Snowflake: Frozen Child

"Where is he?" Jhay asked. Her hands were trembling as her senses started to feel numb. Just by hearing other people mentioning Haji's name made her felt so hopeless. Jhay looked at Damian with hopeful eyes as she tried to calm herself self down. Damian sighed heavily and averted his eyes towards the newspaper on the table. The piece of newspaper was about a few months ago. Jhay looked at the headline that said:

"HAS ANOTHER HUMAN LEFT EARTH?"

Jhay looked at Damian with confused eyes. She heard about the news before and she could not think more or less whether that event had something to do with Haji.

The article contained the following details:

'Not long before when the current investigations about the abandoned house was terminated. A petition from the neighboring houses was signed that the house was completely a ruin caused by typhoons. The theories about the codes on the walls were considered normal for the reason that the former insane couple who used to live there were both adventurers and researchers. The case has been closed and the theories about opening to other dimensions has been considered FALSE.'

Jhay looked at Damian after she reread the article and placed the newspaper back on the table.

"The news was fake. In order to not to make anymore commotions among the public and social medias. The organization decided to keep it a secret" Damian said. Jhay didn't understand a thing. She needed clearer informations. She needed answers, not riddles and guessing games.

"Damian, I don't understand." Jhay said. Damian grabbed Jhay's wrist softly and brought her to a place where no one could find and hear them. The place was located at the back of Damian's house where they needed to cross a fence like trees.

"Brings back memories" Jhay stated. Damian looked at Jhay unbelievably and pouted.

"He brought you here before?" Damian asked. The small tree house, a cool and refreshing ambiance in the middle of the forest, there were pillows and a carpet on the floor. A great supply of fruits and small animals such as rabbits and squirrels hopping in and out of the place. Jhay remembered how Haji really loved animals. Haji only brought her to that place once. Haji said that that place was supposed to be his and Damian's only. Jhay smiled at the sudden idea of how loyal they were towards each other.

Now back to the reality...

"Tell me" Jhay said bravely. She wasn't sure if she would be able to handle everything after that. Jhay gulped and opened her ears for Damian.

"Okay..." Damian said briefly. Jhay could feel herself holding her breath and making sure not to miss every single word Damian has to say.

"Your father from the North Pole called, saying that they have been investigating an unexpected phenomenon." Damian started. Jhay nodded and waited for Damian to continue talking.

"They keep it hidden to the public and conducted orientations for the immigrants, tourist, travelers before they enter to other countries. Anyone who speaks about the phenomenon will be isolated and will undergo several consequences." Damian said. Jhay frowned as she still got no idea of what he was talking about.

"It has been snowing on several countries where snows doesn't usually occurs. But not the kind of normal snows you usually sees on the news. The snows were so tiny that you could barely see it, but the coldness it brings will let you know that it has been snowing all the time." Damian said.

"And what does it have to do with Haji?" Jhay asked. Damian shook his head and looked at Jhay .

"Your father said that they have received a call from the outer space, it says, 'I'll make it snow'"

Damian said. Jhay remembered Haji told her something about him having a ship. Jhay told Haji about his father who was working on the North Pole. She told her that John was not just simply studying about the snows but also other secret studies involving the space.

"That can't be true. It just can't be true. Haji won't do something so risky like that!" Jhay said not minding if someone might hear them there.

"Look, Jhay. The day before Haji left, he told me something about finding his father. And that news several months ago about the abandoned house! That was Haji's house, where his parents left him when he was a kid! I know this is hard for you to believe but Jhay, it was your father who told me to tell this to you" Damian said. John really did and Jhay couldn't believe it.

"He told me to help you, convince you to come with me. Your father knows that you are no longer an ignorant child... and he believed that you can have a bright future when you grow up around him. He wants you to leave everything behind for a brighter future, he wants you to know your worth and brilliance." Damian paused and clenched his jaw, revealing his jawline as he said , "He wants you to go to the North Pole and study about the phenomenon".

Jhay looked at Damian with her mouth closed. Her mind went blank and she could not think of an answer.

"Quit school, go there and find Haji's whereabouts" Damian said in a whisper tone as he looked at Jhay with determination in his eyes.

"Enough Art, Enough painting and embracing the nature. This is reality, Jhay. The world you've been looking up to in the future may not seemed to exist as the way you wanted it to be..." Damian said briefly without breaking his gaze towards Jhay. "...unless you will make an action, Jhay"

Jhay thought deeply, "Quit school? Leave Art and go to that place where I hated the most? The place who took John away from me?

"I'm not going!" Jhay said.

"What else do you want to hear to make me convince you, Jhay?!" Damian shouted, his veins popping visibly on his forehead and neck.

"The snow is coming here, in our country. What could be the possible outbreaks that might happen?" Damian said.

"The world has become colder, didn't you notice that Jhay?" Damian asked. Jhay's brain was spinning and her heart was dying.

"Do you really think that it would look nicer if you'll just watch this snowflakes land on your palm without asking yourself where they came from? Aren't you a person with full of questions?" Damian asked. Jhay looked at him and gulped before she headed out the tree house. She walked towards the forest rushly as she heard Damian screaming her name.

