The glass windows of the train were all fogged up by condensed water, and Alice woke up to the cold around her. She didn't know how long she slept or was unconscious, but for certain, this was no ordinary train ride. Alice wiped one of the windows and pure and absolute whiteness outside.

"No wonder it's so cold," she shivered. "It's snowing! But how did the train drive here without any problem?"

Alice then opened the door and saw that the train had crashed into what used to be a functioning marble fountain. She looked the other way and saw that the train went off its tracks a long time ago. "How did this happen? This train was fine when it left the station some time ago. And how long have I slept? My head still hurts."

In the distance was a small white house, almost invisible against the snow. I need to go there to get warm, but I can't even walk there in this cold. Alice saw no other way to get there aside from crawling and taking slow steps. The chilly winds blew against her for as long as it took her to walk, but the house wasn't that far away. Why do I have to live like this? Why must I have to endure this pain? Shun's probably laughing at me because of this.

Finally, Alice reached the front doors. Before she knocked on the door, Alice stood up and took a good look at the house's green accents that stood out vibrantly against the snow. Something about this house was familiar yet distant to her.

"This house. I've seen it before." She thought harder but only resulted in a headache. "Could it be...?"

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

"And that concludes your tour of the day. What do you think?"

"What do I think? There's too much that I have to say about this aside from it being very beautiful. You have a really keen eye, Shun."

Shun and Alice stood on the sidewalk as they looked up at a beautiful one-story house painted in pure white with pastel green sub-colors. It had both a Victorian and oriental style into it, in a way in which both combined to create balance and harmony.

"So you're going to move in here really soon?" asked Alice.

"Yeah. The good thing about this new house is that it's still close to our school, which means I won't have to transfer. Also, it's bigger than the old house that I lived in. Grandpa insisted that Mom and I remain in our apartment, but Mom didn't want to be there anymore. Either way, this house is also simple and small, just enough to meet our needs."

Alice sighed in agreement. "I see what you mean. My grandfather disagreed with leaving his laboratory in Moscow behind, but you probably know the rest of the story. I live in an average, good quality house right now, and I'm very happy to have a house like that."

"Well, parents can be really picky and traditional at times, and I don't blame them for that either. Speaking of house, there's this task that I really want to do, but not until I'm older with way more money than what I have now."

"What is it?"

"Buy a beautiful house like this for the both of us to live in."

Alice was speechless.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Seeing that this was her only chance for shelter, Alice knocked on the door. After a while, a voice called out. "Come in..." The voice was slow and groggy, as if the person just woke up. "Door's open..."

Alice pushed open the door to see a beautifully decorated living room. I want to have a house like this someday. Only I can't afford it yet. A sweet aroma called for attention and took her to the kitchen and dining room.

"Pea soup, cooked turkey, medium-rare steak, some salad with too much ranch, and more. Is someone having a banquet? Seems a little lonely for that. What else is there to eat?" Alice stumbled upon a long dining table laid out with a variety of untouched food. Her immediate reaction was to eat what she could take. Upon reaching for the utensils, a woman sitting at the opposite end of the table woke up. "I was just hungry!"

"What...?"

Alice and the woman stared at each other in silence for a while. The woman had light black hair and emerald-green eyes. Despite her sleepiness, she stared at Alice angrily, which was ironic because she was the same voice that let Alice into the house.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take the food!" Alice apologized over and over. "Can you please spare some-"

"Stay back!" yelled the woman. "Don't get any closer. I have a terrible headache, and sleeping isn't helping me. Who are you?"

Alice nodded and replied, "I'm in desperate need of shelter. Are you okay?"

She rubbed her forehead and spoke. "I'm quite vulnerable to extreme cold and heat. My son was supposed to visit and bring me medicine, but due to harsh snowstorms, his train ride was canceled. He called and told me methods of relieving my pain, but I'm not getting better. Also, he said he cut his hair recently. I really need to see what he did to himself this time."

"I see." A hair cut? Who would mention such irrelevant things? "Out of curiosity, what's your son's-"

"Please hand me a cup of sakura tea." the woman requested. "My head really hurts."

I guess she's not going to say much either. Alice reached for the teapot and poured a cup of tea. "Here you go. Feeling better?"

The woman drank the entire cup of tea and asked for more. "Thank you. My name is Shiori. Yours?"

Isn't that Shun's mom's name? "Alice..." the redhead replied hesitantly.

"Hello, Alice. I don't mind you staying here for shelter for now because I really would love the company, but I need to rest, too. There's firewood in the shed next door for the fireplace." A while later, Shiori was sleeping again with her head and arms on the table.

Alice put on a thick coat she found on the chair and went next door to the shed. The door was frozen shut with ice, and the windows were too frosted to see through. With a strong kick, Alice broke the door down.

"Bad mistake. Now the wind is just going to blow in nonstop." Inside the workshop were a variety of chisels, an anvil, wooden tables and benches, and a piece of disfigured white stone.

"This is a sculptor's workshop. Looks like they haven't been here for a long time." She stared closed at the stone, which she figured was marble. "A sculptor...means sculpture."

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Alice sat down on one of the benches in the cafeteria hallways and looked at her class schedule. "I'm taking PE, regular World History, Korean, Chemistry, Enriched English, and Algebra II." She saw Shun walked out the double doors and called, "Shun! What's your schedule?"

Shun walked over and took a seat next to Alice. "I have Enriched English, Physics, Enriched World History, Competitive PE, Algebra II, and Sculpture."

"Really? We have EE and Algebra II together. I know you're more of a 'forces' person than a 'chemical' person, but sculpture? You never told me you were a 3D art person. What happened to just sticking with drawing and painting?"

"It's for my Fine Arts requirement, so I want to get it over with. Besides, majority of my electives in middle school were 2D art related. Why so surprised?"

"That's true. I'm the real art lover like me, but I can tell that you probably won't last the first few days." Alice added with a giggle.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I'll fail Sculpture? I will so get you back for this if-"

"Relax, Shun. I only said 'first few days'. Doesn't mean you won't last the 'rest of the days'. Here's little bit of advice for you. Take chances, make mistakes, and be creative!"

"You stole that from Magic School Bus, didn't you?"

"I did, and that the teacher you're having for physics this year taught my biology class last year, and he talks a lot about Magic School Bus."

"Okay, Alice. Let's go back to talking about Sculpture. Science isn't really my style, either way."

"Neither is 3D art. So what's your favorite or best subject?"

"I never told you that?"

Alice shook her head. "Your grades are all so high and similar that I can't tell if you're struggling with anything or not."

"Well, I really love PE, which I why I'm taking CPE, but I'm also trying 3D art."

"Why 3D art? You don't like 2D art anymore?"

"I picked 3D art so I wouldn't have to listen to annoying lectures and tips from a 2D art expert like you," Shun joked, casually walking down the hallway as Alice angrily ran after him.