Children of Night and Snow

22. All Souls

"Freya, wake up!" Lucia called my name loud enough to cause a headache. Annoyed at the sound, I opened my eyes only to find I was the last one sleeping. This never happened before. I shot up and climbed down the ladder into the living room in panic. We were supposed to leave for the celebrations early and of course this is the one day I sleep in. Now I missed breakfast and didn't even start on my workout routine. The last two days did a number on me, with repeated shifts leaving me utterly exhausted. Still, I didn't expect to sleep in. Not this much.

"Freya! Just do your stretching today," Devan told me, his expression giving away absolutely nothing. Was he mad at me for sleeping in?

"It's okay, I can do my routine quick," I replied, trying to save my butt. This was supposed to be a good day and I managed to ruin it before it even began.

"There is no point to your workout if you rush through it. You'll just hurt yourself. Do your stretching and then we'll go," he said in a voice that left no room for argument.

"Okay. I'm really sorry," I whispered, feeling awful. He said nothing and went back upstairs to finish his breakfast. The group then proceeded to eat in silence while I did my stretches.

"Here, I hope we got the right size, we went off by the other clothes we got you, but with the cloaks, one never knows," Demi commented as she was handing me a pair of boots, a cloak and a scarf. It all felt incredibly cozy and warm despite not being anywhere near the same material as the stuff I had on when I came to the Winterlands.

"Thank you," I gave her a small smile as I put my new boots on. She did the same and then helped me adjust my new cloak so that it sat properly on my shoulders, the hood over my head. 

"We ready?" Devan asked as he walked past us towards the door. Everyone nodded and followed him outside, Nolan giving me a mischievous wink as he walked past. I couldn't help but chuckle at the gesture and followed him out into the snowy day. Well, it was a day in nothing but the hours. We were too close to winter for any more actual days to come. According to Connor, we weren't getting another actual day until spring unless something unusual happens. The thought of that filled me with dread, but nobody else seemed to care. They grew up here after all. They didn't know anything different.

We walked down the street from our house towards the centre of the town and for the first time since I came here, I had time to look around and take it in. The air was crisp and the sky was clear which according to Lucia meant we had at least a few hours before it started snowing again. We walked past house after house, all built from wood, small and big. Some were clearly empty, their owners likely, just like us, on their way to celebrate in town, while others had lights in their windows, their owners probably still sitting at the breakfast table.

While we were mostly silent on our walk, the closer we got to the town square, the noisier it got. I was feeling curious and excited. Being able to hear the buzzing and the music before I even saw the centre of the event was strange but cool. And then we got there. It looked like that day all those months ago, when I was running back to the tunnels with my unexpected steal and I locked my eyes with Demi. There were fairy lights hanging above, a small market on the side, where they sold all kinds of food and mulled wine. A big bonfire in the middle where people sat and sang and danced.

"Wow," I exclaimed, in awe of what I was seeing. I felt like a kid celebrating the Winter Solstice for the first time.

"Did you not celebrate All Souls down South?" Nolan asked me. I turned to him to see he was handing me a cup with mulled wine. I never had it before so I smelled it first, somewhat skeptical.

"We did, but not like this. It's a day of mourning for us," I explained and took a sip of my drink. It tasted sweet and spicy and a little heavy, but delicious.

"That's grimm. You shouldn't spend your life mourning people who are gone, you should celebrate them," Devan said. He was standing on my other side, watching the bonfire. I looked up at him, relieved he was now talking to me again.

"I suppose," I shrugged. "This looks really fun compared to our ways for sure," I added.

"What exactly do you guys do?" Devan asked.

"We go visit graves of our deceased loved ones and then have a feast. That's about it," I said. "Do you not visit your loved ones during this time?"

"Not really," Nolan chuckled. "We don't exactly have graves to visit," he explained when he saw my questioning look.

"Why?" No graves? What happened to their dead then?

"The ground is too frozen. You couldn't dig a grave here if you tried. We burn our dead and let their ashes be taken into the afterworld by the northern winds," Nolan said while sipping on his wine.

"Oh," was all I could muster for a reply. It made sense. Yet I found it somewhat sad. The idea that if you die, there is nothing left, not even a piece of stone where your children and grandchildren could come to visit. Something to remember you once existed. That you meant something to someone.

"Let's dance," Devan said, grabbing my hand. Gesture I didn't expect at all, so I nearly dropped my wine. He took me towards the bonfire where Lucia and Demi were already dancing, holding each other in their arms. I watched them while Devan put one hand around my waist, while holding my hand with the other.

"They look so happy," I said, still looking at the two girls, who were now looking into each other's eyes with unspoken emotion so powerful, it could move mountains.

"They are," Devan said, looking in the same direction I did. There was a familiar longing in his voice that made me question if he too had someone out there like this. "Back where you're from, did you have someone?" he asked me and I was so lost in my own thoughts, I almost missed the question.

"I used to think I did. But no, I didn't have anyone." Those words were much harder to say than I would've liked. But they were the truth I was unwilling to face for a while now.

"Don't be so sad. Maybe that just means there is someone waiting for you here," he said, his voice strangely soft.

"Yeah, maybe," I replied, giving him a hopeful smile.

*** 

Can't believe we're at chapter 22 already! 

What do you guys think of Freya so far?

 And what do you think of her new friends? 

Who is your favourite and who do you like the least?