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"Fucking cold," Dilani grunted. "Don't know how people can live in this ... this ... place. I mean, whatever, it's nice every once and a while, but ... damn." Snow was peppering the ground in a manner which was extremely deflating to Amaranthine's excitement. She could feel the wetness of the snow in her soul, but she could also feel the endless, boundless cold, like a needle in her finger. She was draped in blankets left and right, and yet she was still shivering. Mrs. Allweather was watching her with concern, and Mr. Parker was driving rather more quickly than he usually did, as though eager to get this trip over with. Dilani was watching out the window with distaste. "What about the husky dogs?" Amaranthine asked, smiling softly, her dark eyes twinkling. Dilani grinned. "You got me," she said. "The husky dogs make it all worthwhile." Amaranthine nodded, and cuddled into her blankets. She wiggled her toes into the warm fabric and closed her eyes, feeling the RV bumping subtly about as it rumbled down the road. "Gonna get gas," Mr. Parker announced, pulling into a remote little gas station just outside of Barrow. He put on the breaks and hopped out of the vehicle, rubbing his hands together in the chill. "I want M&Ms," Dilani said loudly, following Mr. Parker into the light snow. As the door shut, Mrs. Allweather turned to Amaranthine and smiled. "We're getting close," she said. "What're you going to do when we find him?" Amaranthine opened her eyes and lifted her head. "I shall smile at him," she said, "and I shall tell him my name, and I shall tell him that he does not need to worry anymore, because I have come to help him find the thing that he has lost. And then he will tell me what he is missing, and we will find it. And then my work will be done." Mrs. Allweather nodded. "And then what?" she asked. "We shall see," Amaranthine said, "how long it takes to find what he is missing." "Ah," Mrs. Allweather said. "Well, it will be a relief, in any case." Amaranthine agreed heartily, and closed her big brown eyes again. Her lips parted in the soft, even breath of sleep. Soon after, the others returned, and the RV continued on its way. "I found him," Dilani announced, brandishing the phone book. "1307 Bradbury Street, Barrow." Mr. Parker opened his map with a crinkling of paper. "That's not far from here," he said. "Should take us five minutes, at most." Amaranthine's fingers trembled as she peered over Dilani's shoulder, touching Leopold Anderson's name with her fingertips. "Five minutes," she murmured. Mr. Parker was true to his word. Five minutes, and they were there, parked in front of a little brown house with elaborate terracing, a porch with a rocking chair, and a white picket fence around the snow-covered yard. "Fancy-schmancy," Dilani commented, but Amaranthine was already out of earshot, running for the door, her short hair fluttering in the cold breeze. Mrs. Allweather was right behind her, jogging and laughing. Mr. Parker followed, walking briskly, his arms crossed in front of him. Dilani jumped down from the steps, and followed last, swinging her arms. Amaranthine rang the doorbell, and clutched Mrs. Allweather's hand. The door opened, and behind it stood a short, handsome man, with short black hair and eyes like the darkest night. He looked around at the assembled crowd almost expectantly. "Well?" he asked. "It's seven in the morning. What is it?" The girl stepped forward. "My name is Amaranthine," she said, staring straight into his midnight black eyes. "I have come to help you find what you are searching for." The man stared at her. "I'm sorry," he said. "I've already paid off my house, I don't need what you're selling ... are you okay?" He asked because Amaranthine's face looked as though someone had slapped her. "You are not the one for whom I have been searching," she said through numb lips. She stared at him for another moment, his tan skin, his thin nose, and then she was running, running down the driveway, staggering barefoot through the snow, gone down the street. "Are you going to go after her?" Leopold Anderson asked in astonishment. Mrs. Allweather had been looking at Dilani and Mr. Parker for several minutes, then. "Are we?" she asked, her eyes dark and clouded. "Um," Leopold said, wringing his hands, "why don't you come inside and have a drink?" "Three years?" Leopold asked. "With nothing but an eye color to go off of?" "'S fucked up," Dilani said with a shrug. "None of us get it. We just kind of went along with it, I think, because it seemed so important to her. Like her life depended on it." Leopold shook his head. "I don't begin to understand what brings you all from the 48 states up here for a girl looking for a man with black eyes. It's beyond me, honest, though she did seem charming before she ran off like that. But I believe you. And I'm sorry I'm not who you're looking for." "Be glad," Mr. Parker said. "If she's traveling all this way because her man lost something, he must have lost something major. At least you haven't suffered that kind of loss." "True, true," Leopold agreed. "Listen, I'm a bit worried. She hasn't come back, and it's been half an hour. Storming something awful, from what I can see. Shouldn't we look for her?" "I don't know," said Mrs. Allweather. "Something in me says we should let her come back to us. Perhaps she'll be waiting at the RV," she added, but she didn't sound convinced. "I know her," said Mr. Parker. "She needs time." Leopold nodded, and sipped at his coffee. Silence descended for a few minutes, each with his or her own thoughts. Dilani glanced at the clock, but said nothing, twisting one of her dreadlocks around her long, thin finger. "While we're waiting," Mrs. Allweather said finally, setting down her cup of herbal tea, "what do you do for a living, Mr. Anderson?" "Oh," he smiled, "I work for a major publishing company branch here in Alaska. I guess you could say I'm the talent scout, of sorts." Dilani nearly fell out of her chair. |