Winter Hearts

chapter one.

JANUARY 12 THE WEEKLY

Obituaries

On January 12, Victoria McCartney passed away due to a car crash. While police are still further investigating the crash, Victoria is immensely missed by her entire town and everybody around her. At only 32, beautiful, loving, and caring, she will not be forgotten. The memorial service for this exceptional woman, daughter, and fiancé will be held on January 31 at 1:00 pm.

"Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly..."-Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

Stepping out into the quaint wintry landscape with its snow-capped evergreens and the sweet smell of the crisp, grey air, Lucy and Kaitlyn hooked arms, mounted their snow-dusted bicycles, and headed off down the street. Though the streets were blanketed with a thick layer of snow, Lucy breathed in the essence around her and decided to take her jacket off. She thrusted her dark blue jacket into the woven basket that had been attached to the handlebars of all her bikes since she was seven.

"Are you insane? It's below freezing out here and you're in a freaking sleeveless dress!" Kaitlyn exclaimed.

"Oh, relax," Lucy replied. "Zoey's house is just four blocks away, and I'm wearing a scarf and tights and boots. With the chunky knit socks! That you love! What more do you want from me, Kaitlyn?" She smirked but could practically hear Kaitlyn rolling her eyes.Lucy loved the icy, frigid air biting her cheeks as she rode fast down the street. She relished the sting on her skin and the scent that only snow gives that is practically ineffable. To Lucy, there was nothing quite like looking out the frosty window and seeing fresh snow descend from the white-gray sky. Kaitlyn used to tell Lucy when they were little that Santa Claus, in fact, lived in the sky and not the North Pole, and that snow was just bits of his white beard falling off.

"That's impossible," Lucy would say.

"He has a very big beard," Kaitlyn would answer.

They were very simple, low-maintenance children, never looking for a second answer or explanation, so that was the only answer Lucy would ever need to answer that question- he has a very big beard. Lucy remembered this on the bike ride and laughed. Kaitlyn asked why she was laughing.

"Life's just funny, Kaitlyn," Lucy stated.

"You sound very cliché, Lucy," Kaitlyn remarked. After some silence, she added,

"But it's true."

Lucy parked her bike and waited a moment until after Zoey welcomed Kaitlyn in. Though Lucy was never a very quiet girl, sometimes she liked to pause her talking and take in the tranquility of things. She looked up at the trees, their branches bare and frosted. The snow was a curtain of mesmerizing white enclosing the town, it's fluffy depths drawing Lucy in with its alluring elegance. Before putting her coat back on again, Lucy thought how loud a quiet Sunday in January could really speak. She heard her boots click on the newly paved walkway and didn't bother to knock, knowing that Zoey was expecting her anyway.

"How was Zoey's?" their mother Josie called from the kitchen.