If Time Stands Still

1- snowy days

Sundays has got to be my favourite day of the week. It's the one day where I have absolutely no responsibilities whatsoever, which means I'm able to sleep in until I please. It's one of the few things that I cherish, so being woken up by my little sister at exactly 07:38am pisses me off to no end.

"Oh my God, Luna, what!?" I yell, feeling groggy as I sit up a bit too fast. I've been up late last night working on my own website and probably have bags under my eyes.

"I can't find socks anywhere!" She yells back, frantically looking all over my room.

My eyes widen, "You woke me up at this hour looking for socks!?"

"Not socks. Socks!" She emphasizes, but it takes me a good few seconds to realize that she's talking about her cat, Socks.

I love my sister, but seriously? It has been two weeks since we've moved into this new, quieter neighborhood which my parents were adamant on. The cat is bound to explore. Although Dad is a real estate developer, we've been living in the same, untouched house since I was born. Recently, he told us that he likes this neighborhood, as it would be a more peaceful environment for me and Luna- although I think it's more for his own benefit, but I digress. The point is, Socks is a cat and cats explore. It took him a week to just come out of her room, so I have no idea why she's being so dramatic.

"He's probably just exploring, as usual. And you'll feel like a dummy when he comes back, as usual." I tell her calmly as I lay back down in my cozy bed, "Please close the door behind you."

"You don't get it." She says as the bed dips beside me, "He was limping yesterday and now he's probably lost and in pain. He's been gone for almost a whole day now."

I open my eyes again to meet her teary ones. Ugh... she has a tendency to overreact, but seeing her torn up about this isn't a pleasant sight. So, being the amazing older sister that I am, I drag myself out of bed, assure her that Socks is okay and that we'll find him before kicking her out of my room to take a quick, hot shower that'll hopefully wake me up.

...

"I can't believe it's almost 9." Luna mutters, "Was it really necessary to shower first?"

"I never leave the house without a shower." I defend myself. "You should be glad that I came out at all."

She doesn't say anything and neither do I. I hate when she's cranky as it always gets taken out on me. I, on the other hand, never allow my emotions to control me- whatever it may be. Not anymore.

"Does he have a bell?"

"Has Socks ever had a bell?" She snaps, but I let it go solely because I know she's upset right now. Teenagers.

I shove my freezing hands in my pockets despite wearing thick gloves. February just started, meaning that this teeth-chattering coldness won't be going away anytime soon and I'm over it. I can't go out even if I wanted to and I'm seriously sun deprived. Winter makes me miserable.

"How are we going to find a white cat amongst snow?" I ask her, my arms now folded and hands tucked under in an attempt to keep my body heat from escaping.

"Why do you always have to be so negative?"

I scoff, placing yet another 'missing cat' poster up. "It was a genuine question."

She ignores me for a while, the sound of snow beneath our footsteps the only thing audible before she speaks up again. "Maybe we should try knocking on people's doors?"

"I'm out." I shake my head.

"Aylin!"

"No, look. If Socks wants to come home, he'll come home. We're new here, practically strangers. Besides, it's literally not even 9am yet. Do you want these people to hate us?"