In the dead of winter, in the middle of a snowy forest where predators roam about—looking for their next meal—thirteen-year-old Mina and Kael, a boy from Mina’s village, were stranded in the brutal, yet beautiful landscape of the wild. 

And here’s how it all started. 

***

It was cold in the White-Hare Village. 

While there wasn’t snowfall, there were a few inches of snow that covered the ground, the trees, and the log homes of the village people. 

“Elder Murray! Elder Murray!” yelled a village kid, missing his two front teeth. “Tell us that one hunting story!” 

“Yes!” another kid yelled. “Tell us!” 

In the middle of White-Hare Village, sitting around the warm bonfire—Elder Murray, a man in his late sixties with a scar on his right cheek—sat on a flat stone while a bunch of kids sat on the dirt floor, Mina included. 

“You want me to tell you the story about the time I fought against a herd of murderous deers?” 

He leaned towards the kids, whose eyes were sparkling for a nice and violent story. 

“Yes!!” yelled the kids. “Tell us about that!!” 

“Tell us how you killed them!!!” 

Mina lurched back and her long black hair flew in front of her face. 

I never knew kids could be so scary, she thought. 

Her mouth was agape, and her expression was that of disgust. She was fearful of the boys and girls in her village. 

“Alright, then, young chaps!” Elder Murray said excitedly. “I’ll tell you all about it!” 

The children cheered, and from the corner of Mina’s eyes, she saw a sudden movement. 

Sitting all the way to the left of her was Kael, a boy that was the same height as her with brown hair and eyes. He was wearing thick winter gloves made from brown fur and wool—like everyone else, but had a brown scarf that looked like a pillow around his neck. 

And even in the cold, there was a heat rising towards Mina’s face. 

She watched as Kael reacted the same way she did, with an expression that made it clear that he feared the kids who were excited about Elder Murray’s story. 

He awkwardly laughed while shuffling backwards. His voice was soft and smooth. It was at the first stages of deepening. 

Mina fixated her eyes on him. Though Kael had just a slight smile, it was dazzling from Mina’s perspective. 

She didn’t even realize that Elder Murray was almost halfway through his story. 

That was until Kael turned to her. 

Ah! She thought and turned away from Kael’s gaze—just for a second. 

She looked back towards Kael. His eyes were on Elder Murray before a kid to his right started cracking jokes with him. 

Mina watched the whole interaction, but caught herself in the action. Then she held her head low and stared at the dirt. 

Mina felt embarrassed. She had a newfound crush in Kael last month, and it was completely out of the blue. She just thought he was pretty whenever she saw him walk by or say hi to her. 

She wasn’t friends with him or anything. They barely talked. But she couldn’t help but glance at him. 

And again, she did just that. After staring at the ground for a bit, Mina peered over her shoulder. 

Kael was still talking with the kid next to him, and while he was talking, he must’ve felt her eyes on him because he stopped looking at the kid he was talking to and locked eyes directly with Mina. 

Oh, no! Mina screamed internally. 

Getting caught red-handed, all Mina wanted to do was bury her head in her knees, but didn’t because of Kael. 

He raised his hand and waved at her, flashing an awkward, yet warm smile. 

Mina did the same. She waved back with an awkward smile. 

Then the two looked away. Kael went back to talking with the kid while Mina rubbed the ground from side to side with her foot. 

It’s probably weird that I’m this happy after a simple wave, she thought. 

But Mina didn’t care. She couldn’t help but feel the warmth in her chest while her breath fogged up into the cold air. 

Then she tuned into Elder Murray’s story.

The story was at its climax. Some kids were biting their nails while Elder Murray recounted how he faced against three deer with the top half of a broken spear. 

And that’s when Kael’s mother—a tall woman with short brown hair came to the bonfire and stopped the show. 

“That’s enough out of you, Pops. You’re scaring the kids,” she said. 

The kids turned to Kael’s mother. 

“No, he isn’t!” One kid protested. 

“He didn’t scare me at all,” yelled the kid, missing two front teeth. 

And from the middle of the pack, a tiny girl raised her hand. 

“He scared me,” she said, with a hand close to her chest. 

Elder Murray laughed. 

“Well, I’m sorry for scaring you, Ms. Tania.” 

“It’s okay,” the girl replied, accepting his apology. 

Kael’s mother then clapped her hands. 

“That was a sweet apology, but it’s time for dinner! Come on, children! Come to the cooking circle!” 

The cooking circle was just like the bonfire where everyone sat, but instead of sitting on the stones, they were instead used to cut meat, fur, and whatever winter vegetables the hunters could find. 

But the news saddened several kids. 

“Whaaaaat?!” they said with saddened voices. 

“Can’t we eat after Elder Murray’s story?” The kid missing two front teeth asked. 

Kael’s mother gave a sharp look towards Elder Murray, as if telling him to choose his next words wisely. 

“Sorry, kids,” he said, planting his hands on his knees before standing straight up. 

“But I’m hungry,” he said. “So why don’t we have some dinner and I’ll finish the story, then?” 

The kids stared at one another, checking each other’s expressions to see if they would agree with Elder Murray’s new conditions. 

“Okay…” the kids concluded. 

They stood up and walked towards the cooking circle. 

There were ten or so kids moving, so it was hard for Mina to maneuver. 

“Oof!” 

Mina bumped head to head with someone after being pushed past by a kid. 

“Owie…” she cried. 

Mina apologized as she took a few steps back. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, pressing her hand against her forehead. “Are you okay?” 

Then Mina saw who she bumped into. 

It was Kael. 

“I’m fine,” he said, rubbing the back of his head and making a mess of his brown hair. “What about you?” 

And seemingly, from out of nowhere, Mina’s body grew stiff. 

“I-I-I’m fine!” She blurted. 

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! She shouted to herself, internally. Why am I yelling?! 

If she could scream, she would. I’m making myself look stupid! 

“Are you sure you’re fine?” Kael asked. He had a concerned look in his eyes that took away Mina’s ability to speak. 

But she scraped a response. 

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, turning from his gaze. 

“Really?” Kael asked. “Because there’s a bump in the middle of your forehead.” 

“What?!” 

Mina, who already had a hand on her forehead, now slapped the second hand on and searched for the bump that Kael had just mentioned. 

But that made Kael bring his gloved fist close to his face and chuckle. 

“I’m just messing with you,” he said. 

And at that moment, Mina was dumbstruck. Her mouth was open and she could feel her face turn beet red. 

“A-ah, ah, ah, you…” 

She couldn’t form a single sentence, which made Kael awkward, and he scratched the back of his head. 

“Well…” he said with his soft-spoken and smooth voice. “We should get going.” 

“Ah!” 

Mina came back to her senses and saw a crowd around the cooking circle. She could smell the stew that was freshly made. 

“You’re right,” she whispered.  

And with a slight smile, Mina and Kael—the oldest kids in the village—headed towards the cooking circle for supper. 

To be continued…