Invisible Strings II

Chapter 4: A Flicker

The snow squeaks under her weight. It's so quiet that it feels like she's walking in a dream.

Her car is a frozen lump of metal, the windshield a sheet of ice. She mutters a half-formed curse, tosses her bag into the passenger seat, and slips inside. The door thuds shut, shaking powder from the roof. She starts the engine and waits, hands cupped to her mouth, breath warming her fingers.

The heater groans awake. Warmth creeps in slowly.

She watches her own faint reflection in the glass. Tired eyes, hair still mussed from sleep. Another day of driving. Another long stretch of road before she reaches Isadora's new campus. God, even her name makes Hannah feel something low and aching she does not have the energy to unpack.

When the car finally thaws enough, Hannah pulls onto the road and coasts into the center of Jericho.

Shops crowd the street, the tiny bookstore, the antique shop with its crooked "OPEN" sign, the café with windows fogged from the inside. Christmas decorations are everywhere. Garlands droop under the weight of snow; warm yellow lights glow in the haze.

It feels like a town sealed in a snow globe.

She parks near the café and steps inside. Heat wraps around her instantly, smelling of cinnamon and roasted beans.

She orders a coffee and an apple fritter and settles by the window. Snowflakes drift lazily past the glass, caught in the morning light.

Her GPS sits on the table. The route to Isadora's new school still glows on the screen... far. Longer than she expected. And with the storm rolling back in, the roads aren't exactly welcoming.

She tears off a piece of the fritter, chewing slowly, thinking.

Should she leave now and risk sliding off some mountain road? Or wait it out, stay another night in the motel that is oh-so-welcoming...

Her fingers wrap around the paper cup. She watches her reflection faintly mirrored in the window, swallowed by white.

Something in her chest twists.

She takes a slow sip and tries to decide if she's brave enough to keep going. Or trying to determine if a couple of hours of waiting it out here would be at least the best option for now. Exploring the shops and maybe buying some knick-knacks she really doesn't need.

‿︵˓ʚ♡ɞ˓︵‿

The drive into town is slow, careful. Snow swirls across the road like wandering ghosts, and Isadora's hands tighten on the wheel with every turn. The forest gives way to the small scattering of buildings that is Jericho, each one haloed in soft morning light.

She parks outside the café. The same one she used to visit before everything changed, and steps out, breath fogging in the air. Her boots crunch through the snow as she walks toward the door.

The second she pulls it open, something hits her.

A scent. Warm. Soft. Familiar in a way that makes her stomach clench. Something sweet with a little bite to it, like citrus and winter and-

Her claws prickle beneath her nails, pressing upward instinctively.

But before she can follow the scent to its source, a voice breaks the moment.

"Well, I'll be damned," a man laughs warmly. "Is that Isadora Capri back in my little shop? Here I thought I'd never see you again."

She turns, startled, then relaxes. "Morning, Pete."

The café owner grins, wiping his hands on a towel. "Didn't think you'd be back in town this winter. What brings you up here?"

She offers a small, practiced smile. "Just... regrouping. Needed some quiet."