Prologue

Sarah Hive woke up expectingly to the sound of her computer beeping. It was early, and the sun had yet to rise, but she couldn't wait. She launched her chunky blanket off her and froze at the cool aroma of the morning. She quickly draped herself in her blanket again and covered herself like a coat. A big and all-consuming coat. She shuffles to the computer desk, settles down, and logs in. 

At the left margin, notifications from her "friend" appeared.

"Hey, the holiday is finally here! Gonna stay at home most the time... you cool to chat?"

Sarah grinned at the message. "Good morning to you too," she types.

The person's icon lighted up and the words texting appeared beneath it. "Lol, gonna call me out for that?"

"Come on, we always do this."

"Really? I thought we always get straight to the point."

"We are. The points is that its a good morning if you are texting me."

The person sent a heart emoji. Sarah reciprocated.

"If only we could..." Sarah hesitates to continue texting, "See each other in real life. At least once." Then she presses Enter. There was a long wait of constant typing and stopping from the other end until the person typed, "Sorry, I know I keep saying this, but we can't. I don't want to. Not because I don't care about you, but because I just can't."

Sarah's jaw tenses, "Listen, it's the holidays; we have been texting for like, 6 months. You have really helped me through that time, and I want our relationship to be stronger. I don't want us to just be 'virtual buddies'. You told me you live in the same town, so let's meet up. Please."

There was an even longer wait, then his icon lost its glow. Sarah slammed her desk. Again. Why don't they tell me? I don't even know if they are a girl or boy. All I know is that their username is Stephan (probably a boy). Sarah kept banging her desk until her mom's voice erupts from down the stairs leading to her room, "Honey, you better stop. You'll wake your dad up." 

Sarah whipped her body onto her bed and started beating it. After which, she calmed down and took a look at herself in the mirror. Her unkept red hair distorted what would be beautiful hazel eyes. Her skin, although light, looked dark in the confines of her room. She searched for the windows next to her bed and let the room be filled with more frost. 

She just stayed in bed, unable to let her previous interaction go, until a thought crossed her mind: Why wait? If Stephan won't see me, then I will find him. She jumped from her warm shelter and packed up her bag: a torch, her smartphone, some chips, tissue (just in case), and a rope. 

She dresses herself with the usual winter clothing of a nice fuzzy coat, long trousers and big snow shoes. She crept out of her room with her bag and snuck out the door. Her parents, although caring, don't mind too much where she goes, as long as she reports back to them in a couple of hours.

Sarah took easy steps on the snow-covered path and is ready for the hunt.