It was quiet. Not deadly quiet, just lonely quietness. Alice didn't speak a word to her brother, who was deeply interested in the table. She looked around, playing a mental game. She thought of what was happening. She tried at make solutions to what was actually happening. It killed her so much, twice she got out of the chair and go outside. But Cinna always pulled her back gingerly. "Stay," he would whisper.
"Why?" Alice would intercept his feelings with haughtily saying the word. She didn't mean to be controlling, but to Cinna, he obviously thought she was. She would then take back her word and whisper a "sorry".
The silence reminded Alice when she was playing with the small stream behind their house. She was splashing the crystal clear water. Cinna, only about two years old, started to run gleefully down to the meadow. Mother and Father followed the two children as they chased each other toward the meadow. Cinna ran back and worth, weaving through the tall summer grass. Alice followed him, laughing with joy. Alice would stop every now and then to see what her parents were doing. Mother and Father were snuggled up, Mother sitting upon Father's lap. Every once in a while, a lingering kiss filled the air. Alice continued to play around with her brother. Though, the air was quiet and still, like after something terrible happened. She could sense it in the wind, the trees, the meadow. Every since then she longed for the same caressing feeling. The quiet place brought comfort. She would often take walks without Cinna knowing. She would always come up with and excuse like, "Just a second, I forgot something!" and she would run to the school. It's white peeling paint made it seem older than the Earth itself.
"They're back!" Cinna said. His voice brimmed with happiness. Blond hair unleashed from Alice's hair as she walke over to her Mother and Father, each step more cautious than the other. "What happened, Father?"
"We found somebody," Father replied, his voice edged with a tough of sympathy. "He was alone, shivering. We tried to get him to speak, and it sounded like it took all his strength. The only thing he said was, 'water', and then he passed out..."
"He's fine now, he's with the infirmary," Mother said. "He'll probably stay there for about two weeks."
"Oh," Cinna answered for the both of them. Alice nodded at her brother then turned to Mother and Father. One question burned in her mind. She couldn't form her mouth around it. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't how to say it.
"Is he... What... Appearance?" Alice stumbled. She looked at Father desperately hoped he would understand what she was trying to say.
"I'm not sure, sweetheart," Father said. "It looked like he had gray eyes, I wasn't sure, though. His tone was a creamy sort of color, a light tan. He had black hair, black as night. And a frizzled beard. So, I'm guessing he's about eighteen, maybe nineteen. "
"Hmm," Cinna said, nodding his head.
"Hmm what?" Alice exclaimed. She turned to him quickly."Why did you say 'hmm'?"
Cinna looked at her in surprise, his gray eyes wide. "I don't know, it just seems funny that he's outside looks are a mirror of those here. Yet, I've never seen him before."
Alice looked at her brother, then noticed she over-reacted. She blushed before rushing out the room. She could her Father and Cinna talking in small whispers.
"What was that about?" Father asked.
"I doubt it was anything, you know girls." Alice heard chuckling coming from the kitchen.
"Hey Alice." A new voice intruded in the room. Not the kitchen, but the sibling's room. Alice looked up to her gray eyes mother. Her hair was in a braid, long and silky. Mother sat down by the bed and patted Alice's knee, saying, "So, you want to tell me something? This morning..."
"No, Mother," Alice said. She sighed, never ceasing the eye connection with her mother. "I don't know what happened."
"Well." Mother looked up at the ceiling, like it was about to fall and cease the world from turning. "if you need to tell me anything, I'm right here. Always." She dropped her gaze from the ceiling, resting her eyes on her daughter. She kissed Alice softly on the cheeks. Then on the forehead. Alice smiled and dipped her head. Mother patted her knee once more and left. Her face appeared in the room again, "Hey, Peeta's going to make pasta tonight, your favorite."
