See It to Believe It Wrong Timing It has been a long time since she last saw her mother. Almost ten years. She lived down Florida, in the hot weather that seemed to adjust greatly to her liking. But she never cared, or she wouldn’t have left her. When Jordan was six years old, her mother was dating random people that she would meet up every now and then. She would pay more attention to them, rather than her own daughter. Her father died a few months before the tragedy. He always cared, and he always wanted her happy. Her mother took her, to a large supermarket, on one very busy day. She didn’t bother to pick up anything, just walk into the middle of the store. She told Jordan to stay still and not to move, that she would be back soon. Soon never came to her. Her mother left her there, for a very long time. When closing time came around, some woman that worked there asked her where her mother was. She explained that she had been waiting, for a while for her mother to come back, but she was the only one in the store. They never found her mother. She was dropped off so far away from home, and she couldn’t collect enough thoughts to remember where her mother lived. Now, she is about to turn sixteen, and now, she will learn the secret of her life. “Come help me please!” shouted a child from a far distance away. Jordan looked left and right to see who was calling out for her. The icy chill of the wind made her shiver and shake softly. It was December 23rd, and she was planning what to do on Christmas, and her birthday. She sat outside on the icy swing set that the younger orphans played on at the orphanage. Her long brown hair brushed along her cheeks, and brushed along her scar that started at the top of her right cheek and slid down to her neck. Her brown eyes wandered around the poem she was writing, wondering if that voice will come back. She was cold, and she was stressed. Would she find a home this year? Would she be loved? Love is to be in your arms Love is to be only yours Love is to seek happiness Love is to open my door Hate is to store anger Hate is to stay mad Hate may be the end Hate will only be bad Those words scribbled onto her paper, until she heard the same voice calling out again. It sounded serious, and a cry broke through “Get away! Get off!” it shouted, Jordan jumped to the loudness and sharpness of the voice. She fell back out of the swing, hitting flat on the cold ground. She let out a frustrated sigh as she looked up into the snowing sky. It was calm and it was peaceful, just as she hoped it would be. The snow stuck to her small body and her face. It was freezing cold, and she wanted to get warm. She zipped up her coat as she sat up and gathered up her papers that fell out of her notebook. “Cold day isn’t it?” asked an older boy that came walking out of the door at the house next door. His name was Mike Dale and he is sixteen and a half. He wore a brown coat with a brown hat with green and yellow lines circling at the bottom. He wore blue jeans with one hand in his pocket and the other behind his back. Some of his blonde hair stuck out the bottom of his hat, and his blue eyes wandered at me. “Yeah it is,” she said softly. She gathered up the rest of her papers and stood up watching him closely. “Want to go Ice Skating?” he asked quickly as she started walking towards the building. She looked closer at him and saw he was carrying something behind his back. “It’s almost dark though, and I didn’t bring my skates with me,” she said. He whipped his hands out in front of him and showed her two pairs of ice skates. “I caught them on my way out,” he said, his eyes full of hopefulness. It was so adorable how cute he was. It was so adorable to not say yes. “I guess so,” she said huffing with a smile. Her white pearly teeth caught his eye and he smiled back, showing off his also. She walked with him to a large lake out in the woods behind the orphanage. It was frozen and it never looked so beautiful. The moon shined above it and looked the best it could be. “Ready?” he asked giving her the skates he brought. It was still so adorable. She nodded and took the skates in her hand after laying her stuff down on the ground. She threw her shoes off and laced up her skates. By the time she was finished, Mike already had his tied. Jordan laughed softly as she slowly walked onto the ice and started sliding around. She about fell at first but Mike was behind her, and he pulled her back up. He smiled and winked at her as he started speeding on ahead. The ice was slippery and it made small crackly noises as soon as she slid across. She got the hang of it and had fun. Her skates were adjusted just right, and her clothes kept her warm. Mike had zipped in front of her with intense speed as he circled around her backwards. He chuckled and went faster. She stood absolutely still in the center. The ice then started to crack. Mike stopped suddenly and slid back as the circle started to break. It made it hard to Jordan to stand. “Jordan don’t’ move!” he shouted, pulling his hands up. She stood still, almost ready to cry. She spaced her arms out and waited for her next instructions. “Okay, wait right here, I’ll be back,” he said then started skating towards the ground. “No! Don’t leave me please!” she yelled out, breaking out into sobs. She put her hands up to her face and wiped away her tears. He stopped skating, and looked back at Jordan. “Okay then, I won’t leave you,” he said softly and skated back towards her. He put his hand up to his chin to think for a minute. More Ice cracked and water arose onto the surface. Jordan let out a whimper and stood still even more. More water came onto the surface and splashed on her skates. The water seeped through and got her feet wet. She had a late reaction but she jumped up and broke through the whole ice. The large circle collapsed into many segments and pieces as Jordan fell through the ice and started to sink. She kicked her legs but went no where. The coldness of the water made her arms go numb, and her chest just went into a shocking pain. She let out a scream in the water, but the air bubbles didn’t even make it to the top, as the dispersed and hit the bottom of a piece of ice. Suddenly something big crashed into the water. It was too dark to see but the only thing it could be was Mike. She could barley see his image. Whatever it was grabbed her arm and pulled her up