Blue

three

Winter crinkled her nose, rolling over to try and avoid the blinding light streaming through the windows. A few moments later, her mind caught up to her and she sat up quickly. Her eyes scanned the room and a state of panic sets in.

"Yooji?" she said anxiously, looking over at the empty spot where Karina had been. She rolled off of the bed and bit her lip nervously. Where had Karina gone? Winter was always the first to wake up.

"Hello?" Winter raised her voice, beginning to pull the blankets off of the bed and look for any hints to where Karina might be. "Yooji?"

She jumped when the door to the bedroom flew open and Giselle appeared, raising an eyebrow at the smaller girl.

"She's at school, Winter, you know that," Giselle wiped her eyes.

"She did not say goodbye," Winter shook her head and slumped down on the bed. "She is mad at me."

"Or maybe she was just running late," Giselle sighed and walked over to Winter, sitting down next to her. "She'll be back before dinner. She always is."

"I know," Winter crawled back up on the bed and pulled the blankets up, completely covering her body. Giselle looked at her questioningly.

"What are you doing, Win?" Giselle laughed, nudging the figure under the blanket. Winter scooted away and shook her head.

"I am sleeping. Please go away," Winter curled the blanket around her fists and took a deep breath. She didn't want Giselle knowing how much it bothered her that Karina hadn't said goodbye.

Goodbyes scared Winter. But at the same time, they comforted her. She'd had too many goodbyes in her life. What if Karina never came back? She wouldn't even remember the last words that they exchanged.

Giselle sighed, deciding against trying to get Winter to move. She left the room without another word, causing the smaller girl to flinch when the door shut behind her.

Winter lifted her head carefully and bit her lip. She slowly untangled herself from the blankets, opened the door and padded down the hallway. Music was blasting from Giselle's bedroom, and she assumed Ningning was still asleep. Yeji and Karina both had class.

Quietly, Winter sat down on the floor by the door and pulled on her worn converse. She wasn't sure what to do with the laces, so she just allowed them to hang freely. Scrambling up to her feet, she checked to make sure no one had seen her before slipping out of the apartment door.

The park was just across the street, she remembered. A smile graced her features when she remembered the flowers Karina had planted there. They'd been so busy with the holidays that they hadn't been able to visit them in a while. Winter figured it was time she gave them some attention.

She shivered when she made it outside, watching the cars buzz by in the busy street. Cars were bad. Unless you were inside them. If you weren't inside a car, walking around them wasn't too safe. Karina had taught her that.

Karina had also taught her how to cross the street so she wouldn't get hurt by the cars. Winter looked up at the sky and smiled, happy to be outside. It was cold but she wasn't too bothered.

She stood patiently on the edge of the sidewalk, watching the light across the street that signaled to her when it was time to walk. Only a few moments later, traffic slowed down and the light changed colors. Winter giggled excitedly and jogged across the street.

She quickly followed the path into the park, picking up the pace as she neared the familiar corner where her flowery friends resided. They reminded her of Karina. Pretty and colorful. But Karina was annoyed with her, so the flowers were the next best thing.