Winter's Child

Chapter Two~Crossroads

Elodie kept her head covered until the whirling winds had subsided. She finally looked up to see that she was not in the forest anymore. She didn't know where she was, actually. All she could see around her was white. Everything was white and there was not a sound, as if time itself had frozen still.

Elodie glanced around nervously as her heart began to beat faster with panic. She didn't know what to do. She had never been so lost that she had no idea where she was. She didn't even know how she became lost. If she connected the dots correctly, it probably had something to do with the man she saw in the woods. She had never heard of him before. Perhaps, if she could find him again, he would help her find her way back home.

"Hello, Ellie." Her thoughts were interrupted by a young man's voice. It wasn't the whispering, ominous voice she had heard earlier. It was soft and kind. She slowly turned to face the source of the voice.

The boy standing behind her looked familiar. Of course, he had grown since she last saw him. The white hair and ice-blue eyes gave him away in an instant. Elodie smiled a little, remembering the boy.

"Jack?" she asked uncertainly, thinking that she may be imagining things. But, under the circumstances, why not have a childhood stranger whom she believed never to see again show up at the drop of a hat? After all this time.

Jack smiled and took a few slow steps towards her. His eyes softened when they met her's and he tilted his head to the side.

"Do not be afraid. You're safe here," he said with a smile. Elodie nodded.

"Where are we?" she asked worriedly. "Wait, I'm not...dead, am I?" Jack laughed a little and shook his head, causing his shaggy white hair to fall over his eyes before he quickly brushed it back. His hair had been unruly ever since he was little. His mother commented on it often.

"No, you're not," Jack assured. "You're at a crossroads. Between worlds." Elodie's brows furrowed with confusion.

"A...crossroads?" Jack nodded and gestured to his left. There, not far from them, was a sign. It indicated different routes with arrows pointing this way and that. Elodie read the words on the arrows carefully.

'Talvimora, Land of Winter', 'Fonsia, Land of the New-Come Spring', 'Kesamaran, Land of the Summer' and 'Caderena, Land of Autumn'.

"What are those places?" Elodie asked in a nervous whisper. They sounded surreal. Like something she would see in a movie. Elodie still didn't have a very solid grasp on reality. All of this seemed too unreal. Even when she pinched herself multiple times, Elodie was still convinced that all of this was a dream. It had to be. Nothing like this would ever happen in her everyday, boring life. It simply couldn't.

"They are the homes of others like me. They are all different kingdoms. Together, my kind keep the seasons of Planet Earth running smoothly. We control the weather and mostly everything you can think of that has to do with the season." Elodie turned to Jack with a questioning look.

"So...where do you come from Jack?" she asked. Jack pointed to the top sign on the pole. Talvimora.

"I come from the land of the Winter. We manipulate the winter and everything it represents. Such as snow and ice. Blizzards, cold and death." Elodie quirked a brow.

"Well...that's a bit depressing. Don't you think? I mean, watching people die all the time."

"We don't watch them die. We just arrange their death dates. It's completely different." Elodie nodded but her eyes widened momentarily. It still didn't exactly sound like her dream job. Then again, she knew of some people who would probably kill to be able to arrange people's death dates.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Elodie glanced at the other signs. "What about the rest of the kingdoms? What do they do?"

"Fonsia controls the Spring and what represents it. So, new life, melting the cold, all that. Kesamaran is Summer. They have little responsibility actually. Just making sure the water runs smoothly and that the sun doesn't become too warm. Caderena is the busiest kingdom. They take care of preparing all of the animals and humans for the winter. As well as looking after the crops, making sure the leaves fall on time and other things like that. I tend not to pay attention to them that much. They're far too busy for my taste."

"So, all these different kingdoms control the little details of each season?" Jack nodded.

"But, you. You're the one we have to talk about." Elodie sighed a little but listened. "You are born different. Most humans are born well...humans. But, you're one of the rare ones. You were born in your world, belonging to another. There are very few like you out there. Only one, actually. But, should you choose to return to your world, you are sworn to strict secrecy. You can never speak of our world to anyone else."

"You're telling me I belong in a different world even though I was born on Earth?" Jack nodded. "So...where do I belong then?"

"You belong in Talvimora. With myself and the rest of my kind." Jack informed casually. "That's why you differ so much in appearance from your family. Why your skin, hair and eyes are so much lighter than their's. It's because you-"

"So, I have to go back with you? To this Talvimora?"

"Well, you don't have to. You can go back to Earth if you want but, you can never tell anyone about us and you can never return to Talvimora. However, I believe that we need you in Talvimora for other reasons than simply living there. But, it's still your choice."

"Not an easy one." Elodie sighed as she paused for a moment. "Can I at least see your land before making my final decision?" Jack smiled and nodded, eager to show this girl his home. She would surely stay when she saw it. Even he thought it was amazing. And he had grown up in it. She would find it phenomenal. He was sure.

Elodie wasn't very indecisive. She was positive that she would choose to stay in her own world at the end of the day. Even though her life could be tedious and boring at times, she still liked it. She loved her family and wouldn't trade them for the world.