into their grasp. She could hear the loud grunt they mumbled as they pulled her up out of the water. In that second, Mike already looked out of the water and ready to go. His skates were already off and thrown back to the ground with their stuff, which eventually they would have to come back and get. “Okay now, hold on,” he said to her. Jordan’s face was getting pale. He pulled her out of the water and laid her down softly on the side of the ice that hadn’t been broken at all. “Jordan, are you okay?” he asked. She seemed disorientated and shaking. He gasped softly and pulled her arm around him. He lifted her up and started walking towards the dirt ground. Once there he picked her up into his arms. Too much weight would’ve just broken through in one certain area. He started running. Jordan was shaking, and her breath was getting shorter. She looked up at Mike. He was in the same water too; shouldn’t he be freezing like herself? He just kept running and running. “Mike?” she asked softly. Her chest burned so bad, and it hurt so bad to talk. “What is it?” he asked, panting and breathing sharply. “Why am I so cold?” she asked, her lips shaking from the coldness. Her lips were pure purple and her face was pale. “You fell into the lake,” he said. He brushed some of her hair out of her face somehow while still holding her running on a path. She felt his clothes and they were dry. “How are you so warm, weren’t you in the water?” she asked sharply. Her voice was cracking and it hurt her throat. “No, I didn’t go in the water. You fell through and a few seconds later you came out of the water,” he said. He soon made it to the end of the trail. He cut through the yard and over to his house. He burst through to door quickly and kicked it shut. He looked at his mother in the kitchen, shock in her face. Her eyes widened as he saw Jordan soaking wet with a pale face and purple lips. “Set her on the couch,” she said dashing from the kitchen, taking off a wet apron from where she was doing some dishes. Jordan felt something warm under her body. “Okay now, Mike go run a hot bath, but make sure it’s not too hot,” she said as she started unbuttoning Jordan’s clothes. Mike nodded without a fuss and dashed towards the stairs, going two at a time. He reached the top and rushed into the washroom, turning on the faucet in the bathtub, to a warm setting which looked to help out. Steam rose from the hot water that poured into the empty tub. He set a plug in the hole and waited for it to fill up. He knew his mother would call for him when she needed help. “Okay Jordie, let’s get your excess clothes off,” she said. Jordan and Katelyn, Mike’s mother, have known each other for a while, ever since she came to the orphanage. They even got each other nicknames. Katelyn started pulling off Jordan’s jacket, and long sleeved shirt, leaving nothing but her black with a purple tint t-shirt. Her hair was still wet and damp that it covered down to her bust and down her back. She took off her baggy pants and jeans, leaving some shorts on her. She always dressed warmly, but she always took caution outside. “Thanks….Katie,” she said shivering and stammering her words. She was freezing and shaking even more. Katie took off the ice skates, and grabbed her underarm pulling her up. “Mike, come help me please,” his mother called out. Mike was down the stairs in a flash. He slid down the rail and landed with a big thud a few feet from Jordan. He put Jordan’s arm around his shoulder as he and his mother helped her upstairs. “She could possibly be dealing with hypothermia,” she said worryingly. Her lips looked solid, her face still pale, and her joints all stiff. She kept shaking and wouldn’t stop. They finally made it to the door of the washroom. Mike lifted her up softly as she held onto him for warmth. Katelyn splashed a little water to feel its warmth. “Okay Mike, set her in easy,” she said. Mike nodded and stepped towards the half filled tub. It was fairly big and would probably hold two people if needed. He laid her down gently so that her reaction wouldn’t be jumpy. She let out a small whimper as her body adjusted to the warmth of the water. Her t-shirt and shorts warmed up and warmed up more of her body. She let out a few sighs, as the color in her face became red a little, but her lips stayed purple. “Mike, I’ll go make something for her to drink, she needs some hot fluids. Keep an eye on her for me and take off your wet jacket before you get sick,” Katelyn said then dashed out of the room. The thumping noise of the stairs seemed quick. Mike quickly threw his jacket off and put it on the laundry basket. He then pulled his shirt down and took of his hat. “Jordie are you okay?” he asked softly as he sat down on the floor beside the bathtub. He heard her mumble something, her voice still crackly. He put his hand on her face, noticing that it was the only thing not getting warmth. He gasped slightly and pulled her to sit her up. He took a cup that was sitting on the side and filled it with fresh warm water spilling from the faucet. “This’ll warm you up good,” he said then slowly poured it on the top of her head. Her reaction came quick as she put her hands up to block the heat. But she wanted the heat to warm up her face, so she sulked up the heat. She didn’t think she’d feel so good after feeling so bad. Mike turned off the faucet and watched Jordan fold her hands on the side of the bathtub and put her face in it. The color was coming back into her face and her lips were not badly purple anymore. Her face wandered around Mike and she didn’t change her expression whatsoever. Mike placed his hand on her scar and rubbed it softly. He kissed her cheek and rubbed his nose against hers. “Don’t worry Jordie, you’ll be fine,” he whispered softly as he kissed her cheek once more. Jordan looked up, her expression staying the same. “Mike, something was in the water. Something helped me out of it,” she said, her voice still cracked. Mike rubbed her cheek once more. “Jordie, don’t worry about anything right now. Just worry about yourself and getting better,” he said as he stood up and looked over at the door as he heard his mother’s footsteps coming up the stairs. The smell of hot chocolate was in the air, and Mike made a smile. He looked at Jordan. “You’re in for a special treat,” he said with a smile. Jordan couldn’t help but change her expression into a smile.
