Jess is finally going! That New Zealand holiday is at its dawn, and all she can think of is landscapes, walks and adventures. But what she does not expect to find, is what is waiting around the corner - someone.
Someone who will turn her holiday up...
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Squinting, hopelessly attempting to blink the sleep out of her eyes, Jess groped in the dark for her phone. Finding it and smacking the alarm off, she collapsed back against the warm sheets, trying to predict how torturous braving the cold of the morning would be.
Sticking one leg out from under the blanket, she cringed.
Very torturous.
It was not as cold as it had been previous weeks at that hour, but considering the hour was 5 AM, Jess's indignation was probably called for. She could hardly see the faint tinge of sunlight upon the curtains. It was still dark, and numbingly cold. Nonetheless, she managed to hoist herself out of her cocoon, shoving some discarded jeans out of her way, and get into a sweater.
They had all slept late the night before. Aunt Charlotte had decided to exact revenge on Uncle Sam for having put them all through (what she called) an eternity of torture, watching the Star Wars films. As a result, they had just finished three hours of the Pride and Prejudice series. The 'very much superior' 1995 BBC version, to be exact. When Jess had finally ambled off to bed, her head had been full of proposals and rumours.
But as she stepped out of the bathroom at 5:15 AM, she had only the day's itinerary on her mind. Rubbing her icy nose, she smiled. Now that she was properly awake, it really did not seem that bad.
She was barely even tired anymore. She liked to say that waking early is like seizing the day; if you follow shortly after the Sun, you miss out on as little as possible.
Standing in the kitchen and dumping a generous amount of peanut butter onto a slice of toast, she sighed. New Zealand had arguably the best peanut butter - rich, creamy, and full of peanuts. All it needed, she thought, was a little more sugar (her aunt and uncle had a sugar-free jar), but that was an easy fix.
She tried not to think about the fact that she would soon deprived of this incredible peanut butter... back home. Every time she let thoughts of home intrude - break into her glowing, dreamy reality - she felt a cold, sinking feeling in her stomach. It was that terrible, unshakable sensation - like realising you've forgotten something vital.
Except now, she tried valiantly to shake it. To cram it back into the remote crevices of her mind where it belonged. She would not let it sink in and drag her down, and ruin the week she had left.
One week.
She was pacing, munching her toast, when Uncle Sam shuffled in with Obi Wan, shivering in his shorts, having completed their early morning walk. It was not something they did every day but when they did, Obi always returned with an extra large grin on his fuzzy face. Afterwards, he took a nice, long nap. He was an older dog, after all.
As Uncle Sam was hanging up the leash, they were joined by Aunt Charlotte, and shortly - and surprisingly - by Jess's mother.
That was when time began to fly, as though taking off from the starting line on a track. As the murky dawn outside slowly lightened to a pale, washed out grey, Jess and her family hastened to keep up, and avoid being late (again).
