It was almost a year since Pitch's attack on the children, and winter's coming back.
That night, a young boy with snow white hair flew across the sky, over houses and buildings, freezing everything he touched. He went from building to building, house to house, he even froze the trees and other things he saw fit. When he believed it was enough, he gave the final touch, snow.
It was Jack Frost.
This was his first winter as a known Guardian to the children.
He went to different houses, peeking through the windows at the children and smiled at them. It brought happiness to him to see them, and to be seen by them.
He saved his favorite house for last, Jamie's house.
When he saw the lights turn off, he flew to Jamie's room and knocked at his window.
Jamie's face brightened when he saw Jack smiling at him. He jumped out of his bed and quickly opened his window.
"Jack Frost!", he exclaimed as he opened the window. He guided Jack towards his bed and gestured for him to sit down.
"It's been a while, Jamie", he grabbed the boy and playfully rubbed his fist on his head. Jamie giggled in response.
"It's already snowing. It'll be fun to play with the snow tomorrow", Jack said, winking at Jamie.
The smile on Jamie's face slowly faded. He looked down, avoiding Jack's eyes.
"Why? What's wrong?", Jack asked Jamie. Jamie kept his gaze down.
"We'll be leaving tomorrow. My parents plan on visiting our relatives abroad. They said we'll be staying for a couple of months".
"You're leaving? And on winter, too", Jack sighed.
"I asked if I could stay here and just wait for them to come back", he sat next to Jack, arms across his chest. "But they said no, and this was a chance for me to meet my relatives there", he sighed.
Sigh. Jack lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling. "To think I already planned what we'll be playing tomorrow."
"Sorry, it can't be helped".
"Yeah… I guess I'll just save it for next year then", Jack smiled sadly as he sat up.
As the night continued, Jack kept telling Jamie his adventures across the world. He told the kid about the North Pole and how Santa (North) makes the toys for Christmas. He told him about his experience in riding North's sleigh, and that it isn't some rickety old sleigh he'd imagined.
Jamie's eyes brightened when Jack told him how the Easter Bunny makes his eggs and hides millions of them in just one day. He was surprised knowing that his younger sister has already been there, and Jack even saw the hint of jealousy in his eyes.
"I'll ask the Easter Bunny if I can bring visitors there," Jack said, winking at Jamie. As Jack expected, it brightened up the kid's expression and ended up yearning for more stories.
Jack was in the middle of telling him about the little tooth fairies, also known as Baby Tooth, when he saw golden sand floating from the sky to the houses everywhere. This was a signal that it's time for Jamie to sleep. So Jack tucked him to bed and wished him a safe trip for tomorrow.
He went out of the window and closed it.
o-o-o-o-o-o
The next day, when Jack went back to Jamie's house, they already left. Jack was down that he thought his sense of fun will be gone. But he didn't let that happen; he knew Jamie wouldn't like that.
So he straightened himself up and flew around the city to play with the other kids. Jamie isn't the only kid here, right?
He flew from playground to playground, playing with the kids he saw there and creating ice paths for the children riding sleighs.
After a few trips, he took a rest on top of a tall statue at the park and watched the children enjoy his gift for them.
"Hey, Ronald! C'mon, hurry up!", he heard a group of children shout at their friend.
The boy named Ronald rushed out of the house, which was just across the park," I'm here! I'm here!".
"Be careful!", a teenage girl followed him out. The girl obviously was rushing to keep pace with the boy, her hair was a mess, her scarf wrapped awkwardly around her neck, and she left her hoodie unzipped. Even her gloves weren't on yet.
His sister. Jack concluded. They shared a lot of traits, from their auburn hair to their dark grey eyes.
The boy joined his friends and they started telling stories and walking towards the park on the other side.
"I can't wait for Christmas", one of Ronald's friends said. "I've been a very good boy this year", he said, trying to look as innocent as he can.
"Well, I can't wait for spring", a short-haired girl exclaimed.
