Christmas had come and gone in relative quiet, compared to many previous years of her life. It had been warm enough, and cozy enough, at the inn, cooking too much food for residents and guests. But tamales were not quite the same when not made by many hands of cousins and sisters, and Christmas morning was nearly dull enough to bring tears without the clatter of children pulling wrapping paper into ribbons. And so, it had crept by like a stranger, here and then gone. The new year had fluttered along behind it in a similar fashion, taking down twinkling lights and garland as it went.
It was morning, just past the bustle of morning rush hour. Traffic thinned even further as the road unfurled into the canyon. Sharp walls stood with the heavy burden of layered snow and ice, bits that had fallen and frozen and melted and frozen, only to be hidden under new, fresh layers, and so on. Even now, the tops of the mountains were hidden away behind clouds that threatened more of the same any minute.
Esperanza drove without thinking much of anything, very nearly on autopilot until the boundary of the town proper hit, stirring life into her sense as if it were the smell of fresh breakfast. What a familiar path. How many times she had listened to the hum of tires on this particular stretch of pavement. It pulled her back down to earth, a reminder of where she was and where she was going. A house that was no longer her home, really. Unannounced, no less - a surprise, if not a bit of a rude one, to spring upon Levka. A visit where she had not even responded to the picture he had sent out well over a month ago.
The house peeked out between trees and sparse, cozy neighbors like it had been awaiting her return. She could feel the tell-tale twinge of a polar bear's orbit-like presence just seconds before she saw his car, comically small for Levka in many ways. She parked just behind it, and turned off the engine, but did not immediately get out. Just for a moment, she would like to sit, staring at the evergreens and the snow-burdened roof that held so many memories.