When Winter Comes

Chapter 8: Winter the Servant

IGNORE ALL ERRORS

Chapter 8: Winter the Servant  

He looked at her with twilight eyes.

She winked at him and said "hold on tight." 

The smile grew as he spun round, 

But she spun him too much, 

And now he was gone. 

- Winter Ozlin's Diary 

. . . 

The diner was filled. The people were unfamiliar. Before I left, I could name the regulars. Little Deanna always sat in the corner with a notebook and a milkshake. George and Anna sat in the same booth they meet in 50 years prior. Trent stared vacantly out the window as if he was always waiting for somebody. 

A year later, there wasn't any of those people there anymore. The only person I recognize was Reese, the mid thirties waitress. She always knew what I wanted. When I walked in, I saw her immediately. She was hunched over at the counter talking to an older man in a yellow baseball hat. Her green eyes blinked frequently and I could see the shine in them that always laid there. Her dirty blonde hair was rolled up into a bun, but many hairs flew loosely. 

When the bell rang to alert the diner I was there, Reese looked up from her costumer instantly. Her eyes grew at the sight of me and a smile lit up face. 

"Winter Ozlin!" She cried and rushed away from the red counter. The few people there looked up at my arrival and then continued eating, but Reese continued to stare at me with awe. "Is it actually you?" 

"It's me," I cried back, with tears threatening to emerge, but I held them back and stood up tall. "I've missed you," I sighed when she reached me and brought me into a firm hug. 

"Where have you been? All of my other regulars left!" She cried and stepped out of the hug, but her hands remained on my shoulders. Her eyes lingered up and done my body to make sure I was fine. She smiled. "I thought I was only going to have Drunken Gary," she laughed and pointed at the man she was speaking to at the counter. 

"Heard that!" Drunken Gary shouted and raised a backwards hand. 

"Hey Gary," I laughed, happy to see another regular. 

He grumbled something back, but I couldn't make it out. Reese shushed him and dragged me over to my usual booth. Cringing, my body slipped into he velvet. 

"What's wrong?" Reese asked. Clearly, my face cringed too. 

"Memories." I smiled. In the past, I had a lot of moments in the booth. Once, I took Austin for a date here a few weeks after we began seeing each other. Another time, Carl and I came when he visited me from New York, where he went to a different private school. I even took Emma here once after we got into a fight with Taylor. Lots of people came with me to the diner, but mostly it was just me, myself, and I, and of course Reese wanting to know the gossip at Brinston. 

"It's been so long since I've sat here." Reese smiled. "I haven't let one costumer sit here since you vanished." 

"Thanks Reese," I laughed and gazed at the small restaurant. 

"Are you going to tell me where you've been or just stare off like Trent?" Reese asked and gave a swat at my hand. 

"My parents died," I said simply and turned to look at her. Her eyes had grown larger than before. A glaze covered them now. "Don't pity me, please, that's all anyone's been doing and it's growing tiring." I raised a hand before she could tell me she was sorry and all that stuff. "I'm fine. Things at school are just rough right now.