It Was Winter Again.

Five more days. 250,000 views. And little response.

By little response, he meant no real contact. Although, a gray wool bomber was delivered to his doorstep two days prior. A note tucked in the front pocket.

I’m not sure what to you want me to say.

The note was crunched in Mitchell’s pocket 24/7. Humid and soft from all the times he had touched it, as if to remind himself. He wasn’t quite sure what it reminding him of though. He didn’t dare wear the jacket. It was laced with a foreign scent that he assumed belonged to the stranger. It was tainted and Mitchell gagged at the thought of it.

The unavoidable fact was ever present though. Christmas was here. The lights of the season filled the muddy streets of the Ohio town. The most wonderful time of year for those who had someone to celebrate with. All Mitchell could do was roll around town with his Christmas radio station on and his heart heavy.

This particular night was almost intolerable. “Make my wish come true. Baby, all I want for Christmas is you.” Mitchell viciously switched off the radio. He pursed his lips and sigh aloud before making the quickest turn onto the highway. He drove in silence, in miserable silence until he reached a simple driveway. He didn’t raise his eyes to the building, just the cell phone to his ear.

“Hello?” said a tired voice on the other side.

“Kyle. I’m here. Come out,” the hushed tone in Kyle’s voice made his own soften.

“Now? It’s five in the morning,” on the edge of consciousness, Kyle fought.

Mitchell closed his tired eyes, “Kyle… please.” He heard the line go dead at the other end.

Two minutes later, Kyle was coming down the driveway in his Power Ranger pajama pants and a Niagara Falls sweatshirt. He got in the car with a still visible sleepiness in his eyes. “Wendy’s?” he asked, almost sarcastically.

Mitchell nodded solemnly and pulled out of the driveway. The ride was silent except for Kyle’s incessant tuning of the radio. Mitchell twirled his fingers; annoyed, but never found it important enough to comment on. They pulled into the local 24 hour Wendy’s.

They jumped out of the car and pulled open the glass door of the restaurant. Kyle ordered his meal. He looked to Mitchell for an order. Mitchell shook his head for nothing. Kyle rolled his eyes before paying. They took a seat in the corner, being the only ones in the restaurant.

Kyle took a bite of his burger before starting. “So… what’s up?”

Mitchell shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, come on. Everyone on Youtube knows what’s wrong. The cloudy matter is knowing who it is,” he raised one eyebrow and took a sip of soda.

“Yeah. Well, you know who it is and she knows who it is. That’s all that matters,” Mitchell shook his hair to fix it.

“So how’s the cause going? Any sign of her?” Kyle leaned back in his chair.

“I got my jacket back, but other than that no. Have you seen her wearing the jacket?” Mitchell pressed for answers.

“Yeah, she was wearing it,” Kyle shrugged.

“When?” Mitchell’s eyes pleaded.

“Three days in a row last week. But I don’t know anything else,” Kyle encouraged.

“Come on. She’s your sister. Don’t you like talk to her about this stuff?” Mitchell implored.

Kyle sighed, “No. I mean, she’s seen the videos. She wouldn’t talk to me about it even if I did ask. I’m just a biased opinion to her.”

Mitchell rang his fingers through his hair resting them around his right plug. “Well what about the guy?”

“Oh, him? I don’t know. She met him while in Florida for that that… ballet workshop. He followed her home and is staying with some old friends in town,” Kyle took another sip of his drink.

Mitchell sat back defeated. He looked out the window. The sun was beginning to rise in the eastern sky. She met him in Florida. Fuck. Fuck those ballets workshops she was always sending herself to. Fuck the tan skinned foreigner that traced her trail back to Ohio. Or did she invite him?

“Hey,” Kyle yanked his attention back, “Is that camera on?” He pointed it to the black Nikon that was turned towards him, red light on.

“No. I guess I just brought it out of habit,” Mitchell said nonchalantly.

Back home, computer on. Mitchell hunched over his keyboard, plugging his camera in.

Title: The Winter Diaries Part 3