Nostalgia

Unconventional Mornings

Through the fog of sleep, he heard someone singing. And the Earth is full tonight, tonight, and the wolves all howl, aa-oooooooh ...

Coming slowly awake, eyes still closed, Jacin vaguely recalled the night before:

Arriving at the cabin at eight o'clock P.M, in the minivan, bored to tears of Iko's constant babble.

Discovering that the entire building –a cottage made of wood and glass – was buried in four feet of snow. (Discovering may be the wrong way to put it. They didn't realize their predicament until Cress pulled open the minivan doors and fell into a snowdrift.)

Extricating himself from the van. Finding the snow shovels leaning against the snowed-in porch. Tossing one to Cinder and Wolf, and working for at least half an hour before they could clear a path for the van to the garage.

His irritation at Winter – Cinder's beautiful, mysterious, possibly crazy cousin – when she leaped into the mountain of snow they'd piled together and covered him in a spray of cold flakes.

Getting in. Staking claims on the rooms. Unpacking. And all the while, Thorne and Iko had been yelling that song at the top of their lungs like they had each downed three bottles of wine.

Already regretting having agreed to come, Jacin had thrown his bag into the first room he saw and pretended to sleep. At some point, maybe around eleven, someone had come in to check on him (probably shortcake), but that was it.

Now, morning light was streaming in from the cabin windows – the pale gray of just-before-sunrise. Jacin turned to face the wall, relishing the warmth of the woolen covers and the knowledge that no one would be awake yet.

Peace and quiet. Bless.

Who knew how long it would last, with these roommates.

"Good morning," said a soft voice by his ear.

... you must be joking.

"Winter," he muttered to the wall. Her whimsical, dancing tones were unmistakable.

"Good guess!" (Even out of sight, Jacin could see her brilliant smile, could feel her shift closer and rest her chin on the bedframe. He stiffened.) "I'm a girl of ice and snow. So you were pretty close."

"It's common courtesy to knock before coming in," he said, turning over to face her. His shirt was rumpled from sleep, his usually neat hair a mess, but getting flustered wasn't in his DNA.

Winter didn't look fazed either, despite her floaty nightdress. She looked absurdly happy, her eyes glowing in the early-morning light like amber.

He squinted at her suspiciously. "I'm pretty sure I locked the door last night."

Winter just winked at him and sprang to her feet. Jacin sat up and watched her as she paced to the window. He was unable to decide if he should be relieved that it wasn't Iko – who got on his nerves more than anyone else – or weirded out, because ... because Winter was in his room. He barely knew her, and she might be a little bit insane.

"I have decided," Winter went on, looking delighted at the piles of snow outside, "that we will go bear hunting today."

Oh, she was definitely insane. "Bear hunting? In this weather?"

"I know, it's going to be wonderful. A winter wonderland."

"You'll freeze to death and the bears will eat your icicle corpse."

"Been there, done that," she sing-songed, eyes gleaming with laughter. When Jacin frowned, she shrugged. "Animals love me."

"That's nice," he said, laying back down on the pillow. "Have fun."

Winter bounded to the cot. "You should come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere, you lunatic. I'm going to catch up on sleep."

She leaned over him, black curls framing high cheekbones and full lips. Her beauty was undeniable. Jacin was usually immune to this sort of thing, but it wasn't just that: she was so sincere and completely unapologetic for her strange ways that he couldn't suppress a bit of admiration. He knew too many people who pretended.

"Are you telling me," she said, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "that you want to spend your morning in this cabin with everyone else? Possibly the entire day?"

Jacin raised an eyebrow at her, not willing to concede that she had a point.

"And as it happens ..." Winter smiled mischievously. "I do believe Iko was going to engage everyone in Christmas decorating today. To get us all into the holiday spirit."

"Oh, no," he drawled, fighting to suppress a smile. "Please, anything but holiday spirit."

She winked again. "Precisely." She stood with grace befitting a dancer and reached for the doorknob. "Five minutes, Jacin. We want to surprise the others with some absolutely chilling tales."

"You'll need a rifle if you're going after wild animals," he called to her retreating back.

"That's why you're coming along. Leave the bear-whispering to me."