"Oh c'mon kids. Winter's just started. You should enjoy it! Jack Frost didn't give us snow for nothing", the teenager interrupted.
The children looked at her. "Who's Jack Frost?"
"You don't know Jack Frost?", she asked. "Well, he's the one who makes all these snow", her arms waving with exaggerated movements.
The children watched, amazed at the things the teenager told about Jack Frost.
"He flies from place to place and turns it into a winter wonderland", she opened her arms and mimicked an airplane's movement.
"And you know what else? He—"
"Ooh! Ooh! Can I tell them? Can I tell them, Reina?", Ronald asked his sister.
Reina. Jack repeated to himself.
The girl pats his head and smiled, "Sure thing".
The boy smiled and turned to his friends. He opens his arms wide and explains. "He can turn everything he touches into ice!"
He suddenly touched the nearest person to him and yelled," Freeze!" And they all started running and playing in the snow.
The teenager just stopped walking; she stood there and watched while his brother and his friends are having a snowball fight.
Jack Frost went down from the statue and stood behind her. He carefully walked closer to the girl.
Suddenly, Reina moved from her place and started running towards the children.
She joined their snowball fight. When she threw a snowball to her brother, most of the snow stuck to his hair. Reina dusted the snow off her brother's hair. "Did you know Jack Frost has snow white hair?"
She caught the children's attention yet again with that statement. The children stopped playing and moved closer to her, their eyes begging for her to tell more.
"Ok, ok. You wanna know what Jack Frost looks like?" The children nod in response.
"Well, his hair is as white as snow; his eyes are deep blue. It's said that he always carry a staff that gives him his power". The look of amazement was seen in the children's eyes as she continued her story, telling them every detail she knew about the said guardian.
When she noticed the sky getting darker, she ended her story. The children were sad and asked if she could tell them more tomorrow. "Why, of course! I promise.", she answered.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Jack followed Reina and Ronald to their house and watched them as Ronald begged her sister to tell more stories about him. But Reina refused and told him that she'll just tell more tomorrow.
When everyone was tucked in bed, and the lights turned off, Jack decided to go sight-seeing. He was getting ready to fly off, when he saw someone go out of the house. Reina.
She was wearing the same clothes she wore this morning, still as messy.
He wondered where she was going, and decided to follow her.
She went straight the woods just outside Burgess, her steps and movement like she'd been going there for quite a while.
Reina reached a pile of boulders going high above the ground. She climbed the pile and when she reached the top, she sat there at the edge of a cliff like place. She looked up and stared at the moon. It's shining brighter than usual. She thought.
Jack, still following her but remained hidden, was amazed at the place the girl found. It had a very clear view of the moon and also Burgess. He was awe-struck.
"I'm running out of stories", Reina sighed. "I've practically told them everything I know", it now looked like she was talking to the moon.
"I shouldn't have sparked their interest on Jack Frost, he's the Guardian that I least know of. Please tell me more about him. I don't want to break the promise I made to Ronald".
Jack just stood behind her, listening to what she was saying. Now I know why she stopped telling stories. His smile faded.
"C'mon, Moon! I need your help", her voice getting desperate. "I know you talk, communicate. I've heard you talk to people when they needed you the most. Well, I need your help now. Please".
The tone of the girl's voice made Jack move closer to her, he wanted to comfort her, and if possible, tell her things about himself personally. He slowly moved forward, his arms stretching forward to touch her.
Unexpectedly, he stepped on a broken branch which made a sound that was a bit too loud, given the situation.
Reina suddenly turned around to see where the sound came from.
She didn't see anything there, and continued to stare at the empty space.
She can't see me. Jack concluded.
She looked around a bit more and decided to go back.
She stood up and started walking near the pile of rocks, passing Jack, and went down. She took the same route in the forest and went home empty handed, Jack, still following her.
What will I tell Ronald tomorrow? The question repeated in her head until she fell asleep.
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