Alice grinned and mouthed, Thank you. Mother left without another word. Alice, laying softly on her bed, thought about the boy. Who was he? She tried to remember the features of the boy compared to the features of the boy in the dream. But the dream was all a blur. There was no trace of the boy who kissed her. Alice dripped of to sleep, tired from all the excitement.
~:~
"Alice! Wake up! Pasta's ready!"
A familiar voice surprised Alice, and recovered her from her sleep. "Come on Alice, I'm hungry!"
Cinna glared down at her, grinning. Alice slipped out of bed, blinking the sleepiness out of her eyes. Cinna kept looking at her, smiling as if he were granted a million dollars. She felt the urge to ask him why he was being to quirky and happy, but when she stepped into the kitchen she knew why. The boy was there, sitting at the table. Alice glanced at Cinna, her eyes pleading an answer for the current situation. Music danced through the air, softly floating onto her ear. It was a peaceful music, like you would find at church. Slow and forgiving.
"Hello, Ms. Mallark." The boy stood up to greet Alice with a warm handshake. Alice smiled, but it never reached her eyes. She clasped his hand like it was about to break at any moment. Her eyes layed on his lips. Is he really the boy from the dream? He surely looked like him... The boy dropped his hand, replacing Alice's hand with the crooked chair. "We've never met, I am Jasper Cling." We have met, in dreams. His moss-green eyes looked weary and haggard. His hands shook like a personal earthquake happening on his smooth hands. He had wispy hair on his chin and spread on his lower jaw, like he was trying to grow a beard. His lips were slightly apart, as if he was in a silent song. Dark curly hair was spread a top his head, full and shiny. His mocha-colored skin was perfection. But bruises and patched of Alice couldn't deny that he was, well, cute; good looking; maybe even the word hot would apply. But the dazed effect he held in his eyes made him seem like he was going to fall over.
"Hello," Alice curtly said. She sat down quickly, not wanted to feel like she was spying at Jasper, catching every detail. But her eyes had other ideas.
The boy sat down, right beside Alice. Father sat on the other side of him. Then Mother. Then Cinna. A black bowl sat on the table, brown markings on the surface. Alice searched out a face made out of the accents. A scowling face was found by her.
"Well, it's good to eat," commented Jasper, who cracked a smile at Alice. She blushed but hid it from Father by fumbling with the buttons on her sweater. She watched under her lashes as Cinna reached for the bowl, carefully lifting it up.
"Who wants some pasta!" Cinna exclaimed jokingly. The family (included Jasper) chuckled quietly.
As soon as everyone had a serving of the pasta and a little bit of the salad, questions started rising in Alice. Cinna glanced at his sibling, and asked the question for her- Cinna and Alice always knew what the other was thinking. "Why aren't you at the infirmary? Mother said you would be staying there."
Jasper swallowed the mound of food currently in his mouth and answered, "They were trying to get ready for other patients. You know, from the explosion at Stone Center, and I offered to go and stay with someone else until there was a spot open. So-" He started shaking violently. Mother was about to get up from her seat, reaching out her hand to help him. She never did have the touch of a healer, but she still knew a few things. Jasper, still coughing, just waved her off. His hand cut short and slammed on the table. He was coughing up blood. It covered up his pasta left on the plate, his napkin, his lap. It stood up, shaking until his whole body was an avalanche. He bowled over, hitting the ground. His hands shook as he struggled to cover up his mouth. Alice stared at him, her face masked with fear. She covered her mouth, gasping. She had a desire need to breath. Father ran toward Jasper, along with Cinna, and took him to the bathroom. Alice was about to follow, but she was reminded by the fact that they were probably going to strip him and set him in the bath. Trying to ease the boy's coughing. She still felt she couldn't breath. When she tried pain nestled in her chest like a lodged barbed thorn. She showed none of this feeling to her mother. Mother came over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"-he's going to stay with us," Alice finished Jasper's sentence. Mother nodded at her.
Merry Christmas to all! And to all, a good reading!
Review how your Christmas was!
~ Sketch