It was one of the coldest days of the year. I walked outside greeted by the frosty wind blowing my crazed and wavy, light red hair about my face. I pushed it back from my face and tied my cream knit scarf more tightly around my neck, and pulled the matching knit cap down over my ears. I turned around and locked the front door, and jiggled the handle checking it. Then I turned around and shoved my hands in the pockets of my green Pea Coat and walked off my front porch, heading for the woods by my house.
With a sketch book tucked under my arm and pencils in my messenger bag, I was planning on drawing today. I fresh snow had started to fall when I'd looked out my window this morning, so I thought the scenery would be pretty. Making my way down the sidewalk towards the patch of trees, I saw that a thin layer of snow blanketed all the houses, trees, and cars.
My mom went to visit a sick relative out of state. I didn't really know the person my mom went to go see. Some great uncle, or something. My mom didn't think leaving a 16 year old in charge of 10 year old for 4 weeks was a good idea, so she took my sister with her. My dad no longer lived with us, so I was left alone. I would have gone, but I just got out of school for winter break. I wanted to spend my time at home. Mom understood and told me she left some extra cash in my bank account and said to call her every night before bed. To make sure I was doing okay.
Reaching the lining of the woods, I found the trail easily. It was wide enough for three people to walk beside each other comfortably. They kept it clear, and it was beautiful in the autumn, when the leaves fell. However, it was the most beautiful I'd seen it in awhile. Winter had always been my favorite season. Spring coming in a close second. I loved winter, not because of the cold, the snow, or even the hot cocoa that the cold brought with it. I loved all the wonderful holidays it had.
Walking onto the trail I found a bench after about five minutes of strolling. I cleared the thin layer of snow and seated myself, criss-crossing my legs as I did. I opened my bag and sat it next to me, digging my pencils out. After situating myself I began a rough outline of the beautiful and natural foliage canopy above where I was sitting. I listened to the sounds of the peaceful winter. Not really hearing much, though, as all the little creatures where still sleeping.
I stopped drawing and grabbed the Thermos of hot cocoa out of my bag. Unscrewing the lid I took a swig, and as I did, I felt the disturbance of someone sitting next to me. A gust of wind coming with it and ruffling the off-white skirt, layered with white stockings I put on for the day. Still holding the Thermos to my mouth I glanced out of the corner of my eye at a strange boy squatting beside me. I gulped quickly and lowered the yummy drink.
The boy looked about 17, more or less. Sporting a blue-hooded sweatshirt with frost detail around the shoulders of it. Underneath that he wore pants bound with lighter material starting from the knee down to the rather tattered and frayed bottom. What I noticed the most, however, was that he wore no shoes. Resting beside him was what looked to be a Shepherd's Crook, with frost etching up the sides. His physical features consisted of white, almost silver, shaggy hair, pale skin, and stunning ice blue eyes.
He had my sketch book in his hand, while examining it with a bemused expression. "Hey. What are you doing?" I asked quietly.
He glanced at me and looked back to the drawing. Then suddenly he turned gaping, looking utterly in shock. I leaned back quickly, my turquoise eyes just as wide as his. "W-What?" I asked in a small voice.
He moved himself ever closer to me, eyes sparkling with excitement. "You're not saying you can see me, are you?"
"Uhm..." I was confused at his question. "Is it bad that I can? I'm pretty certain it's normal to see someone..." I finished matter-of-factly.
"If you knew who I was then you would understand." He smiled.
I raised an eyebrow sitting up straight again. He leaned back as well. "Um, who are you then?" I smiled back uneasily.
"Promise not to freak out. Okay?" He pleaded.
"Okay, I won't." I stated calmly.
He gave me a half-hearted smile, obviously not believing me all the way. Sighing, he says, "I'm Jack. Jack Frost." He waits for my reaction.
"Uhm, is that supposed to mean something?" I ask, slightly confused. "I mean, it's a lovely name and all, but why would I flip-out? I'm Aislinn Blake, by the way. Pleasure to meet you." I hold a gloved hand out to him.
He takes it smiling wider, "I don't think you get it. I'm THE Jack Frost." His hand was freezing underneath my glove. I looked up into his crystal eyes. My face lost all emotion and paled. I swallowed hard as he gripped my hand tighter.
"No way.." I breathe. A smile began slowly creeping up my face. "Y-You're saying that you are the ACTUAL winter spirit Jack Frost. The one who makes the snow and stuff?" I beam up at him.
He seems taken aback but smiles slightly, taking his hand away and scratching behind his ear in sudden embarrassment. "Uhm, yeah. Haha. The one and only!" he declares.
I get up, moving to stand in front of him. I lean over slightly, so I'm eye-level with the boy. "I always knew you were real." I whisper, further inspecting the winter spirit before me. I shoot up, standing straight. I begin to jump up and down in joy. "That means, Santa; the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are real, too! What about the Sandman and stuff. Are they real?!" I ask excitedly.
Jack nods vigorously. "Definitely. All real. I know em' personally. Although, the Easter Bunny is a real pain in the a-"
"I KNEW IT!" I cut him off without notice. I continue to spin around happily. I suddenly stop and fix my turquoise eyes on him again. "Hey Jack?"
I notice he was staring at me fondly, but at the mention of his name he snaps out of it. "Yes?" He asks, a soft, hardly visible pink dusting his cheeks.
I smile wide, "Can I meet them sometime?"
"Sure, I'll take you to see em' all one day." Jack smiles.
