In Factorem - The Coming Winter

Chapter 1 - Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow

“I’ve been speaking with her for weeks, I know she’s the one. Am I not a sökare? She is mine, I can feel it.”

“How do you know? You’ve never even seen her.”

“I guess I don’t know, but it feels like her. I can feel her in my dreams. It has to be her.”

“If you’re right, we have to get her out. How much longer do we have?”

“I don’t know, maybe a couple more weeks. But I don’t think she’s going to want to come.”

"I’m not sure she will have a choice.”

***

I sat on the couch peering over the top of my book, watching each drop of rain roll down the window. I wanted to read, but now that I’m sitting here I can’t seem to focus. I can feel each drop falling from the sky and hitting the deck, the gentle pounding sending me into a zoned out kind of state.

A flash and a quick crack of thunder brings my mind back from the hazy dream. I blink a few times as my eyes focus on the book in front of me.

“Screw it,” I say, jamming a bookmark in between the pages. I decide to risk my computer anyway. What are the odds of a lightening strike hitting somewhere close enough to fry my computer?

I poke unmercifully at the power button and the machine whirrs to life. A quick smile spreads across my face as I rub my hands together for a bit of warmth, and to limber my fingers up. I plop down in my squishy office chair and curl my legs up. Ugh, this always takes so long to boot up. I should have just left it on.

I run off and grab a glass of water while the machine finishes waking up, returning just in time to throw in a couple of quick keystrokes making my desktop appear. A few clicks later and I’m logged in.

God I hope she’s on. She’s pretty much the only reason I get online anymore. Although we don’t get to chat as often as I’d like, I love it when we can just say hi. We met just a few weeks ago but hang out together, in a manner of speaking, whenever we can. It’s nice to be able to hide. Hide from my life, and everyone in it.

A quick scan shows me that she’s not online, or at least, her chat line is off. Even though I knew it was a long shot, my heart sinks a little. Eh, I might as well stay logged in for a bit. Maybe she’ll be up late and check if I’m logged in. I surf around for a bit, reading some stories online. Eventually my computer lets out a beep and I see the words pop up on my screen, “HI!!”

Suddenly I hear a loud boom, like half the house is being ripped away. The lights go out and I’m left sitting in the dark, my nose stinging from the smell of ozone and burnt electronics

It looks like the odds of a lightening strike were higher than I thought. A few articles of furniture try to trip me while I navigate to the kitchen in the dark. A few moments rummaging around in the junk drawer turns up a usable flashlight. A quick survey around the office reveals only two burnt electrical outlets, both belonging to my computer. A long sigh escapes through my nose. Now I’m going to be stuck on my notebook computer for a while. Not that I can use it now since the power is out.

I finish unplugging what is left of my computer just in time for the phone to ring. It takes a bit of stumbling across the living room, but I manage to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” says a familiar voice.

“Hi Alex, are you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he replies. “I see you lost power. I did too. That was a close strike, but your house looks okay from here.”

“It’s good to have a Peeping Tom for a neighbor.” I laugh while peering out the window. I can see a flashlight illuminating his windows across the street. “Your house looks okay too.”