Chapter II

I somehow managed to find my flashlight so I could at least see what kind of place I had entered. I let out a quiet gasp when I realized it was a safe room. There was a table with candles placed on it and chairs surrounding it in the middle of the room; walls were covered with shelves which were full of books, clothes, food and many other things I didn't have time to recognize when I saw there was a mattress lying on the floor. I took Anna over to lay her down.

Ouch!

While standing up I hit a lamp that was attached to the wall next to the mattress. A lamp? But there's no electricity. I couldn't help myself so I turned the switch on and at first I thought it wasn't working. I was pretty shocked when the lamp actually lighted up after three seconds of warming up. Well, energy-saving lamps did tend to do that.

Without wasting any more time I turned off my flashlight and kneeled beside Anna to check the seriousness of her wounds. There was a violent blue bruise stretching over the left side of her jaw and another one was covering her right cheek. A couple of scratches were cut into her forehead and the bridge of her nose. The lower lip was swollen and bleeding. When I moved her hair from her neck I saw a clean cut which was still bleeding a bit. Blood was mixed with some loosen strands of her hair so I gently removed them.

After checking out her injured leg I went to find some towels on one of the shelves, to soak them with water from my backpack and start cleaning her face carefully; I didn't want to cause even more damage to her face. Then I disinfected the scratches with hydrogen peroxide from my med-kit and gauze and repeated the procedure on her neck and leg. I had to bandage the latter because it didn't stop bleeding.

After checking Anna's wounds once again I hesitated whether to change her wet, torn jeans, covered with mud and blood, with something cleaner. But as soon as I saw that she started shivering I walked over to shelves once again and started searching for a pair of trousers. I found a grey pair of sweatpants and woollen socks which I reckoned would fit her. When I was done with changing her into something cleaner, I covered her with some additional blankets so she could warm up. Then I just sat there, watching her chest rising and lowering in steady, even breaths. For the first time in what seemed like eternity I didn't feel alone. I felt like breaking all my survival rules was actually worth it. Seeing this girls face covered with wounds but surrounded with a spirit of innocence and something similar to grace stirred something deep inside me I didn't know existed anymore. I don't want to leave her, I thought. I knew though that once she had waken up I'd pack my things and leave because that's what I did. I never stayed at one point for too long. I had to walk on. I'd only ask Anna for some food and water and then bid her goodbye.

When my legs started growing numb, I stood up and stretched them. I went over to the table to light the candles. They lit up the room well so I turned off the lamp to save the electric energy, which I still had no idea where it was coming from. I found myself standing next to where books were and slowly ran my fingers over their spines. Boy, I haven't read books for ages. I took one and checked the title; The Snow Queen, by Hans C. Andersen. I had always loved children's stories, especially those written by this particular author. I was about to sit down on one of the chairs when I caught a glimpse of a framed picture. I looked at it and there was a capture of young Anna, playing with a German shepherd cub, in front of the soft sky-blue villa which was identical to the one we were staying in, only there were no iron bars on the windows. Then it struck me. This house, this villa, is her home. She must have lived here ever since the new era started. I placed the picture back on its spot and took another picture of the girl with her parents. They were celebrating Anna's birthday so there was a huge chocolate cake in front of them, decorated with candles and sprinkles. "Happy 3rd birthday" was written with vanilla cream. Anna's face and hands were covered in chocolate. I couldn't help myself but giggle at the sight.

I put the picture back on the shelf so it was facing the room. Then I sat down and started reading the book I took from the shelf earlier.

x

It was a hot summer day. Everything was green and the smell of summer was something I wanted to imprint into my memory forever. The sky was clear and I felt like I could drink it up with a straw if one long enough to reach it existed. I was sure it would taste like rain.

On that perfect summer day, I and Kristoff were spending some time together at a small lake behind our house.

"C'mon Elsa! Jump!" Kristoff called after he dived into the clear water.

"Okay, get ready for the impact!" I called and started sprinting towards the lake. I took off and pulled my knees up to my chest and yelled: "Cannonball!"

I landed with a huge splash and a cool sensation rushed over my body when I sunk deeper into the lake while heat started to fade away quickly and the feeling was very pleasant. A pair of hands held my forearms and I opened my eyes and found myself looking into blurred Kristoff's eyes, a wide grin spread across his face. We swam to the surface when I was starting to run out of the oxygen.

"Boy, this feels so good," I smiled and pressed a quick kiss on Kristoff's lips.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and held my body closer to his. "Wanna go for a swim?" he asked.

"Loser is washing dishes tonight!" I said before pushing his head under water and sprinting to the other side of the lake.

He caught up with me quickly but that wasn't enough to beat me because I was a trained swimmer so he didn't really stand a chance. Nevertheless, he always accepted the challenge.

