he had just woken up. "Can I hold it?" Nico asked.

Hazel nodded and handed the piece of velum over to her brother. She saw a tear running down his face. "I know this is what she wants, but it still breaks my heart. Does that make me selfish?"

Hazel reached over to hug her brother. "No. Your statement itself reveals the opposite. Besides, I know you: you'd have your life for Bianca in a heartbeat."

She hugged her brother as he cried and resolved that she would do her best to stay nearby when she married.