Hey fanfic fam! It's been quite a while, a few years actually. I'm definitely open to critique, and confusion, whatever. Thanks for taking the time to read through this! Disclaimer: I have quite a few OCs but nevertheless, you know the drill. Jack's not mine.
I have encountered many souls in my life. Well actually, we all do. It's just that I'm aware of them.
Souls are a funny thing, they kind of go from one person to another. I don't know if they choose their destination, but when they settle into the first consciousness of life, it becomes that life. Typically in a lifetime, you would never meet the same soul in two different people. Each person has a single soul, that soul is theirs. It remains theirs forever, but moves on and is constantly moving forever. Looking at the timeline of history in the other direction, a soul has existed since humanity has. When the soul leaves a body, it doesn't necessarily find another home right away. It may wait around, breathing in the universe. It does happen though. A restless soul may jump from one home to another. Many times instead, it will rest from its lifetime commitment to a human and wander until it is summoned to bring life into the blood and veins of another life, maybe tomorrow, maybe in two centuries. Even rarer of a case, the moon deems a soul worthy enough to live on forever.
The cycle repeats indefinitely.
A flurry of snowflakes danced in the stinging cold.
"I bet I can dig the deepest snow tunnel!" the bonnet-laden girl named Avelynn exclaimed as she dove beneath the fresh powder. The snow automatically stung her face like a million needles, and she instinctively gasped, accidentally sucking snow into her nose and throat. She quickly surfaced to the sound of her two older brothers' laughter, her face red with embarrassment and cold-flush. She quickly retaliated by packing a snowball and hit her oldest brother Caleb square in the face.
Wintertime was Jack's favorite time of the year, and he tended to follow the path of the biting weather. Jack smiled from the bare branch he was sitting on above the three children, satisfied with the fresh blanket snow.
"Oh yeah?" Ivan, the younger brother taunted, brushing snow off his shoulder. "I bet you can't do this!" He proceeded to quickly pack a snowball together and throw it at the branch Jack was sitting on. Jack easily dodged the snowball, which was actually destined for the snow on the branch, but he pretended they were playing dodgeball with him.
The snowball hit aim and the untouched snow from the branch plopped onto Avelynn. The two boys once again succumbed to a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"Hey, that's not fair." Jack spoke aloud, as if they could hear him. Jack floated over to the branch where the boys, laughing in a fit of hysterics, were standing under. With his staff, he shook the branch in such a manner that the frosty contents of four high branches dumped onto the knit hats of Caleb and Ivan. Avelynn tumbled backwards in laughter.
Jack too chuckled to himself before dismissing his presence to lounge around someplace else. He floated above the canvas of trees and sped away with the wind, greenery blurring past him. He reached the nearest town as the sun began heading west.
Following his nose, he reached a bakery and proceeded to wait for an unsuspecting person to open the door for him. Ding ding. The bell attached to the door frame rang whenever a customer came strolling in. Before getting a chance to even rush in after the middle-aged man who just entered, he heard desperate footsteps approaching him. Maybe not towards him but in his direction.
A young woman no older than nineteen sprinted for the bakery from across the street as well as she could in the ankle deep snow. With a distressed look on her face, she pulled her petticoats up upon reaching the curb whilst holding onto a shoulder bag. Whistles and catcalls followed her as she ran into the bakery in hopes of some sanctuary.
Completely forgetting his plans of -well, he didn't even remember what his plans were anymore- he glided over to where a group of five "men." Rather they were young men just about to exit boyhood, ladened with stupidity and youth.
Ding ding.
The bell rang again. Not wanting to take anymore chances of missing the door, he turned around in a flurry of wind. He then flew inside to follow a middle aged women exit the facility, carrying the wind with him into the bakery.
"Close that door! You're going to let the cold in." From behind the counter of baked goods, a woman screeched at the poor soul nearest the door. The door was promptly shut, papers were picked up, and the buzz of the room hushed. Once again the room filled with the casual mumble and murmur of people.
Jack strolled through, observing how people reacted to him. No, no one in the room could see him. At least that was what he thought. He wasn't quite sure though, everyone he asked never did answer. But instead, he loved knowing that the cold and the wind were always following him as if an air of ice always surrounded him. Taking his place on an empty table in the room's corner, he observed the crowd. He loved the livelihood nature of crowds. Something suddenly called for his attention in his peripheral vision, the young woman.
Even though she couldn't see him, he kept his distance in observing her. She sat at the other end of the room at an empty table in another corner. Her nose was seemingly stuck to a worn leather-bound book, hands still shaking away the cold. Her auburn hair softly glowed the color of firelight, her eyes squinting to read whatever fine print was on the page. Her shoulder bag was stuffed with four loaves of freshly-baked bread, still warm from the oven. Nervously, she glanced outside.
