“This is ridiculous,” I whined when I climbed out of the living room window, carrying the shovel in one hand. I should’ve shoveled the snow yesterday when I returned from the walk down to the lake. But I didn’t and now, I couldn’t even open the front door.

If my neighbors saw me, they probably thought I was the crazy foreign girl or simply laughed their asses off.

My muscles burned when I shoveled away the heavy snow, excavating the path leading to the main road.

I noticed somebody had to plow the roads in the early morning since they were almost cleared of snow. However, that was useless to me, since my car was buried underneath the thick white blanket.

Thank God at least the power came back and I worked until the noon in peace.

I lifted my head to look how the neighbors managed to rescue themselves out of the frosty coat.

When I looked down the road, I spotted a small figure standing on the porch of the little cottage.

The person’s frame was arched and horrifically underweight. They probably had less than sixty inches on them and appeared even smaller as they supported their weight on the walking cane.

When I casted another glance to see if I recognized the person, I realized it was an older woman. She wore a dark headscarf with a thick braid hanging across her left shoulder.

By her dark hair and skin tone, I instantly thought she had to be a native. But what gave me the goosebumps was her eyes. I couldn’t distinguish them as I was standing too far away, but her stare was unnerving.

Her eyes were wide open as she stared at me with perplexing look on her face, her unmoving dark irises penetrating right to the core of my soul. It was like she could read every single thought that lied in my heart.

I tore my eyes away from her only to look at the approaching snowmobile. The person riding it hit the brakes, stopping right in front of me. They lifted the helmet and I instantly recognized Josh’s green eyes.

I momentarily forgot the old woman “Hey! Convenient. I wish I thought of that before I bought myself a car,” I grimaced, indicating at the useless bump covered with snow.

“Wow. With that you are done for the whole winter.” He laughed at me “And let’s hope it starts in the spring.”

“I know, not the smartest move. But I don’t have a garage,” I shrugged, looking at him “You know, I’ve met Alasie yesterday.” I beamed as his cheeks reddened when I mentioned her name. Those two were obviously crazy over each other.

“Yeah, she told me. She is really excited about meeting you, so you’d better visit her soon you know, she is counting on it,” he gave me a pretense stern look.

“I will, actually I thought I’d visit the cafe tomorrow.”

“Good, because you are already busy today,” he nodded, stepping off the snowmobile.

“Am I?” I lifted my brow in confusion. I watched him as he picked up the second shovel and started to help me clear the path. “You don’t have to do that! I am sure you’re busy enough as it is.”

“No, it’s my day off. I am headed to see Alasie.” He offered me a kind smile.

“Thank you, you are so nice,” I wasn’t used to someone helping me, since people in Moscow just rushed by, never acknowledging my presence.

“It’s no problem, Faina. And to answer your question, we are inviting you for dinner tonight. So, will you be coming?”

“I’d love to! Should I cook something?” I scratched my head, thinking what would be the most appropriate thing to do.

He tried to contain a laughter “We are inviting you for dinner, and you’re asking me if you should cook? I don’t know if that’s a custom in Russia, but here most definitely isn’t.”

“Right. Sorry,” I said embarrassed by my lack of social skills. However, I knew I shouldn’t just appear empty-handed. “Wait!” I called after him as he climbed back on his ride.

I stepped closer to him, leaning in to whisper in his ear “Who is the woman standing over there?” I nodded in the direction where the old lady was standing before he appeared.

“What woman?” He looked around in confusion, trying to spot the person I was talking about.

“The owner of that house,” I discreetly pointed at the wooden cottage just in case she was still watching me somewhere from behind the curtains.

Now I was being paranoid.

“Oh, you mean Tapeesa. Don’t mind her, Faina, she is just an old nosy woman,” he gave a short dismissive wave of his hand.

“She stared at me in such a weird manner….” I bit my lower lip, remembering her dark, soulless eyes.

Josh’s bright ones flashed as he smirked at me “Some say she is a witch. Even elders are afraid of her.” He shook his head, laughing at their superstitious nature.

“Elders?”

“Yes, the oldest and the most respected members of the Iñupiat community in Atsanik, like Betty and Amaruq, Alasie’s grandfather. Extremely superstitious though.” His nose wrinkled “Don’t worry, you will hear their legends soon enough.”

“Well not that I mind it, that means new material for my novels. Thanks for your help Josh!” I called after him as he revived the engine.

He gave me a small smile and raced off towards the cafe.