Alaska's wind blew on my face as I stepped out of the plane. It's afternoon here but cold already. As I inhale, I can feel a completely different air from the former weather where I lived. I like cold since it will make me barely sweat. That means I don't need to take a shower twice a day. Although there is no rule for bathing twice a day, because as long as your body doesn't sweat, it doesn't smell, it doesn't itch, and you don't have much activity that day, then you can only take one bath. I'm just used to doing it like that, twice a day. Anyway, this is my first-time setting my feet in the largest state of the U.S. Finally, I'm here. It feels new and fresh to me. All the soreness I felt during this long journey, paid off by getting here.
Actually, thank goodness Davis got another wrong information about the flight. The flight duration from Detroit to Anchorage was about nine hours, and that was true. But it was not a nonstop flight. Fortunately, it's a one-stop flight where we transited to Minneapolis. I'm glad that I got enough time for stretched and peed comfortably in a real restroom before the next five hours of flight.
Waiting for the luggage at the conveyor belt is one thing I hate once we arrived at the airport. We need to wait and keep our eyes wide open only to watch that carousel, so we won't miss ours. If we missed, the much longer time will be wasted. For now, I'm waiting for a large white and two other large black luggage. The white one is the easiest to find, but not that easy for the other two. I can see that Davis is just as bored as I am right now.
Fifteen minutes later, finally, we found the luggage. We put them on the trolley and headed to the arrival gate. The view outside of the building is so amazing. How lucky we are to get here before dark. A small smile plays on my lips, I love this place. I have to thank Davis later.
"Wait here, D. I'll get the car." Davis said as he stopped the trolley and parked it next to me. I nodded as a silent response. I don't mind waiting with these beautiful scenes in front of me. How lucky and happy are the people who live here. I can't believe that now I'm one of those happy people.
I push the luggage cart next to the waiting chair which has four seats. One of them has filled by a little girl. Maybe she's around nine years old or something, and I think she's waiting for her mom or dad who was in the restroom. I flashed the kindest smile before sitting next to her so she wouldn't be afraid of me. She smiled back. Well, my smile worked. I pull the zipper of my backpack, searching for the grey beanie inside. Gotcha! I took off my ponytail to let it down naturally and put the beanie on. Ah, it's warmer now.
"Delilah!" A booming voice calling up my name woke me up. Oh, did I fall asleep? How long has it been since Davis left me to get the car? Seems like long enough for me to fall asleep. I squinted to find where he is. Apparently, he was sitting behind the steer-wheel of a grey SUV. I immediately stood up and pushed the trolley towards him. "Really? You were sleeping? What a sleepyhead! What if there was a bad guy stealing the luggage?!" Davis grumbled as he got out of the car.
"Oh yeah?! So, you left me here for a very long time and care about the luggage only? What about me?! What if the bad guy kidnapped me?! I thought you left me on purpose, though." I replied, annoyed.
He snorted. "Kidnap you?! What a loss!" Sometimes he could be so annoying brother.
I punched him in the arm although I know he wouldn't feel anything because of his muscular arm. "Shut the fuck up! Just open the trunk!" He then giggled and walked toward the trunk to open it.
I check my phone. Only to make sure that there are no messages or missed calls from Ryan. Oh, damn it! What is wrong with me?! Forget him, D! I put the phone back into my backpack and leave them on the back seat so that I would not take a double check on it. I jumped onto the passenger seat before Davis got in.
"Are you ready for the next five hours drive, princess?" This brown-haired guy said as he got into the car.
"Wait what??!" I asked in surprise. "You're kidding, right?"
His mischievous smile got me curious, "I'm sorry, but a hundred percent super serious." He then lit the engine with an innocent face, "Our trip hasn't finished yet, ma'am."
What the heck. "Dude, I don't really care where are we going to live, but can't this be a shorter trip? We just spent nine hours bobbing in the air, and now, we have to add another five hours?? Holy crap!"
"Well, actually it could be shorter. But this is the cheapest way to get there. Here, in Alaska, everything is more expensive, okay? So, just stop complaining and be a good navigator for me. I promise you can get a perfect sleep tonight as we get there."
