13. Snow
A little story from Kara while her daddy was missing!
Kara sniffled, brushing away a tear as she curled into a ball.
Her dad was gone. Christian was gone, and she had no idea how to get him back.
Her tiny form was hidden away in the walls, just like he’d always told her to do if she was in trouble. Stay out of sight, out of reach, beyond notice by any humans. She had to choke down her cries, forcing herself to stay quiet in the vents.
She’d run long and hard to get away from that terrible, horrid room where he’d been taken from. Why? Why him, why now, why did she have to lose the last person she had in her life?
Her mom was gone, nice old Mikael had vanished a week ago, and now daddy had followed, grabbed in huge hands.
She blinked her grey eyes open again, and uncurled enough to creep along the vent. The metal was cold to the touch, but it wasn’t on. If she heard the clanking motors activate deep in the bowels of the motel, she’d be forced to find a new place to hide.
Ahead, there was a slit. She came up to it, peering out to see where she was.
One of the motel rooms stretched out before her, and she very nearly ducked back down. But there were no humans up and about, just one guy sitting on the bed down there. The television was on nearby, and she stared at it. Her dad had told her about televisions before. How they could show humans things that happened very far away.
This one had a white forest on the screen, and her grey eyes reflected the sight of gentle snowflakes landing on the ground.
It was so peaceful and idyllic. A scene that Kara would never be able to see outside of the walls.
She took a deep breath, holding the image in her head. Peace. She needed to get her daddy back so they could find some peace of their own.
The human shifted, and her terrified eyes flashed back to him. He was huge. Why did humans have to be so massive?
Him moving caught her attention to something she’d missed. On his shoulder, there was another man.
The human’s voice was drowned out by her shocked reaction. She almost scrambled away from the vent, then inched forward once more to see if she’d been imagining things.
But no. It wasn’t her imagination. There was a man on the human’s shoulder, and he looked as relaxed as anyone she’d seen. No fear, no worry. Casual words exchanged between the two of them as they argued over what they should do next. The human stood and snapped off the television, dispelling the image of the snowy forest.
Kara blinked, then her resolved firmed. When the human wasn’t around, she needed to talk to this new guy. Sam.
Maybe he could help her find her daddy.
Brothers Apart 