Into the Pages

Chapter 2

Christina gently rubbed her daughter's hunched back as she leaned over a pile of snow, shaking and sweating as she lost her breakfast. The bouncing, unkempt road with many potholes and rocks added to the porpoising effect and didn't help with the child's motion sickness. Pulled over to the side of the road, all they could do was admire the frozen forest coated in beautiful ice crystals while the child was forced to suffer.

"Hey, baby. It's ok. We're almost there," She soothed.

"How's she doin''?" Kane suddenly questioned, his large boots crunching under the snow. He handed over her messenger bag as she mouthed thank you to him. "Rei too sends her best, but the lass is cowerin' back in the car," They bothered to see Rei, wrapped in a black winter coat lined with fur, thick enough to hide a warm ski jumpsuit. She wore a beanie, earmuffs, and a scarf over a red ski mask. "Eh? What ya expect from a speed demon? 'Specially when she's scared of hibernation," They shared a chuckle as her daughter slowly sat up again, her kinky brown locks bouncing in her face.

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" The child gently rubbed her stomach and gave a weak groan. "Still sicky? We're almost there. Here, eat this," Diana took a small piece of chocolate from her mother's hands, tenderly nibbling until it finally went down. "I'll rub your belly while Uncle Kane drives. Ok?" She nodded, her arms open and slightly squeezing her hands.

She gently lifted her daughter from the snow and clutched her form as she carried her to the car. The keys flew into the air and were caught by Kane as he opened and closed the van door. The child curled into her mother's lap as she rubbed her sore stomach as the wind chill melted from the intense warmth radiating from the car vents.

Kane got to the driver's side door when Christina tossed the keys in the air. He effortlessly caught them before he entered the vehicle and continued the drive to the base of a nearby mountain. Curvy roads are all salted for easy driving, the edges covered in mountains of muddy snow. Suddenly, the bottom of a beautiful mountain range came racing over the horizon. The dead tree branches balanced it out with the icicles that dangled over the edges.

"Ladies. Welcome to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Or Yulong Xueshan," He announced in fluent Chinese as they drew closer to a parking area. They parked the dark van off the road and into the forest to avoid the public and people. The group exited the vehicle and made their way to the back of the car.

Diana, in particular, was very excited. She bounced joyfully, her car sickness long forgotten as she stared at the tall peak. "Momma! Can I go up now?" She beamed with the biggest smile stretched on her face.

"Not yet, baby. We have to get our gear. Just be a little patient," The child gave them a little pout with her arms crossed. The mother knelt down to her daughter's height with a slight sigh. "Do you have petals?"

With a dramatic gasp, the child ran back to the car, returning not with her messenger bag but a camping backpack. Kane grabbed a duffel bag with large, adjustable straps wrapped around his torso and shoulders. Rei wrapped a large camping backpack around her petite body. When Diana returned with a giant stuffed axolotl clutched tightly in her arms, her mother handed a children's camping pack to wrap around her upper body.

"Now, can we go up?"

"Not yet. We have to get to the plant wall before we can go up. Just like all those other times," she explained gently as she took her daughters' shoulders. Passing invisibly by the crowd, they hid behind the Yufeng Temple at the southern foot of the mountain. Rei gave a gentle bow to the building before tossing an offering coin through the window. On the other side was a giant wall of leaves, an unkempt hedge that reached the lowest branches of the nearby trees. As ordinary people joined their tour groups and hiking packages, they snuck behind the barrier to reveal a secret set of rock stairs curved around the mountain edge.