I threw my head to the headrests. Even though I am fed up but I know I shouldn't complain. "Sorry." I said in a low voice. Davis must be more tired than me since he still has to drive that long. Now I feel like a bad sister to him. Suddenly I got emotional. A tear drops.
Davis double checking on my face, "Hey, that's okay. You're such an emotional rebel." With his smile, he ruffles my wearing beanie hair. Sometimes he could touch me through his words. Okay I mean, sometimes that very often. He is a good caring brother, though. And I love him. But I won't tell him that. It will only make him snobbish.
This next journey started with the roaring engine of this car. And whose car is this anyway? Did he rent it? Or maybe he bought it, remembering that he already sold his car in Detroit two days ago. So, there's a probability that he bought a new one here. If he didn't, then how he'll get to work?
I pinch my cold nose, "So, where are we going to leave?" I can't help but finally asked about this. I'm so damn curious right now.
"Healy."
Healy? Wow. That's new to me. I have never heard about that before. The only one I know there's a small town in Alaska is Sitka. And how I knew about that was because I watched The Proposal movie. I don't even know yet whether the town truly exists or is just in the movie. Shit, I'm so bad at geography!
"Healy? Is that ... someone's name? Who? Your friend? Or girlfriend?"
His laugh burst out. "Damn it, Delilah! You're so bad at geography!" And how can he hear what I said in my mind about geography and me?? "Where were you when your teacher explained about Alaska?!"
"Sleeping? That's kind of the bored one, though."
Davis shook his head in disbelief, "Now listen to me, don't you dare to fall asleep cause you need to know about the place where you're going to live at even if it's just a little, okay?" Now he sounds like a teacher. "Healy is one of the small towns in Alaska. It's located near the Denali National Park. Some of the people who work on Denali live in Healy as well."
"Why? I mean, why don't they live in Denali instead?" Was my question appropriate? I don't think so.
"I don't know! Don't ask me about that." He turns to me with a peeved gaze then back to the road, "About the demographic. There is a population of about one thousand and twenty people in Healy, with many of them making their living from coal mining. The tourism industry is the second as well."
"Okay, that's enough. I can read that by myself through the internet, dude." Really, if he keeps up his lecture on this long trip, I'll fall asleep right away, and get fail to be a good navigator as he asked me.
The scenery around is so beautiful. Most of the mountains which I took a glance of, has a white color on their top. Looks cold but amazing. I want to open the window but am worried about the cold outside. Davis kicks the gas pedal like there's no brakes in this car, so the wind must be really strong if I opened the window.
As time goes by, we entered the woods. The road is winding and quiet. It looks like this car is the only one passing by. Towering trees lined each side of the road add to the picturesque scenery here. The further we went, the mist became even thicker. It's an exciting and gripping journey. I like it.
As I am wondering how far Healy is, I open the map which I took when we arrived at the airport. "Wow. Glad you found the map, Dora." He never got tired of mocking me.
"Just drive." I said without giving him any gaze.
The map said, to get to Healy, we will be passing by the highway, Wasilla, Willow, Talkeetna, and more. All of these names are sounds strange to me. Oh, then I found Sitka on the map. Now I know it really existed. I smile to myself. Unfortunately, we didn't pass Sitka on our way to Healy.
I folded the map back and slide it down into the pocket of my backpack. While I was enjoying the scenery behind the window, I felt that it was very hard for my eyes to stay open. Every now and then, my head shifts to the side and wakes me up. I brought my head onto its position, but then it happened again and again. Until I couldn't hold it anymore, sorry Davis, I'm drowning in my sleep. I'm just too sleepy.
"D! Wake up, D! Wake up!" Davis's loud voice woke me up. Actually, it startled me. He did it twice a day, didn't he? Once in the airport, and now this. Can't he wake me up in a more subtle way? I open my eyes little by little and rub my face. Shoot! My palm is so cold. I need to wear the mittens right now.
"Are we there yet?" I asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yup. I just need to find the house." He drove slower and leaned his body toward the steer-wheel so he could find our house-to-be in an easier way. It's dark already here. What kind of place is this anyway? It is similar to the one in thriller movies. It was dark, and the street lighting was very dim. But I find myself loving it.
This neighborhood is totally my favorite. The distance from one house to another is quite far. It's surrounded by the woods as well. Just as I wanted. Ah, I'm going to love living here! "Tell me what is it look like? Maybe I can help."
