Dragonfly Awakening

CHAPTER ONE

Chapter One

Paul

 

The first day I saw her beautiful red hair was forever etched into my memory. On the first day of high school, I sat drumming my thumbs against my desk. Tom, one of my best friends, sat in front of me, and Lance, my other best friend, sat beside me. The door creaked open and pulled my eyes toward it. She walked in late, seemed scared as all get out, but my eyes widened at the sight. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Her sun-streaked red hair was pulled away from her face. Light freckles covered her nose as she nervously glanced around the class. She was clearly from the city with her designer clothes and her poise, but I didn’t care. My heart swelled for the first time in my young life. I think I’m in love.

My thoughts were echoed out loud from the seat next to me. My eyes shifted away from the sight toward Lance. His eyebrow rose with his cocky smirk as she sat down in the desk in front of him. In that moment, I knew he had won. I wouldn’t even put up a fight. I had one split second of hope. She turned to get a pen out of her bag and her eyes met mine, an amazing mix of green and blue. For that one second, I had her. When she turned away, I had lost her forever.

The memories of the summer heat faded away as the January cold bit through my leather gloves when I left the warmth of the hardware store. My boots slugged through ice puddles near the curb of Main Street, and my nose ran cold from the wind’s chill whipping against my face. Haunting clouds hung overhead, threatening to add to the layers of snow plowed to the side of the road from the recent snowfall.

Summers in North Carolina could be brutal, but the winters were bitter. The sun had tucked itself away, and the first few days into the New Year brought rain, sleet, ice, and snow. I had volunteered to leave my boss and my best friend, Tom, to his farm in order to help his aunt at The Inn for the upcoming storm. That was the only reason why I wasn’t in the comfort of my home, warming up with a glass of whiskey.

A brisk wind shot against any remaining area of bare skin left on my body and snaked around me, chilling me to my bones. I gazed up at the clouds as I walked to my truck, and I hoped I could bring Mrs. Ethel and Mr. Al the insulation they needed and get home before the storm hit. I tossed a bag of rock salt into the bed of my old truck and hopped into the driver’s seat, laying the insulation next to me. As I attempted to ease into the street, my wheels spun for a second before gripping the ice-covered cobblestone.

Main Street was quiet, and the businesses would be closing up soon for the night. I needed to make sure I beat the traffic and made it over the hill before someone attempted it and stalled, causing everyone to get stuck. Being stuck in snow-covered traffic for five hours on the incline of a hill wasn’t much fun.

I slowly turned off Main Street. The tires of my truck crunched over the ice and slush. When I approached The Inn, it still hadn’t thawed out from the previous storm. I decided to park in front of the old florist shop and walk the half a block down.

The cold air would never be something I would get used to. I pinched my coat closed, and then grabbed the bag of rock salt from the bed of my truck, tossing it over my shoulder. After tucking the bundle of pipe insulation under my arm, I kept the end goal in sight. My teeth chattered with only a quarter of a block left. People complained about the heat of summer, but in this moment, I realized their stupidity. What I wouldn’t do to be wrapped up in a blanket in front of the fireplace with Ellie.

My heart thumped at the thought of her. For most of my recent life, my dreams had been filled with her. The warmth of my heart from the memories of ten years ago turned cold again as I muddled through the slush toward The Inn. The paved walkway appeared to be a disaster waiting to happen; it was covered with a thin sheet of ice. I plowed through the snow-hidden grass toward the front door. After shrugging the bag off my shoulder, I laid the insulation on top of the snow, piled high in front of the covered flower beds that surrounded the wraparound porch. I took out my pocketknife and sliced a corner off the bag. As my boots sank into the slush around the walkway, I layered the pavement with rock salt, taking it onto the covered porch and ensuring that no one would slip.