Alone at Winter

Find Him

Oscar and Anne had been anxiously waiting on the arrival or even any news of Alex for the best part of an entire week. They were growing scared and impatient with the rescue team who weren't even prepared enough to fly back to the frozen city; Oscar was especially annoyed with the rescue team as it was his husband whom they had the intentions on finding along with some possible animals. Oscar paced back and forth in his hotel room thinking of alternatives to the rescue team that wouldn't take as long as they are, he didn't know what though.

"I can't exactly just simply go ahead and look there myself, someone has to take care of Anne. But these idiots are taking too damn long with all the crap they're preparing." Oscar muttered to himself as he attempted to think of a solution. Anne glared at her father with worry in her eyes, she was afraid that he would take this into his own hands and get left behind aswell. She was completely afraid of being alone despite the thought never seeming to affect Oscar. He slammed his hand onto a table in pure rage and heard a ringing.

It was his phone going off in his pocket, he was quick to answer the phone in the hopes it was Alex who had found a phone signal in the city. Instead it was Oscar's father who was calling to tell Oscar that he would be visiting them to help Oscar with Anne while Alex was gone. Oscar stayed mostly silent as his father spoke, only occasionally talking back to the man; Oscar's father felt sorrow for his son and granddaughter as he knew how much they both loved Alex and he understood how much this had affected the two.

Oscar hung up the phone and sat on the blend of the bed with his back slouched and his head in his hands. Anne came over to him and hugged her father; she never enjoyed seeing any of her parents in any kind of pain, whether it be emotional or physical, it broke her heart to see any of them in obvious pain. So she cuddled up to her crying father in an effort to calm him down; luckily her effort worked and he soon calmed down and embraced his only daughter. They connected together and they both stopped waiting.

Oscar stood up sharply with determination in his eyes and anger in his soul, he was completely done with waiting for a team who weren't going anywhere to find his husband. He took Anne in his arms and marched to his car and drove to the local police station to give his thoughts to them around the topic of his lost love. He arrived at the front desk of the station.

"What can I do for you, sir?" The officer asked Oscar. Oscar put Anne on a seat near the desk and she swung her legs.

"I'm here to discuss the disappearance of Alex Richards. Who was left behind after the severe blizzard down far south." He told the officer as he stood at the desk.

"Well, what is your association with him? If I may ask." The officer looked at Oscar with an expression of disinterest.

"I'm his husband, Oscar Richards." Oscar looked at the officer with a face of annoyance. The officer flipped through some papers under the name of "Unfound". Oscar notices the long list of about fifty names, he puts his pen to the list and puts down Alex's name at the bottom.

"All these names are from other cities where people simply went missing. You're husband on the other hand was lost in the blizzard, I'm incredibly to say, Mr Richards but your husband isn't our highest order as we may be looking for a lost cause." The officer says with a lack of sympathy. Oscar boils up in anger and looks the officer dead in the eyes.

"Honey, cover your ears." He aims toward Anne, not breaking eye contact with the officer. Anne follows the instructions of her father and plugs had ears with her fingers.

"Listen up, sir. My husband isn't a lost fucking cause, if you aren't even going to make a fucking effort to find him then you are disregarding the possibility of saving a human life. If that isn't a fucking priority then I don't know what is." Oscar says as he leans over the desk as he intimidates the officer.

"I'm sorry, Mr Richards but we can't risk sending our men in there, you have to understand that we can't risk lives in the thin hope we'll save one. I really am sorry, Mr Richards. But our hands are tied.", The officer looks up at Oscar showing more sympathy for him. Oscar let out a single tear and bit his lip to stop him from breaking down in public. He turns to Anne and picks her back up and heads out the door of the station; Anne nor Oscar made a word as they left. Anne looked up at her broken father with sadness as they got into the car and began driving away.

Anne twisted in her seat and simply fell asleep as Oscar drive back towards the hotel, the car ride was silent and filled with sadness and a lack of hope from any of the two.

Anne suddenly looked toward her father as he drove and began speaking to him.

"Daddy? Will they ever find him?" She asked in a sigh. Oscar looked back at her with an uncertain expression.

"I don't know if anyone will find him, Anne." Oscar said with a scent of hopelessness emanating from his words.

"W-what do you mean?" Anne asked stuttering from the surprising response.

"I mean no one might be able to find him, we may not see your father again." Oscar said as he sniffled to himself. Anne put her knees up to her chest and buried her face in the crack. She silently cried to herself as Oscar looked at her.

"We may not be able to find him. But we'll remember him, right?" Oscar let out a smile and Anne shook her head.

"I don't want to remember him, I want to find him."