Midnight Snowflakes

Chapter 1

Delicate snowflakes danced through the cool winter air as Secoya approached the black iron gate that bore entrance to the pool, the midnight moon bathing her brown, curly locks in silver.

The petite girl shivered and pulled her fur coat even tighter around her thin frame, questioning for the millionth time why she had come here, in the dead of night especially, without her parents' knowledge. And for the millionth time, she reached the same conclusion - she needed a place to think.

There was simply too many things happening in her life too fast, one thing right after the other - her father's death, her recent breakup, and now her mom remarrying was just too much for Secoya's fragile mind. Once again, she found herself returning to the place of so many memories, seeking the comfort of the pool's quiet waters, the only place where she wasn't judged or criticized.

Secoya reached the gate and stopped, placing her hands on the bars and feeling the cold iron under her fingers. The gate was tall, about eight feet high, and it arched at the top. It had frozen over almost as soon as fall ended, and now icicles hung down on it like teeth, glittering menacingly.

Secoya fumbled with the frozen combination lock that kept all the intruders out, her frozen fingers protesting every second of the way. Finally, after at least ten billion tries, the lock clicked open, and she pulled it off.

She rubbed her aching hands together, trying desperately to generate some sort of heart, but failed miserably. A huff of frustration left her dry, cracked lips as her hands went numb, her breath hanging in the air like a cloud before disappearing.

She stuck her hands inside the back pockets of her jeans, trying once more to warm them, when she felt something. Curious, she pulled it out and revealed her pair of woolly gloves she forgot she brought with her. Secoya cursed her own stupidity under her breath and slid them on. She hated how forgetful she was. It felt like every time she really wanted to remember something, it was sucked straight out of her memory like a vacuum might suck up dust. Sure, her mom bought her medication, but it never seemed to help her like it helped everyone else.

It's because you're hopeless, Secoya, a nasty voice sneered, deciding to make an appearance in Secoya's thoughts. You're worth nothing. No one cares about you. You could die and no one would care. Tears pricked her bright green eyes, threatening to spill over as she clenched her fists.

She absolutely despised that little voice, the one that caused so many tears to fall from not only her eyes, but the eyes of billions of people around the world. This time though, she decided firmly, blinking back the tears, world be different. Tonight, Secoya was set on finding peace, and she wasn't letting that nagging voice ruin that.

Secoya swallowed the lump that had formed inside her throat and pulled the gate open, its rusty hinges creaking. She tiptoed into the pool area and closed the gate softly behind her, sighing in relief when it didn't clang. She turned around and let her light green gaze scan her surroundings.

The sight that greeted her eyes caused her breath to hitch in her throat. The pool lights glowed softly, lighting up the entire pool so that it glistened like a sapphire.

The pool chairs were deserted and blanketed in white snow, and the blue-and-white umbrellas were folded up and lay on their sides next to the chairs. The two oaks in the neighbor's yard rustled as the wind blustered past, and the whole scene was so peaceful that for the first time that night, Secoya smiled.

The brown-haired girl crunched through the newfallen snow over to the pool's edge, her faux fur boots leaving tracks that were covered up with new snow seemingly as fast as she made them. She plopped down and yanked the boots off her feet, wiggling her toes that were at last freed from their warm confines.

Secoya promptly stuck her feet into the freezing water, not caring one bit as the cold nipped at them, turning them blue. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and before she even realised what she was doing, began telling her story to the full moon, not noticing the silhouette of the boy in the corner.

He watched silently as this strange new girl poured her heart out to the open sky, still completely oblivious to his presence. He didn't move a muscle the entire time she talked, quietly listening to her voice.

His heart ached with guilt, though, guilt for not making any move to stop her from completely revealing her life to him, even though he knew he should. But if she sent him away, he would be left with absolutely nowhere to go, and he couldn't risk that. That little corner was the blue-eyed boy's home, the place where he watched happy families play in the summer, and where he huddled for warmth in the freezing winters. This was the only place where he could rest, and not worry about running from the police who called him "that little, stinky homeless one". No, he couldn't go back to that life....

Suddenly, he realized that the girl had stopped talking. He turned his head and his eyes met with a pair of shocking green ones. And they were looking RIGHT AT HIM. He froze, a lock of brown hair falling into his eyes as the girl stood up slowly, and approached him.

She had found him.