48 Days Before the First Letter

12th December 2011...

Midday was humid and windy. Looking in the rearview mirror, I could see dark-grey clouds creeping the sky slowly and stealthily.

To foreigners, tropical island weather can seem unpredictable but to residents (like me) it was yet another December day. November to April was a dreadful time here, known for the infamous tropical cyclones, hurricanes and unusually rainy weather.

I was silently hoping that the recent ritual of a storm around Christmas would not continue again this year as it had been for the past three years. The car jumped over a pothole, plopping my wishful thinking out of my brain, leaving me to wonder what my last train of thought was.

"Sorry," Cheyne smiled nervously.

I gave him a reassuring nod before continuing to stare out the window.

My brother was driving me over to Derek Woods where I was to stay for the next two months. Little did I know then, what fate awaited me...

My eyes were glued to the rain trees that sped by in reverse but I caught a glimpse of tiny yellow leaves at a distance that a swirl of wind had picked up. The small leaves fluttered with the wind, dancing in the last speck of sunlight before the clouds finally caught up to us.

"Just a few more minutes till we're caught in an outpour," I mumbled.

I rolled up the windows and waited for the splatter to hit the car, strongly and loudly. And as it did, I found myself gloomy.

All alone for the holidays.

Being very scarce of family members, this thought shouldn't have felt as bad as it did.

"Jas, you okay?" Cheyne's voice broke me out of my despair.

"Yeah. You?"

"Of course I am. Two months away from your highness counts nothing less than a vacation. I'm happy, ... delighted, ... OVERJOYED if you will," He smirked, making sure I noticed him do it.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Sure. Two months of working long hours on a stranded island. Some vacation," I huffed.

"Hey it's not that bad," he laughed. "I know you'll miss me."

My brother and I weren't very emotional about each other so that earned him an eye roll.

"I almost forgot... I got you something. It's in the glove compartment," he eyed.

Inside, I found a neatly wrapped present. The feel of it let out its secret almost immediately.

"I know it's a book!" I yelped excitedly. "Can I please open it now? Please."

"Go ahead."

As I tore through the glossy red Christmas wrapper, the title revealed itself.

Winter's End by John Rickards.

"Thank you, I'm sure I'll love it."

I gave my brother a quick side hug.

"I know you'll finish it in three days max but that's the plan. You really should get out more."

I sighed sinking into my seat.

"Get out and go where? Derek Woods is so secluded... Sure, Kiara lives in Granny's house now but even she's on vacation somewhere. I don't know anyone there plus the houses are so far apart I doubt I'll see any human life. But then there's that thing where I freak out around new people, and I start babbling when I freak out and that freaks them out and then..."

"If you could stop talking to yourself that would be swell because I can't keep up..." He cut my rant short. "I know you get anxious but you have to try. It's the only way to overcome it. Talking to people isn't rocket science, I'm sure you'll figure it out, Jasmine."

"Rocket science I'd rather handle," I muttered under my breath, staring out the car window again.

He ruffled my hair with his hand. "Just be yourself kiddo. You'll do fine."

Throughout the rest of the ride, I read Winter's End and only when my eyes began stinging did I put the book away. I plugged my earphones in and as 'I'm With You' by Avril Lavigne played, I slowly shut my eyes away from the greens that speeding by.

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I awoke to more green rain trees but they were no longer moving. Cheyne patted my shoulder, motioning me to get up before he got out of the car. As he carried my luggage to the door, I stood in awe of Grandma's house. It looked as beautiful as I remembered it to be. I walked slowly behind him.

Grandma's house alongside the other two buildings my eyes barely spotted over miles of greenery, were large Victorian-style houses. These were mostly owned by retired couples. The architecture was grand yet compact, in a way that did not steal from nature. The houses inconspicuously fit right into the forest.

As soon as I joined Cheyne, Mrs Edmund opened the door to us. She was the house caretaker.

Mrs Edmund greeted us warmly. My brother and she small talked for quite some time as I sat in a corner, making mental notes of the various conversation starters they used. He left soon after, in time to catch a flight later in the evening.

It was 4 pm when I sat on the Adirondack swing outside with a cup of tea. I had just started reading my book when my phone began ringing.

It was Kiara.

"Hello," her voice greeted me.

"Hmm?"

"Jasmine?"

"No. This is the president of the country, of course it's jasmine who else were you calling," I laughed.

"Yup, it is you. How are you? You've reached Derek Woods or no?"

"Just settled in."

"Okay good. Listen, I have a favour to ask."

"Continue."

"My friend, Casper... He lives in a villa across the nearby lake, well, he doesn't live there but he comes over every year for holidays."

"And?"

".... I couldn't tell him I won't be around... uh so if he drops by sometime soon or you bump into him just tell him that, okay?"

"I can't.... people. Please no...." I whined.

"Just do this okay. Please."

"When I see him, I'll let him know."

If I see him, that is. I smirked to myself.

"That's good enough for me. Alright, you have fun." And with that, I heard Josh's voice calling out to her in the background before she hung up.

"Ah what must it feel like to find love and... stuff. Just Great," I whined to myself before getting back inside the house.

I climbed up the stairs to my old room. It was a guest room now and not much had changed. Once inside, I observed the balcony door. It was made out of coloured glass that refracted a rainbow of light into the room. The sight brought back memories of my childhood.

I walked through the door and was greeted by my Grandma's flower pots that hung from the balcony's ceiling. The plants cascaded many tiny flowers of various hues, few of which the wind had swept onto the floor. Undoubtedly, Mrs Edmund and Kiara had taken great care of Granny's flowers. I stood awhile, admiring the beauty before my eyes but the reminiscent sight resurfaced a lot of painful memories. I held onto the cold black railing with both my hands.

My Grandmother was a beautiful woman. She was kind at heart, caring and funny. I remember when I stayed with her, I was so scared to sleep alone. At night, looking at the large mirror of the dresser always scared me for some reason. She'd sing me to sleep every night and cover the mirrors so I wouldn't be scared. She'd tell me about my mom, and even though I wasn't fond of listening about her, I listened anyway because Granny liked talking about her. I knew I loved her more than I could ever love my mother and I think she knew that too. I hope she knew that too.

My hands clasped the railing tightly as I felt an outburst of emotions wreck my brain. Everything here reminded me so much of her, the only deserving parental figure in my life.

I missed her so much and I knew I could never see her again.

I buried my face into my hands and cried for whatever felt like an eternity. Then getting a grip on myself, I quickly wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and blinked several times. My long, dark brown hair was by this time a mess, my face sticky and my shirt clinging onto my skin like a desperate thing. That's when I decided I could really use a shower.

After the soothing bath, I got dressed. I only wore my undies and a huge white tee that barely reached half my thighs and that was as fancy as I managed to get. Who needs pants when you're home alone? Not me that's who.

I dried my hair with a towel and stepped into my room only to find a random, pale, black-haired boy lying on my bed! He burnt holes into me with his eyes...

"Who... who are you?" I stuttered, walking towards him slowly.

He said nothing, holding back a smile that annoyed me.

"Who the hell are you?! And what are you doing here?"

I noticed his eyes skim down to my legs.

MY LEGS!

I WASN'T WEARING ANY PANTS!

"Aaaaaahhhh!" I screamed, running back into the bathroom.