Once again

I tried to go back and forth between 2 timelines, so sorry if it's a little confusing

“Earth to Sara. Hello?”

“Hmm?” I snapped back out of my thoughts.

“So, what do you say?”

“What?”

“I said, what do you think about going sledding tomorrow?”

3 years. Maybe it was time to go back.

“Sure. Yeah, I’ll be there.” I say, trying to show my indifference, though inside I was waging a war with myself, yelling at myself for agreeing to go. 

“Ok.“

I sunk back into my thoughts as my friends went back to talking about whatever crazy thing happened over the weekend. The rest of the day went by in a blur, as I was sinking in my thoughts. After school, I met up with Cerise, my sister, to walk back home. I talked about my day and the thought of going sledding again.

“Why not?” Cerise said. “We haven’t gone in a long time.” I smiled sadly.

“You know why.” I whispered under my breath. 

When I got home, my mom was there waiting for me on the kitchen table. With her dark brown hair and almost black eyes, we could have been sisters. I put my bag down and started to go upstairs before my mom asked,

“What have you been doing? You haven’t been getting in trouble, now have you.” She wagged her finger at me and I smiled. Some things never change. 

**0**

Cerise and I run inside, our cheeks flushed red and our faces wide with smiles. 

“What have you been doing? You haven’t been getting into trouble, now have you.” Our mom said, waiting at the kitchen table, wagging her finger at us. 

“Sledding.” We say in unison, and burst into laughter afterwards. 

 **0**

The next day I’m standing in front of my mirror, wearing snow pants and a T-shirt, unable to decide whether to go or not. 

“Should I go, Cerise?”

“Why not? You haven’t gone in so long. Let’s go back and play, it’ll be fun. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” My sister sat at the end of my bed, dangling her feet over the edge. I took a deep breath. 

“Ok.” 

Now, standing at the top of the hill, I definitely regretted saying yes. I couldn’t do anything as a flood of painful memories went through my mind. Staring at the mountains, the ones I knew so well from years before, I shivered, though not from the cold. I heard someone say to their friends, “Ready?”

**0**

“Ready?”

“I was born ready.” I stood at the top of the hill, my eyes fixed on the end. Cerise stood next to me, in her bright snow gear and dark goggles. She smirked under her ski mask.

“Go.”

We sled down the hill at harrowing speeds, the wind whipping our hair in a frenzy. I smiled knowingly under my mask, then shoved my sled left, into a shortcut I knew well, leaving Cerise behind. Now I stood at the bottom of the hill, shivering but grinning wide.

“Cerise!” I called. “Are you that slow or are you that sore of a loser? Either way, I can’t wait here all night!” No reply. As the minutes ticked by, my smile slowly dropped a little more. Suddenly, a loud rumble tumbled from the hill above me. I scrambled backwards. I knew what that sound meant. Avalanche. They rarely happened but up here, out in the woods, you don’t know what could happen. As I ran back to the cabin, I remembered. Cerise was still up there. I turned and sprinted back towards the hill I was going at before, but a hand grabbed my shoulder.

“Miss, we have to go.” A man in a bright orange vest and goggles stood behind me. 

“My sister is still up there!” I cried, desperate to find Cerise

“Miss, we’ll find her, you have to go back to your cabin.”

“I-I can’t, my sister...” I started to break down in sobs

“We’ll find her. Now, go,” The man said with determination in his eyes. I reluctantly walked back to my cabin, my tears freezing on my face as they fell. I turned back to thank the man, but he was already walking up the hill, and soon he disappeared in the storm of snow that followed. I ran faster to my cabin, and anxiously waited for him to come back with my sister. And waited. And waited. When they came down and broke the news, I cried for a week. Then I had no more tears left to cry. I gave up sledding, and didn’t touch a board for 3 years. Until now.

**0**

“First time sledding?” A voice asked 

 “What?” 

“Is it your first time sledding?” the voice asked again, but louder.

And suddenly my memory jogged back. I stared in at the icy hills in front of me, feeling a pain slowly crawling into me. 

“I said, is it your first time sledding?”  

“Sorry, no, why’d you ask?”  

“Probably because everyone knows you can’t sled without a board.” I looked at my hands and suddenly noticed I didn’t have a board. 

“If you want you can borrow mine.” 

I stared at the stranger for a second. She had a ski mask on and a pair of sledding goggles, which seemed a little excessive. Dark brown hair came out of her hat. Something about her felt familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. “Thanks.” I took her spare board and started to look at the signs on the hills Fright mountain, Avalanche explosion, and Sloth slide. I headed toward the Sloth Slide because it seemed like the safest bet, but the girl grabbed my hand and pulled me into a bush. I looked around and saw a giant hill, wondering how I never saw it. 

“Where did you find this spot?” 

“ 2 years ago, you want to try it?” She grinned.

“You go first.” 

“Okay.” The girl hopped on the board in a surfer position and started to sled, but fell instantly. A giggle escaped my lips, despite what I had felt before. 

“Looks like I’m not the only one who hasn’t been sledding in a while.” She shrugged and sat down on the board and started to sled but at the last second pulled me down with her. 

“Ahhhhhhh!” 

“Oh stop screaming, it’s not that bad.” 

 “Hey, I never caught your name.”    

“Oh, well-”  

“Look out!” I screamed and we suddenly crashed into a tree.

“Oww.” I started to look for the girl but couldn’t find her. When I found her ski mask and sledding goggles I started to panic. But my panicking slowed down as I saw her. “Are you okay? I found your ski mask and goggles.” The girl whipped around, and I finally caught sight of her face. Suddenly my heart stopped and a thousand questions raced into my head, but the only word I managed to choke out was “Cerise?”