"She's worried about those guys outside." Jack realized, recognizing the agitation that saturated her movements. The young men still stood outside across the street, laughing with anything but joy.
"Not today, boys." Jack mumbled under a fiery breath, eyes as cold as ice. He walked through the window leaving the slightest trail of frost at the edges, not caring for cunningness this time. Looking to make sure the street was empty, he swept his arms into the air and pulled in a raw gust of wind, bitter and cold. He then crossed the street and dragged his staff along the edge of the curb, a fresh coat of slick frost glistened in its wake. Caught off guard by the sudden change in the weather, the five of them slipped over onto the ice-slicked road. Wait? How did that ice get here, thought one of the boys.
Jack looked back at the young woman through the outside window. She was politely covering her mouth, unsuccessfully disguising the fact that she was now the one laughing at them. Tumbling and clumsy in the newfound slipperiness, the five boys limped towards the pub down the street, cursing the snow and the ice.
"You're welcome!" Jack said after them as he fell back into the dying wind. Just as suddenly the wind started up, it receded back into nothing but a chilling breeze.
Ding ding.
"So long, Jane!" a voice rang from the open bakery door. Jack's head snapped to the wooden door.
"Goodbye, Missus," she replied with a wave of her hand.
"Jane," Jack whispered under his breath.
Jane looked around skeptically, trying to logically understand how the wind swelled and fell in such a short amount of time. Cautiously looking around, she wrapped a red scarf tightly around her neck and proceeded towards an unknown destination.
Jack cautiously floated above her, curious of where she would be heading at such a late hour. Any light that would be in the sky was absorbed by the sun, and the reign of the moon was to begin any moment. The sandman would soon get to work, gracefully pulling strings of light to form the most purest of dreams from children all over the world. Maybe he would stay in the town to watch the fireworks. Realizing that Jane was already out of his sight, he decided against staying and followed her through the woods.
"Don't the leaves look beautiful with this frost?" she spoke to herself, commenting at the intricate works of ornamental ice she saw on the leaves. Jane often did this to keep herself company during these lonely journeys.
"Why thank you, Jane. I quite like doing leaves." he responded, wishing she would answer.
"If only it were like this more of the year." she sighed. Her footsteps crunched over a patch of older snow as she headed over to a small village over the final hill.
"I quite do agree." he said. "It is rather lovely, as I do make the frost and stuff."
The two walked the rest of the way quietly. The sky began to dim, turning the clouds a dark blue-gray color. Just as her destination neared, the sound of a sled rumbled the ground. The two stopped on their journey. She looked around to find the source of the sound; he instinctively floated up to the sky. Sure enough in a few moments, a horse-drawn sled pulled a father and his daughter. The girl lay motionless on the sled, almost exposed if not for a thin sheet that covered her.
"Please help me! Please help my daughter!" He cried to Jane.
"What is the matter, sir?"
"She fell sick. We live in the country side, there is no one else there. I had to take her where we may find food or shelter."
Jack felt his stomach grow heavy at the sight of the young girl, no older than six. Jane automatically pulled off her cape, scarf and hood and put them on the ice cold girl. She didn't even feel the cold, her blood on fire with adrenaline and her mind focused on one thing, saving the girl.
"Come, this way!" she exclaimed, pointing to the small town where her home was. The father motioned Jane to quickly jump onto the sled, which she obliged. They raced through the last downhill stretch towards the village. Jack raced after them from high above, not wanting to bring in anymore wind onto the young girl. Upon reaching the town, they made a sharp turn into a modest townhouse. Peeking through the window, Jack looked as Jane pulled her mother in from another room. They prepared warming medicines and settled the young girl onto a bed, covering her in warm furs. Within a few minutes, the girl began stirring. Her father, attentively on guard, breathed a sigh of relief when her small eyes opened.
"Daddy, what happened?" Her voice was soft, innocent, barely audible over the sound of the wind howling outside.
"You will be okay, love. Rest now." He replied assuringly.
Jane returned with a warm bowl of broth and a chunk of fresh bread.
"Please, stay as long as you need. She may share bunk with my younger sister in the other room if it pleases you. A fire is running and we have dry clothes ready."
Any traces of anxiety that creased the father's face melted. "If there is anything I can do to pay back, you will have it. I can never thank you enough." He said in a hush tone, noticing that his daughter was drifting back to sleep. The time was still six in the evening, the family dinner was almost ready. Jack felt a presence behind him, and turned around to see two boys racing towards the door.
"Hey, it's you two again." Jack said, nodding at Caleb and Ivan in familiarity. They stormed inside with a ruckus, snow trailing their steps.
"Boys!" their mother whisper-shouted as best as she could without waking the sleeping girl. "I want you to wash up and wash up quickly. We have guests."