1. cold
“Lonely girl, you are my world and I could be anything you need.”
~~ALASKA~~
I walk towards my empty porch and light my cigarette while sitting down on the chair. It is mid-January and it is well about 2 degrees outside. Although it’s cold, unlike others, I am not eager to go inside and slide my coat off because nobody is waiting for me. At least the cold air embraces me outside. I turn 21 tomorrow but I’m not looking forward to it because I have nothing to do, nowhere to go. Is it too much to ask for a person to share my time with? Lonely thoughts fill my mind and I sit there for a good 15 minutes. After a couple of cigarettes, I enter my house. It’s more of a cottage really, which I bought with the money my grandpa left me.
After doing the necessary chores, I decide to bake a cake for myself. If nobody is going to do it for me, I have to do it myself. I’m used to doing things myself since forever now. Plus, I get to eat a whole cake, so why not. Tying my shoulder length red hair in a high ponytail, I think out loud, the roots are turning black, I have to re-dye my hair. Walking to the living room, I play ‘Strawberries and Cigarettes’ by Troye Sivan and start mixing together the ingredients of the cake. After 2 hours I’m done and I wait for the clock to hit 12 and my mind wanders.
I have been living by myself since I was 18. I moved from the USA to come settle here in Whistler. It’s a small town in British Columbia, Canada. My grandpa always talked about how he met my nana there when he was on a vacation with his family. I’ve listened to his love story at least a million times and it was truly amazing how his eyes sparkled every time he talked about nana. It makes me want a love like that. That once in a lifetime kind of love, but now I’m almost certain that there is no such thing for me. I know I’m barely 21, but when life gets lonely you start having thoughts.ot so good thoughts.
My dream is to travel the world. Back when I was in the USA, I’d always wanted to travel to Canada. That was part of the reason why I settled here.
Whistler is a small town, with no more than 10,000 people living here. Mostly immigrants from the USA, United Kingdom and a few other countries. But it’s crowded most of the time because of the tourists. And why wouldn’t it be? It is an exquisite place. Even though I’ve been living here for almost three years now, the beauty of this place leaves me in a trance every time. There are mountains everywhere and it’s voted as the best skiing resort in North America. Although I’ve never skied before coming here, it has now become my hobby.
I know I haven’t travelled the world yet, but I think this is the most beautiful place I could ever go. I love the cold, but it also has the perfect warm weather in the summer when you want to go mountain biking or hiking. Which is why my full-time job is as a bartender on a mountain bar in the resort. I started by serving drinks and now I’m here. I have also been going through training to become a ski patroller during the peak months, but it’s not going to be this year. There are still things I need to get trained on before I start my job.
Travelling has always been my dream since forever. If I could have one wish, it would be for this; to travel the world. My soul craves to travel the world. To go to the places I’ve never been to. What is the use of being born on the earth, if I can’t see the beauty of it? There is no way I’m not going to travel. Whatever it takes, I’m going to go, travel, and live. There is a constant riot inside me, a needy restless voice begging me for adventure. Nothing makes me excited more than travelling. The lush green rain forests call me. Wild waves of the ocean hypnotize me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t give up to have the freedom to travel, but I cannot because I can barely provide for myself.
The blazing alarm startles me as I check the time and it’s 12 o’clock. Taking the cake out of the fridge I place it on the counter while sitting myself on the high stool. There are no candles, so I put my palms together and close my eyes to make a wish.
If the universe is as powerful as my grandpa claims, give me an adventure, soothe my soul. Make me happy.
After wiping my tears, I cut, and started eating the cake. It doesn’t taste bad, althoughI’m not the greatest cook in the world. I pour myself a glass of wine, take my coat and cigarettes, and walk out of the door to sit on my porch. While I am looking at the moon and thinking about how it would look from the other side of the planet, a small sound alerts me. Carefully I walk closer to the plants and move aside the prickly bush covered with snow, while switching my flashlight on.
There I find a little kitten shivering and whimpering due to the cold. My heart melts and I immediately take my coat off and lift the kitten after wrapping him in my coat. Sprinting to the living room, I place him in front of the heater along with the coat. He has stopped shivering now, but the whimpering continues, poor fella. I pat his little head and he slowly opens his eyes to look at me.
“Hi kitty,” I mumble, he lets out a little meow, making me gasp. “You are so precious, don’t worry I will take care of you,” I say softly and he meows again. It’s probably a good idea to feed him something. Milk is the first thing that comes to my mind for obvious reasons, so I grab the milk box from the fridge and pour it in a tiny bowl for him to drink.
He’s so small. I have never had a pet in my life, so I don’t know how people tend to a kitten who is hungry and was found on the porch while it’s 2 degrees outside. I place the bowl beside him awkwardly. Unwrapping the coat from his trembling body, I place him in front of the bowl. After a moment of observation, he puts his paw in the milk.
“No kitty, you’re supposed to drink it.” He looks at me and puts another paw in the bowl. I facepalm. “I have an idea.” I run to the kitchen and bring back a bigger bowl full of mink in my hands. “Watch carefully.” I dip my head down and drink milk from the bowl to show him how it’s done. “Did you see? Now go on,” I encourage him. He looks at me strangely and walks back to my coat and licks its paws. I feel awkward now, because I once read that animals follow what they see but apparently, this kitten doesn’t.
“You’re not hungry?” I question, to which he meows. Walking back to the kitchen, I bring back a spoon. Maybe this could help. Taking milk from the bowl into the spoon I hold it in front of his face. The kitty smells the milk and slowly starts licking the milk off the spoon. I feed him until he’s full, at least I think he is and take him with me into my bedroom to place him on my queen size bed. Walking into my attached bathroom, I change into PJs and remove my makeup.
After coming back, I shift all of my things from one night stand to the other to make a makeshift bed for the kitty to sleep in, with my coat. Placing the coat on my nightstand, I talk to the kitty. “This is your bed for tonight, ok? Don’t fall off.” The kitten looks at me, then settles down, and curls himself into a ball. I would let him sleep with me on the bed, but I move around a lot and I don’t wanna squish him.
I settle down after switching the light off. The kitty must be taken care of tomorrow, maybe he belongs to the neighbours? I guess I have to ask around. With these thoughts in my mind, I drift off into a dreamless sleep.
How do you like this?