"Sweet!~" I exclaim, sitting down beside him again. I pick up my sketch book off the ground and continue to draw. I notice him watching me, but ignore it. "So", I start, "Jack. What do spirits, such as yourself, do for fun?" I look over at him smiling devilishly, "Except, ofcourse, meddling with people."
Jack chuckles at this, "Why don't I show you?" He stands up and offers his hand, picking his staff up with the other.
I give him a raised eyebrow in inquiry, but he just wiggled his own eyebrows, daring me. I sighed in defeat and put my things away in my bag. After slinging my bag over my shoulder, I stood up and took his hand.
"Don't get weirded out, but I gotta hold onto you." He said this as he pressed me up against him. Strangely, I'm not creeped out by this. I look up at him and Jack winks at me. "Better hold onto me, too." He smiles mischievously at me. I comply and shift so that I jump onto his back, like he's giving me a piggy-back ride.
Jack leaps and suddenly we are both floating. "This", he starts, "is what I do for fun!" Before I knew it we were soaring over the tree tops. I grab around his neck holding on tighter, giggling as a silly filling fills my stomach. Soon, we're passing my house and the rest alike in my neighborhood. We pass over corn fields and, eventually,cities.
I figured I would have been scared to death, but honestly, things like this are thrilling to me. I'm always the one to go on the biggest rides at the amusement parks and such. A "thrill-seeker", as my mom calls me. Hardly being scared of anything at all... Well, that's not true. While I can view any scary movie, play any horror game, or going through any haunted houses, I'm still afraid of one thing.
Dying alone.
I can't stand the thought. The thought rocks me to my core, and, excuse the language, scares the ever loving shit out of me. Being alone is painful enough, but never finding that one person to spend life with, is terrifying.
As I'm thinking of this, the whipping of my wild orange mane begins to cease. I finally get the sensation of being really cold. Jack lands and I hop, my legs are prickly and wobbly, having fallen asleep. I begin to pitch forward but Jack catches me with the crook of his staff, pulling me to him. I trip over my still numb feet, and smack into his chest with my own. I end up looking up at him, seeing as how he was almost a foot taller than I.
"Easy there." Jack chuckles as I feel a warm blush on my face. His eyes widen a fraction and he smiles widely. "You're pretty cute when you blush."
WHOA WHOA WHOA! What was that? Did he jus- This can't be happening. Did Jack Frost just call me "cute". I can't hand this. I think this blushing even further. Jack chuckles and, before letting me go, makes sure I can stand properly.
"There we go. Legs must've fallen asleep on the trip here, huh?" Jack asks.
I nod, and realize I'm standing on a mountaintop in ankle-deep snow. "Uhm, Jack? While this place is really pretty and all, where ARE we?" I ask smiling.
"Oh, well after we started flying for awhile, I remembered you saying something about wanting to meet... Santa Clause." He watches my face.
My mouth drops open a bit, "You're joking." He shakes a no. "We come on, then. Let's go see him." I grab his hand and pull him along." He stops, not letting go of my hand, however. "What?"
"First off," he chuckles, "wrong way. Second, you're an odd one. How old are you? I figured people your age stopped believing in us awhile ago. And thirdly, are you gonna be in trouble if you aren't home soon?"
I drop his hand and begin to count off on my fingers, "Whoops, we're going the wrong way?" I giggle and continue. "I'm 16, what's so wrong with still believing in 'you guys'? Thirdly, I'm not gonna be in trouble. I have the house to myself for a weeks. My mom's out of state with my sister."
Jack's eyes widen at this. "Really? Cool! We can do stuff everyday then! I'll keep you company." I look at him in shock. Knowing how much I hate being alone, I smile wide. I throw my arms around his neck, giving him a quick hug. I pull back still keeping my hands on his shoulders.
"Would you really? I hate being alone." I admit to him. He seems surprised at this.
"Really? ..Well..so do I." He says quietly.
We share a comfortable silence, smiling back at each other. I finally let go of his shoulders and take a step back, folding my hands together behind my back. I sway back and forth on my feet, looking up at Jack, pretending to be shy.
"Jack, can I see Santa now?" I ask in a fake innocent voice. I think I may have been to convincing, because he gave me a wide-eyed stare and a soft pink blossomed on his cheeks and tips of his ears.
"U-uhm, yuh, sure." He finally stammered out. I giggled at this and he smiled back a little more confidently. "Gee, your cute. You know that Aislinn?"
I blinked and it was my turn to blush. Mine being darker, albeit. I buried my chin and mouth in my scarf and mumbled, "You think I'm cute?"
He snorted, "Don't read to far into it, kid."
My head snapped up and I snapped playfully. "Hey! Who you callin' kid. You look like your the same age as me."
"I'm over three-hundred years old, Aislinn." Jack said giving me a smirk.
I harrumphed and crossed my arms, "I mean physically. Not technically."
He shrugged and said, "You wanna see Santa or not...kid?" He tagged that on the end and laughed in mischief. I grinned at him and threw a snowball missing him completely.
"Oh, you're gonna get it." Jack started trekking up the mountain away from me, laughing gleefully. "Get back here, ice-boy!"
"Na-na na-na boo-boo! You can't catch me, even if you tried."
"I am trying, Jack!" I was out of breath from chasing him up the mountain and laughing.
Suddenly, the top of the mountain broke, and settled into the side of it was a humongous structure. I knew immediately what it must be: Santa's infamous workshop.