"Hmm .... " he muttered, still focusing to find out. "There you are!" He then maneuvered the car in the house's direction, causing my forehead to hit the window. He really knew it was going to happen as I was looking outside from such a close position to the window. It was clear he was doing it for that purpose. That's why he laughs in satisfaction right away. What a prankish!
Davis parked the car in front of the garage. I hustled jump off of the car and turn in awe as I set eyes on the house. With the small light on the porch, it looks classic yet comfortable from the outside. There are several steps that lead us to the main door. I can't wait to go explore inside.
A little bit of surprise came to me when I walked closer to the stairs. How could I not notice a man nearby? An old man around sixty or seventy, wrapped in a thick brown jacket, hands plopped in the pocket. He must be the owner of this house. Still, I wonder, since when was he standing there, huh?
"Welcome to Healy, Mr. and Ms. Bloom. I'm John Fulton." He stuck out his hand, welcoming us. This old man had the voice typical of a grandfather. I think he's nice.
"It's very nice to finally meet you, Mr. Fulton." Davis shook his hand with me following what he did. "I'm sorry for coming this late. I must have taken up your rest time."
He chuckles, "Not at all, Mr. Bloom. I'm totally good." He coughed a while, and continues, "Here is your key, so you can take your wife to go inside. It's cold outside. Oh, your belongings arrived yesterday and are already inside."
"I'm not his wife." I corrected. This is not the first time we have been mistaken for a husband and wife.
"Yes, she's my sister, Delilah." Davis added and took the key.
"Ah, my bad. Sorry about that." His facial expression became very embarrassed towards us.
"No problem. We're used to it by the way." Davis patted Mr. Fulton on the shoulder and giggled. "Well, thank you for helping us, Mr. Fulton. I don't know what would have happened without your help. Moving here was quite sudden for both of us."
"Don't mention it, Mr. Bloom. I'm glad to help you." Okay, when will this and that conversation end? I'm freezing here. Doesn't anyone notice? I pulled myself away from those small talk, trying to keep moving to make the cold lessen. With my arms hugging myself, I walked around the house. Just not too far.
It's so damn quiet here. I can hear only sounds of the animal from the forest, which I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe cockroaches or something like that. The towering trees in front of the house with this dark night, again, remind me of thriller movies. Where usually the bad guy would throw the dead body in the middle of the forest. I giggled. Too much imagination in my head, but I love it. A mystery, haunted, and thrill movie, are my things.
I keep walking around the house, rubbing my hands to earn some warmth. Then I stopped. Wait, did I just see someone out there? I narrowed my eyes and walk towards the direction where I found that 'someone'. Is that a real person or just a shadow from the smaller tree or something? It's too far and dark, and the mist slightly covered it up, I can't see it clearly. But from the shape itself, it looks like a person, a man.
Curiously, I make a slow step to get there. It's not moving. If only it's true there's someone, what is he doing in the middle of the woods against this darkness and coldness then? If he realized that I'm trying to get closer, why he doesn't make any move? I could feel my heartbeat pounding and the hair behind my neck reacting like there's something strange around here.
"Hey!" My legs go limp as there's a hand behind me landed on my shoulder. I feel like I'm going to pass out. I don't feel anything but cold through my feet.
I turn around, "Geez, Davis!!" Thank goodness it's only Davis. I released a breath that I had been holding.
"Of course, it's me. There's nobody but us here. And why on earth you're going to run to the woods?"
"I'm not going to run anywhere. I just ... I think I just saw someone standing in the middle of the woods. So, I was just trying to find out. There." I turned around to the woods, pointing to where I saw that 'person'. I gasped when surprisingly, it was gone.
"There is no way someone standing over there, D. There is nothing but tree over there. It must be just your imagination. Let's go, just come inside. You can continue your investigation in the morning." Davis put his arm around me and let me into the house.
I can't help but follow his instruction to get into our new home. Question raced through my mind about what I've seen outside. If it was only a shadow of the tree, then it won't disappear when Davis came in. And if that's a real person, what is he doing out there? Well, maybe Davis was right. It must be just my imagination. I'm too tired, though.
Still, this is interesting. The creepiness showered me on my first day in Healy.