Icy wind blew over me. White snow dusted my hair and eyelashes. The chill made me shiver, even through my thick jacket.
Why did I decide to let down the window, again? I wondered.
This was Alaska. A barren, frozen wasteland that seemed to span innumerous miles. There was no sign of life anywhere.
There was a part of me that told me not to complain, and that the town was going to be cuter than I thought. There was another part that said that the ratio of girls to guys was one to ten, and that the best food in town was probably at some rinky—dink diner.
I rolled up my window and fiddled with the rental car's gears, trying make it heat up. I was disappointed to find there was no heat.
"Don't worry, Katya." I murmured to myself. "This will be fun."
I drove for a few more minutes before the small, broken town of Round Grove came into view. Even from the distance between the town and me, I could see how worn down everything was. It was as if the town was sighing, waiting for its undoing.
"No." I muttered darkly, sucking in a small but tight breath. "Certainly not fun."
The closer I got to the town, the more I noticed the way everything was falling apart. One restaurant, a place that boasted it had "The Best Pancakes in Alaska", looked abandoned. Another was half—ice, half—building.
I could have picked Juneau. I could have picked any other town or city in Alaska. But no, I picked Round Grove.
I sighed and tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. This was my fate; there was no turning back.
I imagined that somewhere, out in the barren landscape, a wolf was howling. I wished that somehow, it would understand what was happening.
But wishes never came true.
***
"So, this is your apartment. It doesn't look like much, but it's the best we got. I promise you'll only get satisfaction from it."
I had arrived in the town only a short while earlier. Though I originally thought of grabbing a burger at a fast food chain, close inspection of the town's main square told me that there were no fast food chains in town.
I really, really wanted to put off seeing the apartment. I knew it wouldn't be nice. I simply wanted to hold off actually seeing it for as long as possible.
The man who ran the apartments seemed friendly enough, but even he knew that his housing wasn't great. I tried to offer him a smile, albeit a weak one.
"I'm sure it'll be wonderful. Thank you for taking me in on such short notice."
He smiled at me warmly.
"We don't get many newcomers here. The rooms were open, and so as long as you have the money to rent, you can stay here."
The apartment cost a measly two hundred a month, and since I wasn't sure I would have any cash flow for a couple of months, the cheaper the better. I definitely had the rent for a while.
"You don't have to worry. All payments will be on time." I assured him.
"Well, then I guess you can just take a look around the place and get settled in. If you need any help, I'll be in room two—sixteen."
He left me shortly afterward, giving me time to observe the apartment I was going to be staying at. It was warm and cozy, but it didn't feel like home. Home was California, where all the rooms had giant windows and bright light. The apartment was very clearly Alaska.
Again, I tried to force a positive spin on the situation. The apartment would give me an opportunity to control my life, something that I had not been able to do in California.
My stomach grumbled loudly, interrupting the empty silence.
I'm going to have to go into town at some point. Might as well go when I'm hungry.
I dropped my bags by the door and fished a couple of dollars out of my wallet. With a last glance over the apartment, I went out into the bitter cold again.
As soon as I had shut the door behind myself, I was shivering again. There was a light amount of snow falling from the sky, but that was enough to make me wish the garage were closer.
I ran to my car as quickly as I could. Every second in the numbing freeze felt like an eternity in hell. Well, one that was frozen over.
I stepped in my car happily, ready for a warm blast of air to take away all the cold. Then, to my annoyance, I remembered that I was renting the most unhelpful car in all of Alaska.
I slammed the door shut, and with the help of my annoyance, turned on the car and then began to rage down the narrow street. Some people stared at me with wide eyes. I ignored them.
I pulled into Mandy's Diner half a minute later. People inside stared at me, eyeing up the newcomer. A bundle of nerves grew in my chest. I was just walking in a diner, but it was a diner with people I had never met and who would likely be judging me every second I was there.
Any confidence I had melted away.