"Jhay! Listen to me!" Jhay kept walking towards the sloppy ground, her feet brushing the dead leaves as she went towards the house, their house. She could still hear Damian shouting her name as she arrived at her room, Damian and Haji's room. She locked the door and sat on the floor with her hands clutching her hair. Jhay composed herself and looked at the floor. She thought, "What am I gonna do? John was calling me. I want to find Haji, the only person who showed me the true beauty of the world. Now I happened to embrace the world with a smile on my face and then this happened."

Leave everything behind to find the person who means everything to you?

"Jhay! open the door!" Damian knocked roughly at the door.

Leave everything for Haji.

Leave her mothers.

Leave school.

Leave painting and everything.

"Jhay! If you're not going! I'm still going!" Damian shouted.

"I'm going to find Haji!" he continued.

"If you think that this world is enough without him, then I leave my self no choice! I'm going to the North Pole alone!" Damian said and a sudden silence surrounded the place. No Damian talking and knocking on the door. Jhay's mind stopped working and she heard the beautiful chirping of the birds across the forest. She heard the crashing waves she used to listen on that seashore with Pherein. She saw the smiling faces of her mothers, the laughters of her mates on that untidy room filled with paints. She raised her head and she finally saw the image of a person who was the reason behind those beautiful sceneries. It was Haji, his undying smile and beauty which made her calm. Jhay smiled at him and made up her mind. She went to her closet, or precisely Haji's closet filled with her stuffs and packed everything that might be useful.

"Do I need to pack up?" Jhay asked herself.

Jhay looked at herself in the mirror and touched the necklace on her neck that Haji gave her. It was a paintbrush pendant with a white and orange paint. Jhay put down her stuffs as she headed to the door and opened it. Damian was standing in front of her with a gloomy face when he saw her not bringing anything.

"You really are not coming are you?" he asked, voice filled with grief and sadness. Jhay looked at him with a straight face before

she stepped outside the room.

"Do I need to pack useless things before going there?" Jhay asked. Damian's eyes widened and smiled at Jhay slightly.

*

*

*

DAMIAN told his parents about their plans, luckily they know everything already and they didn't need to explain everything from the start. Jhay told her mothers about their plans and all of them shred tears, they kept convincing Jhay to just stay. Jhay had already decided and no one could change that.

"I entrusted my whole care for you to my husband. Send my regards to him and don't tell him that I miss him. Just tell him I love him." Pherein said to Jhay as she gave her daughter a one last hug.

After a long dinner at Pherein's house, Damian decided to leave them at midnight. Both of them silently left the house and a pair of men in black suits greeted them. The man directed them to immediately enter the car. They remained silent inside the car as Jhay watched the silent and dark night revealed its true beauty. The street lights became brighter and the light of the moon was dimmer. Damian looked at Jhay mischeviously, he must have figure out that Jhay was thinking some weird thoughts again.

"Stop that habit, Jhay" he said while pouting. Jhay sighed and nodded obediently.

"The school has been told that the two of us will study abroad" Damian said.

They arrived at the airport and received a secret treatment. They were brought to a secret place to have a secret flight where only few people were involved.

"How did you manage to get involved in here anyway?" Jhay asked Damain curiously. He smirked and said, "'Cause I'm a genius"

Jhay nodded sarcastically and poked Damian's head. They ended up talking about Haji and everything all the way.

"This is gonna be a long flight" Damian said as they both sat inside a private plane together with the two men at the back. They both enjoyed the leisure and the benefits they had. Jhay thought, "Reality is waiting for us after this."

They have taken numerous flights and stops, finally they had to ride a helicopter.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Damian asked loudly as he looked down on the white surface below. Jhay stared at the large mass of snow below and smiled.

"Not bad!" Jhay said and appreciated the beauty of the North Pole. Jhay slept the whole time and finally heard someone shouting.

"We have arrived!" Damian's voice awakened Jhay as he touched her shoulder, shaking it slowly and waking her up. Jhay went down the helicopter carefully like a soldier and felt the coldness of the place. Jhay saw tons of men wearing white suits and lab gowns from afar. She couldn't see their faces clearly but one figure of a man immediately caught her sight. Jhay ran towards him and he greeted her with a warm hug.

"Hello little bedbug, how are you doing?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around Jhay's shoulder and accompanied her inside their bas.e.m.e.nt. Inside the bas.e.m.e.nt were tons of food supplies, researchers and scientists. A lot of samples that came from hell would she know where. Mostly, people greeted her with a smile on their faces before getting serious towards their projects and transparent rooms. There were so many of them and Jhay could not spot where Damian was. Jhay kept looking around but Damian escaped from her sight.

"Oh! your genius friend went to bed immediately and said he wasn't able to sleep the entire flight because some sleeping beauty needs to be watched" John told her and laughed.

"You should take a rest too, at night I will let you see the true beauty of this place." John said and kissed Jhay on the forehead.

Jhay went to her room and studied the place. It was warm and comfortable. She thought, "I'll get used to it soon. I have to."

After a few hours of sleep, Jhay heard someone knocking at the door.

"Little bedbug you gotta watch this!" John said outside Jhay's door and she hurriedly opened it. Jhay saw Damian instead of John and he grabbed her hand. They went ouside and saw the most beautiful scenery on the sky.

The northern lights.

It looked like a stroke of colorful beaming lights. Like a mirror above them .

"Aurora Borealis" Damian said. Jhay suddenly came to ask herself.

"Haji, what kind of Aurora Borealis do you have there? Is it beautiful too? ...Don't worry."

"I will find you" Jhay whispered.