Cold

Chapter 4: Growing Spring

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Author Says: This is a special chapter for a main character, Jane Eiker, that happened at the same day from the previous chapter. Also introducing her best friend, Alice Valla.

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CHAPTER 4: Growing Spring

In the lush meadow located southeast of the main District Twelve village, found a beautiful scenery of rabbits, sniffing and hopping around, coming out of their holes to the next holes, small birds chirping and hovering with the wind as it blows the green patches of grass. Deer were safely roaming the field looking for a fine leaf to eat. Not far away from the south was a view of the gorgeous wheat field, sugar canes and various types of vegetables and a jade colored pasture with a number of fluffy white sheep resting and some were singing with their own ‘baa’ tone.

This was my favorite spot— a raised terrain in the middle of the meadow, with a giant willow tree and a wooden bench under it that faced the nice blue stream and bountiful coniferous forest across it.

I was taking a break from my duty at my father’s office and was sitting on the bench filled with so much sentimentality at this place.

My name's Jane Eiker, I had brownish straight Lindsay-type hair layering down from shoulder to half of my back. My father, Friz Eiker, said that I was as beautiful as my mother. I didn't saw her since I was born. My father didn’t even mention a thing about her. But he may keep his secrets, since I already knew it from someone when I desperately wanted to know something about her. I believed in the story about her as I also believed that the ability I had was from her. My father said that I am very special. I knew I was, but the same way he kept my mother’s existence, I never mentioned about my specialty to him. I have known this special ability to communicate with animals since I was 7 years old.

— One blossoming Spring day, when me, Alice and Benji were overjoyed youngsters playing late in the afternoon at this same spot. A wild dog just went astray hunting for prey. Instead of the wild rabbits, the wild dog hounded us. We run up to this Willow tree and only Alice and Benji managed to climb up. I was so little back then, I can’t help myself but to sit back leaning on the big tree, and the wild dog was about to bite me.  

“No!” I screamed full of anxiety, but then the wild dog only did was sniffing and it also licked my cheek.

Alice shouted while up in the tree, embracing a big branch, “Jane!”

Surprisingly, the wild dog apologized, “I’m sorry, Miss Jane. I won't scare you like this again, ever.” I was the only one who heard it and it even hauled me to stand up. I was shocked and felt funny at the same time, thought the wild dog was cute, so I patted it gently on its head.

“Please be nice now Mr. Wild dog, ok?” I said.

I was smiling at it and the wild dog said, “Okay, Miss Jane.” It bowed at me then swiftly run off.

Benji jumped down from the tree after he saw the wild dog bolted away. “Jane, are you alright?” he held me on my right shoulder, worried.

“I’m fine.” I smiled at him and looked up at Alice, and then we helped her to jump down from the tree.

I told them that the wild dog spoke to me. My best friends whooped a laughter but they believed me. Benji wanted more so he whistled, calling the small blue bird resting up on the tree, though the bird just flew off, instead. The rabbits shortly sneaked out from the holes that Alice asked me to call the them and they clearly understood what I said. Three of them bounced and played along with us. They may not understood the animals but if I was with them, they felt like they could, too.