"You know, one day I'll win and it will be you washing dishes after the dinner," he said, pulling himself up on the rock next to me.

"You wish," I teased, leaning into his side.

We sat there and talked about how beautiful sky was, how drops of water on my skin reflected sun light, how willows branches touched the water surface, how tasty Kristoff's pancakes with chocolate were …

"Elsa! Honey, can you please come inside? You've got to see this." My mother's voice interrupted our deep conversation about reindeer.

"We're coming!" I yelled back while standing up to dive back into the water, Kristoff following my moves.

That was the last time we swam in that lake.

x

A sound of a book hitting the ground woke me up. I shook my head, images of the dream fading quickly. I was surprised about the fact I fell asleep behind the table. I'm getting too comfortable here, I thought to myself. I picked up a book and returned it to its place on the shelf. Wondering how much time had passed I walked over to check on Anna, who was still asleep, before leaving the safe room to figure out where the sun was.

Instead of leaving the house I went down the hall which was connected to the garage. Walking slowly I reached the end of the long hall and I found myself standing in the middle of nothing. The small atrium was empty except for some broken furniture and a staircase on each side of it. Soft orange light was pouring through windows, casting shadows on the floor. Wait, orange? I ran up the stairs to take a look at the outside world. The sun was already setting which meant I'd slept through almost the whole day. Crap, I can't travel in the night time, I thought. Another habit broken. I'd barely made any progress that day even though I was supposed to walk on every day. I knew it was probably pointless and I certainly didn't know where I would end up but at least I was doing something and sights of new places fed my imagination and that occupied my mind from thinking about the life I was living.

Since I had only two options, one of them was going out and catch up with the lost kilometres, the other one was staying here overnight, I chose the latter one which was, really, an obvious one. Before heading back to the safe room I wanted to explore more of the house but the feeling I'd be intruding Anna's home stopped me from doing so. I shook my head when a new thought occurred to me, but ignored it when I entered the safe room.

"You're still here," Anna's voice interrupted my train of thoughts when I walked in. She was sitting on the mattress, still wrapped in the blankets and looking at me with her teal eyes.

My heart sank when I registered what she said. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry … I was just waiting for you to wake up. To check if you were okay. Which you are, now. I'm sorry, I'm going to leave," I said without showing any emotion.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that!" she rushed and stood up. "Gosh, I'm sorry, I was just surprised you were still here, you know. I mean, I'm just some random stranger who happens to be lucky and got saved by someone like you. Woah, what am I saying, of course you saved me, not just someone, and I am really grateful, so thank you very, very much and I don't mind if you stayed here, I mean, you can if you want to and I completely understand if you want to leave just to get rid of my babbling …" she trailed off with a palm smacking her forehead. "Ouch, that hurts." She hit the wounds.

I was flooded with relief and I couldn't help myself but giggle at her. "It's okay, I'd love to spend the night here."

"Really? That's great! I haven't had any guests over for way too long which, I think, has started affecting me, I mean, I was talk active before but now I talk to even myself," she said happily.

"Don't worry, I don't mind you talking. I think it's a nice change to finally have someone else to talk to besides my brain," I replied. "So, you're feeling better, I presume?"

"Oh, yeah, my head and leg still hurt a bit but it's no biggie," she answered, her gaze dropping to her injured leg. "I think I might–wait, what am I wearing?" she asked grabbing her sweatpants.

"Um, about that, let me explain," I rushed. "Your jeans were torn and soaked with blood and you were cold so I …" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw her expression changed to one I couldn't figure what it meant. "I'm sorry, I swear I didn't look anywhere but your legs. Shit, that sounded so wrong," I hit my forehead with my fist. "I'm not a pervert."

"Did you … Did you change my socks?" she whispered.

"Uh, yes, your feet were cold and …" once again I stopped mid-sentence. This time because she threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around my body and buried her face into my left shoulder. What?

At first I thought she was going to hit me so I was utterly shocked when she hugged me and left me empty minded and not knowing what to do with myself.

"Thank you, Elsa, thank you, thank you, thank you," she mumbled into my jacket.

Still not knowing what to do, I raised my arm and patted her back lightly. I could feel a grin was starting to form on my lips.

She suddenly released me and I could swear there was a slight blush colouring her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw myself at you like that but I couldn't help myself, you're just too good to be real and … Wait, what?"

Now it was my turn to blush. "Thank you, Anna," I said.

"No, no, thank you, Elsa. I don't know how I am ever going to repay you for your act of kindness," she replied with a worried expression forming on her face.

"A mattress and a permission to sleep here would do," I suggested.

So, what do you think so far? I hope I didn't scare you off with my English, I'm trying very hard, really.

And once again, I thank you all for bearing with me.