It was the day Nancy's mother had died.
No one came to visit her that day, just like they had stopped doing for eight years….when the accident occurred.
Now she was eighteen, and alone….
When the sun didn't rise over Sunny Mountain in the east, and clouds hung over the tiny village known as snow town, it was no surprise to anyone that the quaint excuse for a snowboard resort was almost completely deserted. The only sign of movement was the alert Mr. Dog, who was currently sweeping newly fallen snow off of the deck of his paint shop. The signs creaked in the wind, in perfect synchronization with the whipping branches of the trees. Nancy lay awake in her bed, clutching a tiny, red pillow. Asleep, her eyes twitched, clinching together as one would do if they were in pain. Her dream however, was not painful at all…but wonderfully unrealistic. Nancy only wished that she would be able to someday create a reality amongst those broken whishes.
Slash lay awake as well, further up the road, in his tiny two room apartment. The view he had of the slumbering Snowboard Town was awe inspiring on days like these. All of the snow and trees blended in with the scenery, as a cascading wave of residential housing and small businesses splashed over the iceberg that this town was. One house in particular, perched above all the others, stood out. The paint on every board shot through the fog and clouds like rays of sun with little heart shutters. Slash lay very much awake…trying to fall back asleep on a gloomy Saturday. As he slipped in and out of weariness, he placed his hand on the glass of his window. Each fingertip grazed his view of the yellow house.
"Nancy…."
When Nancy rolled over to see what time it was, her bunny rabbit shaped clock only said 5:20.
"Great." Nancy mumbled half-asleep under her pillow. As much as she tried to get comfortable, every position she bent her body in seemed to create even more discomfort as time passed. Eventually, scooting to the edge of the bed and slipping her feet, one by one into her flip-flops, Nancy stumbled out of bed. Sitting on the chair in from of her vanity, she opened the top drawer, pulling out a red jeweled brush, a black hair tie, and a bottle of "Passion Peach" lotion. Quickly brushing her hair and pulling it back, she squirted a tiny portion of the lotion into her hands and rubbed it around. After smothering it all over her hands and arms, she took a deep breath of the air around her hands, smelling the peaches. With a sigh, she clonked over to her dresser and pulled out a robe, abruptly slipping it on and tying the tie around her petite waist. Grabbing a blanket, she walked outside and footed her way up the hill.
Slash could feel himself drifting into a deep sleep, when he noticed a tiny figure step outside of the yellow house. An adrenaline shot ran a marathon up and down his body as he swerved his body position to get a glimpse of his clock.
"5:37? Someone's up early."
Slash slid out of his bed and walked to his closet. As he approached, he saw his reflection in the mirror. Quite pleased with the body he had newly created from an intense work out the weeks before; Slash merely grabbed his robe and some shoes before stumbling into his bathroom. He quickly brushed his teeth and organized himself, grabbing a couple cups of coffee before stepping outside of his house, following Nancy up the road. He was amazed at her ability to look so gorgeous even though she had just rolled out of bed. Nancy climbed up a small hill and sat down on a bolder perched at the very top. Slash, at first afraid to join her, stared at her for a few moments before walking up to the rock and Nancy to keep her company.
It was still relatively dark outside. But the misty air and the murky clouds overhead set the scene for the two.
"This seat taken?" Slash joked. Nancy didn't take her eyes off the horizon.
"Be my guest". She replied, directing him to the spot next to her with her hand. Slash handed her a cup of coffee as he sat down next to her.
"So, do you do this every morning?" Slash joked a bit. Nancy still didn't take her eyes off the distant sky, which made Slash begin to wonder what was so entrancing that it made her completely ignore him.
"I don't. But I felt like watching the sun rise today." Nancy answered, lowering her head toward the mug in her hand, taking an enormous whiff of its aroma.
"It's Hazelnut Cream…with a few drops of butterscotch rum….your favorite." Slash pointed out, noticing Nancy's small ritual.
"You're very kind Slash", Nancy complimented his intelligence, "But why are you here this morning? Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Are you kidding?" Slash interrupted, "How can I sleep seeing one of my friends walking off by herself?" Nancy smiled a bit, realizing that people did in fact still care about her, even though she had been orphaned for a long time. He laughed a little, and took a sip of his coffee, which like Nancy's, was Hazelnut Cream, but with a few drops of Peppermint. "I don't buy that you just wanted to see the sun rise. After all, if we the sun at all today, it'll be a miracle." Slash caught Nancy lying, clearing his throat. For the first time since they started talking, Nancy took her eyes off the clouds and looked directly up into Slash's big, grey eyes.
"Maybe" she sighed, "Maybe not. I don't really know."
Slash felt that he had struck an awkward chord just then and tried to divert the subject away from what he had just said.
"So what'd you dream about last night?" Slash asked realizing how stupid the question was only seconds too late. Nancy giggled a little.
"Well, I dreamt of Snowboard Town. But the only thing I couldn't understand was…" Slash patiently waited as she shivered just remembering. "The only thing I couldn't understand was that nobody was here. It was me all by myself. Everyone else was dead."
That was a little dark for Nancy. Slash tried his hardest to understand and comfort her, but at this point in time, he didn't have anything to offer. He was afraid of her reaction….What if she doesn't accept me? What if I'm alone in these feelings after all?