Halcyon

C H A P T E R F I V E: JUNGLE HEART

      I drove up into the mountains the next day. Waking before the sun, I tiptoed from the sleeping house, shrugging on the downy parka my mother had gotten me for my birthday and laced up my boots out on the deck. The promise of sunrise lingered just beyond the icy mountain peaks, a haze of soft yellow that made the fresh powder shine blue and the frost covered trees glow with pink as they sang like chimes in the winter wind. By the time I got in the car and started the engine, the tip of my nose was cherry red and stinging. The roads were nearly empty, walls of recently ploughed snow lined the thoroughfare and I took turns placing my hands up to the heating vents to warm my stiff fingers.

      I cranked up the radio the fill the silence as I glanced at the GPS that was clipped to my dashboard. The little numbers below the map read out twenty minutes until my destination point. With a sigh, I leaned back into my seat and settled myself in for the drive, staring dully at the miles of wet pavement that stretched on before me. The highway ended quicker than I expected and I merged onto the off-ramp that lead to the road up to the ski resort. Cars were already zooming along the mountain pass, either workers preparing for their day, or the wealthy in their black Tundras, headed up to the slopes with their skis attached to the tops of their cars.

      There was something a little unsettling about the forest trees rearing up like withered giants on either side of the road. I was used to the evergreen of the Sierra Nevada and though pines grew within the Wasatch range, many of the trees lost their leaves due to the cold and appeared like frozen hands, clawing up from the ground. The pass wound sharply through the forest and my hands began to clench around the wheel as the turns grew sharper and the road steeper. I chanced a look over the side, the trees had grown in a protective wall along the side of the road but past the first row the land grew sloped treacherous, great drifts of fresh white powder caught between gnarled roots. It was only because I was looking down that I saw the shape running parallel to the car in front of me.

      The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I watched the dark shadow dart through the wood, its gate lumbering like a bear. It must be a bear, I thought, though what's one doing out so late from hibernation? My foot eased off the gas pedal as I watched it amble farther and farther away, a spot of midnight amongst white and grey. I didn't realize I'd come to an almost complete stop until the car behind me blared its horn, the driver gesturing angrily in my review mirror.

      I quickly revved the engine and sped to catch up with the next car, the resort wasn't far now, to the left people were coasting down a trail in their skis that ran along the side of the road. On the last sharp turn to the left, the road leveled out and a giant parking lot appeared, where cars were packed bumper to bumper trying to find a space. It took me nearly an hour to find a space that included a lot of dirty looks from people.

      The lot must have been cleared of snow earlier in the morning, it was mostly clear of the white powder and my boots sloshed in the melted puddles as I wound my way into the heart of the resort. The buildings were obviously new, shinning wooden panels adorned the hotel, capped with snow on the roof that looked like a padding of cotton. Copper lanterns hung from the archways of the shops, casting gold over the snow like lost suns on a cloudy day and people bustled around in their expensive coats, some speaking foreign languages. The press of the crowd around me made the back of my neck itch and I quickly trudged into the entrance of the hotel as small flakes began to fall from the gloomy sky.

     The Wildgate hotel was known for its quality and I marveled at the red carpet that adorned the walkway to the service desk and the marble of the walls. A woman stat tapping away at a sleek computer as I timidly approached the counter, snatching off my glasses and quickly cleaning them of any smudges. I cleared my throat awkwardly when she didn't look up and for a moment her dull brown eyes flicked up to assess me before they darted back to the screen.