Lavender Storm (NaNoWriMo 2015 WIP)

Chapter 2: The Snow

****I am planning to begin removal of areas which are not related to the plot and replace them with new scenes. If you have tried NaNoWriMo, you probably know there is a lot of work to be done post-November! If there are any parts you particularly enjoy, don't hesitate to comment so that they don't end up deleted. Thanks!!! :) ****  

She thought about the boy with lavender eyes often, but with each passing day, he became a more distant memory. Eliza had convinced herself a few weeks following the incident, that it had all been in her imagination, and that he had never even existed. Too many nights she had tossed and turned and too many Sundays had come and gone with no further sightings. As the holidays drew to a close and New Year's Day had passed, she rarely even thought about him anymore. Then, one January morning, she saw him again.

Eliza had awoken that morning excited and ready to run out the door. The news had predicted a heavy snowstorm overnight. In North Carolina, "heavy" meant five or six inches of accumulation and it had been two years since they had seen more than slush. Her Dad's family in Pennsylvania thought that they made too much of a fuss, but why wouldn't they? This only happened once or twice a year, and rarely did they get the kind of snow one could make a decent snowman out of. They had decided to stay with her grandmother, the whole bunch of them. Dad, Ma, Clarence, and Eliza had driven there the night before to make sure that she wouldn't be alone in case the roads got bad. Eliza peered through the curtains of her bedroom and it was dark outside.

The white expanse of powder leading far out to the tree line, and the still falling snowflakes, made for an enchanting sight under the moonlight. Eliza smiled from ear to ear and leaped from her bed in her white lace sleeping gown. She pulled on her polka dotted robe and slippers and walked downstairs to see if anyone was awake. No one was. She looked up at the clock in the kitchen which read five o'clock. Her grandmother would soon be up, followed by her father, her mother and finally Clarence. She couldn't wait for them, so she hurried back upstairs to put on her winter clothes. Eliza had a new pair of snow pants which her grandmother had bought her for Christmas. Their father had planned to take them skiing in the mountains that winter, but as of right now her new snow clothes were unused and ready to be taken on a test run.

She pulled on her navy blue ski jacket and red scarf, with a white hat and gloves. She ran down to the front door and pulled on her boots before leaving a note that said she couldn't wait any longer. Eliza opened the front door and walked down into the yard. Holding out her arms, she looked up and opened her mouth to catch the big wet falling snowflakes on her tongue. The snow came down quickly towards her, illuminated by the moon and stars. She thought she might have stood there for hours if she hadn't been interrupted so abruptly.

"Were you really dropped on your head as a baby?" a voice shattered the silence behind her. It wasn't Clarence. She put her arms down and lowered her head. Her heart began to pound and her chest tightened, as she slowly turned to face him. There he was, the same curly haired boy with the lavender eyes from so many months ago.

She gasped and with a shaky voice asked him "huh?"

"In the woods, after you fell, the boy human said you were suffering symptoms from being dropped on your head as a baby. I wondered if there was any truth to that, or if it was just another human joke I couldn't understand, but you didn't laugh. The boy human laughed, but you didn't even crack a smile." The boy was serious.

"Um... uh, yes, Of course, it was a joke, and what do you mean by 'human' joke'?" She asked him. Maybe I'm sleeping, because this is definitely not real, she thought. She pulled up her coat sleeve and pinched herself on the arm "ow!" She yelped.

"Why did you do that?" he asked with sincere concern. He walked towards her to help, but she jumped back. The boy quickly took the hint and pulled back his hand, moving a few feet out of her way.

She had no idea what to say. He certainly didn't talk like any normal fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy that she had ever met; in fact, there really wasn't anything normal about him at all. "Stay back, please, you're making me nervous. We 'humans' sometimes pinch ourselves to make sure we're awake. I guess I'm awake and this isn't a dream."

The boy looked confused but no more confused than she was. He had a kindness about him which made her begin to calm down. Eliza realized he was wearing no winter coat and must be cold. He wore all gray this time, from head to toe. His shirt was long-sleeved, made of plain, lightweight material and he wore what looked like black combat boots. His shirt bore the same lavender logo as his previous outfit from two months before. "Aren't you freezing?" she asked.

"This clothing adjusts to any temperature and it can withstand fire, water, and even snow. I'm quite comfortable," he replied and then he flashed a scheming smile. It was the same smile from the forest as if he had something to hide. "How about your clothing? Does it hold up to the snow?"

"Yea, that's what it's made for," she answered, still bewildered.

"Good, let's test that theory," he smiled through perfect white teeth. He then reached down, made a snowball, and hurled it directly at her left shoulder.

"What was that for?" she couldn't help but let out a laugh. The audacity of this stranger! Eliza thought. She was definitely enjoying his company, though. She considered asking him to leave but really wanted him to stay. Without giving it too much thought, she made her own snowball and threw one back at him, "ha!" she shouted. He laughed too and began to gather more snow. The first great snowball fight of the season was on. They continued to fling snowballs at each other, ducking and hiding behind trees, and chasing one another through the enormous yard as if the awkwardness had never been an issue. Maybe this boy was a little more normal than Eliza had originally thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the lights come on in her grandmother's bedroom. It wouldn't be long before the sun would come up. They both stopped. "You should probably go," she hesitated, "do you have anywhere to go?" It was rather strange that this boy was outside in the middle of nowhere at her grandmother's house, wearing what could best be described as ninja pajamas in eighteen-degree weather.

"Yea, you're right, I should probably take off Eliza. Thank you for the snowball fight. You were a very worthy opponent. I hope to see you soon!" he said happily and then once again, his form pulsated in and out of view for a second or two and then disappeared, just as he had months ago. She wondered how he knew her name, but then again, he had listened in on her conversation with Clarence at the old house that day. At least this time he had said goodbye. What an awkward and peculiar boy he was, but still so seemingly polite and harmless. She had gotten so caught up in the moment and he left so quickly, that she forgot to ask the most important question: Who are you?