Softly Whispering (open)

„Hazel, do you know how much longer the weather will be like this?“ Hazel shrugged at Genesis’ question. “No idea. Close to the sea the weather can change quickly.”, she explained and started wondering if Genesis didn’t grow up here in District Four. Pretty much everybody here knew how fast the weather could change from nice and sunny to pitch black and stormy. But maybe he was the kind of kid that spent more time inside and with their head stuck in a book rather than hanging out outside. Hazel spent most of her time outside, even though now she would really prefer the warmth of a house to the freezing cold outside.

“Hurry up, if you don’t want to freeze.” Nick’s voice was barely hearable because the storm picked up even more. Great! She looked longingly at Nick who covered his face with the big hood of his jacket. His jacket seemed to be made for weather like this. Very unlike her own jacket, that barely kept out the cold during normal fall nights. It seemed like the snow crept through each and every seam. She was really happy that Nick started moving towards the small house.

As soon as the door closed behind the three of them, the wind stopped and it immediately felt warmer. Still, Hazel couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering. She was relieved when she saw that Nick lit up a small fire. Hazel moved closer to the fire and felt the warmth of the flickering flames on her skin. She sighed with relief. Nick threw a blanket at her and she gave him a thankful nod while she wrapped it around her shoulders. Than she sat down on the ground, close to the fire and watched Nick go to the kitchen and boil some water. This gave Hazel time to look around the small house. It was simple and without any fancy decorations but it provided everything you could wish for. “It’s really nice here.” , she said and offered Nick a smile.

The smell of herbal tea filled the small room and Hazel smiled a little more. Sitting in front of a burning fire, wrapped in a warm blanket and the perspective of getting a hot cup of tea were more than she could have asked for. “Thanks Nick. It’s really kind that you brought us here.” , she said before Nick asked her another question. Well actually it was the same question he had already asked before. “So why are you two out in this weather?” There wasn’t really a lot she could explain. “Well, I was just going for a walk when I ran into Genesis on the lake shore. We started talking and somehow forgot what was happening around us.” It was really stupid that she didn’t pay attention to the weather. Her father would give her crap about that. And he would be absolutely right. Getting caught in a storm like this wasn’t fun. It was dangerous and it could have ended a lot worse if Nick hadn’t walked by.

The door opened and a gust of ice cold wind blew through the room and Hazel instinctively pulled the blanket closer around her body. A young woman, certainly older than Hazel was entered the room. She shot a glance at Hazel and Genesis without greeting them. Instead she addressed Nick. “It’s a bit cold.” , she stated the obvious before joining Nick in the kitchen. Who was she? Did she live here with Nick? Where had she been? A thousand questions formed inside Hazel’s head but she knew it would be impolite to ask them all, so she kept those questions to herself.