Fernweh {Discontinued}

[Chapter 4]

You touched your bedroom window feeling the cold from the outside against the warmth of your hand. Earlier, you had opened the window and deeply regretted the decision. You still felt chilled to the bone under your many blankets. Your cheeks and nose still flushed from the sudden blast of cold.

You sighed and watched as the window fogged up. Mindlessly, you began to doodle on the window as you thought. Not even two days had past since your last encounter with the four. Every sign told you something was wrong and nothing was done.

The plants were depressed and withering when they should be giving their final full blooms. Leaves never had the chance to change into autumn colors. Instead they just fell, leaving the trees bare. Any animals you had seen were either lethargic or panicked, refusing to eat. The moods of people had also changed. Your friends were stressed out over little things. Teachers had shorter tempers. But through everything, your home seemed to be left unaffected.

Any animals of yours were as energetic and healthy as they always were. Birds seem to either hover over or rest in nearby trees, giving quite the chorus in the morning. Your parents commented on how angry or rude people were these past few days blaming it on the gloomy weather. Any friends who stopped by felt relieved and a burden thrown off their shoulders.

You continued to stare out at the tiring gloom. Still no sunshine and only heavy rain plagued the city. But today was different.

Your eyes watched something white and delicate fall from the sky. Each flake was joined by another as they filled the air. A blanket of snow had already settled itself overnight. That's the reason you were still in your pajamas and not on the bus to school. Authorities had found the snow abnormal enough to give all the school kids a day off. It was so abnormal that your parents had stayed home themselves.

Normally, you would have jumped out of your bed and went to enjoy the snow. This time, however, the snow had been so early that you had no actual winter gear or there was never a chance for snow and you didn't have an heavy coats. There was also the fact that the Heartless could attack you at any time now.

There had been a few incidents during school, you stared down at some of the bandaids on your arms.

"Breakfast is ready!" someone shouted from downstairs.

"Coming!" you shouted back. You bundled closer to your blanket and began to leave your room until a dread took over, incapacitating you. An unsettling feeling settled in your chest, suffocating you. The cold seeped into you as you felt your lungs constricted. A drowsiness seemed to take over. You steadied yourself against the window as you felt the ground shift under you.

Black specks appeared in your vision but nothing was wrong. Rather in the distance specks of black appeared. Heavy breathig filled the silence as you tried to compose yourself. The specks moving in the distane. Wrapping the blanket around yourself tighter, you went to your closet. You quickly changed into warmer gear and tried to find suitable shoes.

Don't be afraid.

"Mom! Dad! I'll be right back!" you rushed towards the front door. You looked over to the kitchen waiting for a response only to see no one there.

"Anyone here?" you shouted, running around the house. "Hello!"

You gulped away your fear. It was time to take some sort of action. Grabbing your umbrella, you locked the door behind you and pocketed your house keys. You stared at the open white landscape and listened for any sign of life.

Nothing.

Not the sound of children enjoying the snow day. The usual chorus of birds were gone. Not a sign of passing cars or of anybody.