It was the week before Christmas and the world was a buzz of holiday cheer and excitement. The North Pole was, of course, in an uproar with last minute scrambling to finish making the toys for children around the globe who believed.
Yetis ran through the building checking over the production lines, making adjustments to the sleigh, and preparing extra reindeer food to help the team bulk up for the long and tiring flight. North himself was almost too stressed and hurried to think straight!
This was not the time of year to be bothering the big man with anything that could possibly be an obstacle in his delivery plans.
Of course that wouldn't stop Jack Frost from poking fun at his old friend. He had to maintain his record on the naughty list, right?
This close to Christmas, all of the children were out of school so there was no special need for that little extra helping of white on the ground for a snow day but in most towns lucky to be far enough from the equator to feel freezing temperatures, his handy work could still be seen.
He had worked over the night to ensure this winter wonderland early just so he could pay his friend a small visit.
Jack was busy misplacing toys from under the noses of yetis and hiding just in time to make it seem as though passing elves had been the culprit.
From his hiding place around the corner, he tried to contain his laughter as two very anxious yetis yelled and stomped around one very confused elf causing mayhem and a cease in the toy making process.
After playing two or three similar pranks throughout the workshop, North finally caught on to the culprit and reprimanded Jack, having Phil the yeti escort him out.
With one final playful smirk, Jack waved cheerfully at the frustrated yeti and managed to say, "Nice to see you too, Phil!" as he locked the giant wooden doors behind him.
Jack laughed out loud to himself having successfully caused quite an uproar before deciding to head home to Burgess to check on the children there.
With his staff in hand, he said, as if talking to an invisible someone close by, "Hey Wind! Take me home!"
At his command, the wind carried the winter spirit back to his home town and landed him nicely in a tree before dissipating into the air.
Finally being home after such a long day of snow accumulation and pranks on his fellow guardian, Jack was ready to settle down to watch the sunset. This was his favorite part of day when he got the chance to relax and observe and when the clouds had time to clear before the end of the day.
The twinkle of orange light glinting off the newly fallen snow, casting long, elegant shadows over the ground that twisted with the shape of the trees, the reflection showing brightly on the icy pond that Jack was so familiar with.
The only thing that Jack hated about the sunset was how brief the magic of it all seemed. He remained frozen in time as he waited to see every last moment, finally relaxing into the peace of the scenery.
That's when he first saw her. A young girl walking somewhat purposefully through the woods and the snow, creating tracks in his freshly fallen masterpiece.
With a sigh and a wave, he flew down near her, curious as to why someone would be out walking alone at this time.
If she could have seen this boy following her, she would have been in for quite a shock. He did not walk next to her but rather seemed to float as a gentle breeze kept her company.
His feet were bare, he wore brown pants and a blue hooded sweatshirt that clung to him and seemed to carry a thin layer of ice.
In his hand, he held his most prized possession, the staff through which he channeled his wintery powers.
At first, Jack was just a little annoyed at the girl for disturbing his perfect sunset. She seemed to know where she was going but he couldn't be sure and he felt the need to follow her to make sure she would find her way through the wooded area.
It wasn't too far from the city of Burgess but in the cold, one wrong turn could spell out trouble sooner than one might think.
As she walked, Jack began to take a closer look at the girl.
She looked to be about 19, probably too old for him to hope to make a believer out of her. She wore a dark blue pea coat that fell to her waist, skinny jeans with brown boots up to her calves, and a bright pink scarf that shown through the long brown hair cascading down her back.
Her face held some lingering freckles left over from the warmer months spent out in the sun just below her bright green eyes.
Her cheeks and lips were a soft pink color from the biting cold and Jack could see the puff of misty air that came with each breath she took. Jack was quite close to her face now and as her looked at her, he let out a soft sigh. She seemed to almost sense the small action and his hopes were raised for one brief moment that maybe she had felt the breeze.
But that was a ridiculous thing to hope for.
A light sniffle from the girl broke Jack of his trance and he realized they were now on the outskirts of the small town. He thought about it for a moment and decided it was best to make sure she got all the way to her home.
Besides, he was just a bit curious to see where this bright-eyed girl lived. He had certainly never seen her around before and he was sure he would have remembered her face.
He of course, delivered snow to areas around the world but Burgess had always been his home and he took special care to know the children that lived there.
It was pretty dark outside when she turned into one of the closer homes.
Jack noticed the real estate sign in the front yard indicating that the family had just moved here. That at least explained why he didn't know her face.
The girl pulled open the front door and slipped inside leaving Jack slightly disappointed. He was actually hoping she lived farther into town so he could have more time to look at her as she walked. As soon as he thought about that however, he shook his head and decided that was just a bit creepy.
He had never been so intrigued before at the sight of one person.
Sure he had lived for over 300 years now and had watched many a small girl grow into a beautiful young woman.
He had always held somewhat of a brotherly affection for them. Happy for them that they had grown up and even found love. That was the way of life and there would always be more little children to protect, especially now that he had a greater following of believers than ever before.
However, with this girl, he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling.
He couldn't help taking one last look at the house before he flew back to the small lake that he called home and secretly took note of the window where he saw the light flicker on in the house.
Her face lingered in his head as the wind carried him.
Jack didn't want to admit it to himself, but he would probably be back very soon.
