~Jack and Jill~
Chapter 1- Jill Overland Frost
She always trusted her brother. Even though he was the village's prankster and could never take anything seriously, she trusted and loved him. He was the best big brother ever in her eyes. He was just pure fun shaped into a human boy with brown hair and brown eyes that were always laughing. Instead of worrying about working, he would be trying to get the baby that wouldn't stop crying to laugh and smile. Instead of trying to find a girl to marry, he would be throwing snowballs at them to get rid of that constant pout that girls over the age of 14 seemed to have in their village.
Her friends, and most adults (the excepts being her parents) for that matter, would always ask her, "Why do you trust Jackson? He's your brother but he's such a trouble maker." She really couldn't answer. She just trusted her big brother. Maybe it was because he loved her. She knew it and he knew it too, and wasn't afraid of showing it. He wasn't afraid of braiding her hair and playing with her like most boys were. He would tell her stories of a giant bunny that would deliver colorful eggs on Easter. Of a fairy that went around collecting teeth. Of a large Russian man that would deliver brightly wrapped presents to all the good boys and girls around the world. Of a small golden man who gave children their dreams at night. He would also talk about a tall, dark, skinny man who would give children nightmares and fears because he was alone and wanted people to know that he was there.
Maybe it was because he would always make her laugh and smile, even when she was trying to be angry at him. He would play a trick or two to get her to smile. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't. When tricks didn't work, he would leave gifts or "I'm sorry" presents as he called them. Sometimes it was a bundle of wild flowers. Other times, it would be the blades of her ice skates were polished and buffed. They shared the love of winter and snow and the freezing cold. Often they could be seen skating (her wearing actually skates and Jack barefooted even though he had skates) across the lake by their home or playing in the snow. Their parents nicknamed them "Jack and Jill Frost" for their love of the cold and snow.
Truthfully, maybe it was because her brother would always protect her. When she was six years old, Susan Philips and her gang of friends cornered her, pushing her down and laughing at her. "Jill, you are such a loser. You don't belong here. You're ugly and stupid." The little girl knew this was all because Susan had a crush on Jackson and was upset that he spent all his time with her. Just then, a snowball hit Susan in the face. The band of sixteen year old bullies looked to see who threw the snow, but Jill didn't. She already knew who it was.
"If you touch my little sister again, we are going to have some major problems. And, trust me, they won't be pretty." Jill automatically wrapped her arms around her brother's- her Jackson's- neck when he scooped her up and held her to his chest before he said, "Let's go ice skating, Jill." And then they were off.
Sometime afterwards, as she purposely collided into his legs and hung on, she looked up and said, "Thank you, Jack, for being my guardian." He just smiled; no words were needed. They were happy. But then everything broke a year later.
She didn't see the thin spot on the ice. She skated right on to it and it cracked. Fear wrapped itself around her, freezing her to that spot, and she called out to the only person there. The person she trusted completely because they were "Jack and Jill". Her brother made a game of hopping on the ice just close enough to use the funny looking staff that he found a few years back and switch places with her. They laughed with relief. And then Jack stood up and the ice gave away, dropping her brother into the icy water below.
She screamed. And screamed. She kept screaming her brother's name even when their parents came running to her, her father trying to spot Jack in the hole and her mother trying to calm her down. She wouldn't stop. Her lifeline, her other half, her big brother –the boy who promised to always be there- was gone. Even when her throat became dry and sore, she kept on screaming until everything finally completely came crushing down and she feel into the darkness of dreamless dreams.
The town's sympathy (even though to her, it was all automatic) did very little to fill up the hole in her. Night after night, she would be found curled up on her brother's bed in her brother's clothing. When the next winter came, the winters after that, parents would go and check the ice. When the ice was deemed safe, all the children would go running to skate. All but her. She would just stare and stare at it with such a blank stare that the children thought she turned into a doll. Her friends would ask her why she didn't want to go when it was been a year since her brother was ripped from her and she would stare at them. Minutes would past and then her answer was always the same, "Why would I laugh and skate on the lake when it took Jack away from me?"
Her parents would ask her, less often now that it was been years since his death, "Are you ok, sweetie?" And she would answer back, "No. I'm not ok. My Jack Frost is gone and I can't have him back."