Two Souls (The Awakening)

Chapter 1: A New Start?

Snow slowly drifted from a sunless sky as the chilling wind traveled across the ground. The golden glow of street lamps illuminated the car bordered street. The only sounds were those of distant car horns and the whispers of the wind. Such emptiness for such a big country.

Russia was a safe haven to many now, removing itself from the ongoing war.

The wind carried on until it caught a dark brown curl of a single person. She gave a small shiver and gripped her coat, pulling it tighter to herself. Her hazel eyes followed the sparkles that danced across the snow as the sun was finally peeking through the clouds that hung closer to the horizon. With her hair now brushed away from her face, she let out a sigh.

She grumbled as she rummaged through her back pocket for a paper she had tucked away. Pulling it out, she unfolded it and skimmed the top. "Student Transfer and Housing Order". She frowned as she re-read the line over and over again. Once again, she stuffed the paper to the back pocket. Although it didn't make her feel any better to have it tucked away, the hope that this whole thing would disappear still hung in the back of her mind. The hopes of returning home were the only thing that she thought about.

Looking to her left, Sarah noticed a figure down the street that was getting closer as the street lamps illuminated them. It appeared to be another student that strolled down not being affected by the cold. He walked up to the bus stop almost like Sarah wasn't there as he looked down at a small book, its brown cover rather worn. Scribbles over pre written words could be seen here and there on the dingy off white pages. He was dressed in a heavy, white coat with a furry rimmed hood and dark brown pants that were tucked in soft, warm looking boots that matched his jacket's aesthetics. Looking up and tucking the book away, he finally noticed that someone else was there. He looked at Sarah with questioning eyes and smiled his lips revealing perfect white teeth.

"Privet!" he said with excitement, his eyes glittering like the snow.

Pree-viet? Sarah looked at him not understanding what he just said, although the phrase appeared to be spoken in Russian. The look of confusion riddled the student's face. Realizing the situation he smiled, a kind warm smile.

"I apologize. You mustn't have understood. My name is Yaakov. I said hello." He said holding out his hand. His accent was thick with every word that came from his mouth. He had a childish manner yet was very formal with his greeting.

"I'm Sarah," she said back, shaking Yaakov's hand kindly, her hand being warmed by the tan gloves that covered Yaakov's hand. She smiled back and, for a moment, forgot about the sheer cold that pierced her coat.

Yaakov turned his attention to his coat brushing the snow off and doing the same to his hat. Shiny, blonde, curly hair was revealed from underneath his hat. It reminded Sarah of the sun and its warmth. His eyes were a stunning turquoise and were round and inviting and his skin was rather pale with a light blush at his cheeks.

"So where are you from?" he asked examining his hat more closely.

"Oh uh, Florida. I moved from there." Sarah responded from the unexpected question.

Yaakov smiled and replaced his hat. "I figured you were not from here," he said adjusting his hat back on his head and tucking the last strands of hair underneath.

Sarah looked confused but said nothing.

"Sorry, you do stand out quite a bit," Yaakov giggled.

"What makes you say that?" Sarah asked intrigued.

Before Yaakov could answer, the bus was coming down the street, rattling, with red lights flashing, causing the snow to glow along with it. It stopped in front of them and the doors swung open with a hiss. The driver of the bus noticed Sarah and stopped her before she could get on.