A Year of Winter

twenty-four

April 20th, 2014

I got the text from Bronwyn before it got dark out to drive to her house.

I’d never been to Winter’s before—it felt like it didn’t exist, or that it was separate from our universe. I imagined it tucked away behind a blanket of trees, far from city life, where she could breathe.

I told my mother and father that I was headed to Andrew’s, and they seemed to buy it with an ignorant nod, telling me to be “back before midnight.” Hattie, however, stopped me in the foyer while I was tying my shoes.

She leaned against the front door, “Where’re you headed?”

“Andrew’s,” I lied, looking down to tie my shoes.

“Okay, but where are you really going?”

I dropped my laces, looking up at her in astonishment. How could she have known? “Just…Andrew’s,” I stammered.

“You’re an awful liar,” Hattie chuckled, falling to the floor beside me. Her bright eyes met mine, and she smiled, “Well, wherever you’re going, mind if I join?”

I shake my head. “Absolutely not.”

“So it’s not just Andrew’s,” she deduced smugly, crossing her arms.

I sigh, “Look, I don’t have time for this,” I told her, standing up, rummaging in my pockets for my keys before I made my way for the door. “I’m almost eighteen; I can do what I want.”

“But you’re not eighteen yet, and I’ll tell mom and dad,” Hattie said, stopping me abruptly in my tracks. I turned around to look at her—she smiled.

“I don’t want to give you an ultimatum, but I will,” Hattie said, standing back up. She put her hands on her hips, “I want to help you, Henry.”

I frowned, deep in thought. I scratched my head.

“Look,” she sighed. “I know this is about Winter. So, you’re probably off to do something stupid to find her, and I don’t want you to wind up in danger.”

I looked up at her—her eyes wide and determined, standing up straight, chin held high. She wasn’t going to move backwards unless I pushed her, and I was done with feeling angry. Instead, I sighed and opened the door, revealing the front lawn and my car, parked right ahead.

“Then come on.”

 ❄

I had to check the directions Bronwyn had sent me to see if I was at the correct house or not.

It turned out that I was, and that I simply had anticipated something a tad bit different. Winter’s house was a fair size, a townhouse styled home centered in the middle of a row on a main road. It was bright red with white trim, paneled with wood, with a pointed roof. I must’ve passed by it a thousand times and not ever noticed it.

I parked my car on the side of the road, and Hattie and I exited and paid the meter. We walked up to Winter’s home, my hands shaking. Hattie knocked for me.

Moments passed, and Bronwyn eventually came to the door, all smiles. Her bright hair was pulled back, and she wore all black, as she’d instructed. She held the door open for me, “You’re right on time,” she told me. Her eyes wandered to Hattie at my right, and she grinned wider, “This your sister?”

I nodded.

“Hattie,” she said, eyes wide, perhaps blown away by the resemblance between the two.