Hibernal [h.s.] AU

Prologue

chapter song  ^^ Don't Be Cruel- Billy Swan

December 2016

Genesis loved the snow when she was younger. She marveled at the first snowfall of the year. Something about the construction of a snowflake satisfied her, especially what they create when clumped together. Her family always called her crazy for her obsession with the cold season since she was a summer baby. It fascinated her how the entire atmosphere shifted once winter came full force, especially in her hometown, Whittier, Alaska.

Her brother, unlike her, hated the winter and the town. He could not wait to get out and let everyone know it. She detested how someone could hate where they were born and raised.

She did not care that they lived in the same apartment building as nearly everyone in the town. She thought it was cool that Whittier earned the nickname town under one roof. She was grateful for the ethereal view of surrounding mountains and glaciers and heaps of snow.

Anyway, she never paid her grumpy older brother any mind. They got along for the most part, other than her teasing how long he was starting to let his hair grow. She noticed the longer it got, the greasier it became. They had their arguments and issues, but he was always protective over her and loved her as a big brother should.

Though, there was one thing about Whittier that worried her for some time. There is only one way in and one way out of the small city. She tried not to think about what would happen if there was an emergency: an avalanche, flood, or something.

She enjoyed school because she did not have to go far; it was attached to the residential apartment building. She had friends, and the best part was that they all lived in the same place. Sleepovers were never hard to plan. She never understood why anyone would complain. She did not think she needed malls, big corporate stores, or buildings. She believed they had everything they needed until they left.

Now that she is a sophomore in college, she reminisces on the optimistic view she had about Whittier. She still believes she had everything at that age, but now she is 19. She cannot imagine how she would have thrived in her social life or met new people if they remained in Whittier after she graduated. She was happy in California.

She misses her family, but they are never too far. Both her parents live only a few hundred miles from campus, and her brother is somewhere living his life in LA. She still asks him why he never went through with completing college and getting a degree. He is 22 now and still jumping from job to job, never settling with anything.

For nostalgia, she decided to use her winter break to return to the town that raised her. Her friends at college poked and prodded her to tell them the secret truth about Whittier.

"It has to be a cult," they said. "I could never live in the same building as my whole town."

But that was something Genesis loved. Everyone knew each other. While some people found this annoying and quite suffocating, it made her feel comfortable and safe.