Holiday Classroom Crush

Chapter 1 Rosa

Saturday December 1, 2:07 p.m .

Rosa Flores jiggled the loose handle of her vacation rental house, the one full of rustic charm that possessed everything her high-rise in Seattle didn’t. Except a working doorknob .

“Gah!” She turned it right, then left, while fiddling with the key. It didn’t help that winter had fully set in, even though it was barely December. It was a different level of cold up in the mountains of Leavenworth, Washington.

The area was magical, especially this time of year. She had splurged on this particular rental due to its cuteness–the Bavarian gingerbread style iconic of the Christmasy village. But right now? She wanted nothing more than to get inside.

Rosa’s fingers froze to the cold metal. This was beyond frustrating. Maybe she should try being nice to the house. “Pretty please, Mr. Doorknob?” She cupped her hands around her mouth and blew hot air on them. “To be honest, I have no idea what I’m doing . With my life or this doorknob, apparently.”

She had reached a new level of desperation: Rosa was talking to a doorknob.

One last jiggle, and it finally clicked open. “Ah ha!” Success. Rosa was never one to give up, something her Mexican immigrant parents instilled in her. Although some might see Rosa's temporary move from Seattle to the tiny tourist town as giving up. Running away, even.

She opened the door to the living room, the stone fireplace inviting her in, the chunky wood coffee table and other furnishings adding to the mountain charm.

Rosa pulled her pink luggage inside, dropped them on the floor, and plopped face first on the navy couch. “This is the comfiest couch in the entire world. I could totally nap here.” Her body melted into the fluffiness.

Silence. Finally. Her body relaxed in a way it hadn’t in a long time. No, temporarily moving away from the corporate world and disappearing into a small town wasn’t giving up. This was the therapy she needed.

Probably cheaper than therapy. And more scenic. And Christmasy.

Leavenworth was a good choice. Two hours east of Seattle. Close, but not too close. She knew herself–Rosa needed the distance or she’d be tempted to stay in her toxic routine of working practically every waking hour. Because part of her still craved the fast pace of city life. All work and no life. Why? Well, that was complicated.

It was time for a change. Even if she had to start over.

Rosa kicked off her pink winter boots, pulled her suitcase into the bedroom, and started to unpack her clothes. She pulled out a few framed family photos from her bag, smiling as she ran her finger over her parents’ faces. She swallowed, a tear rolling down her cheek, her grief over losing them still fresh. The guilt, sharp and unrelenting, twisted in her gut like a cruel pinch, a constant reminder that their death was her fault.

It was why she had felt so broken. Lost. A big part of why she had decided to take a sabbatical. She set down the photo. “I’m sorry,” she said, kissing her hand and resting on the picture. Somehow, Rosa had to figure out how to work through this heavy weight. Forgive herself somehow, if that was even possible.

She promised to do more with her life as a way to make up for it.

The next photo was of her Aunt Lucia. Her rock and the reason she picked Leavenworth. Too bad her aunt had moved away down into Yakima, Washington , near her kids and grandkids, or Rosa would be bunking at her house. Actually, being alone was good. She needed time to think. After this sabbatical, she’d visit Aunt Lucia. No more excuses.

Rosa had let her career as an accountant aka her boss Brad’s right-hand-person get in the way of what was really important in life: family, health, peace. As she sat on the bed, Rosa placed the photo of Aunt Lucia on the nightstand next to the one with her parents. She sighed. The plan was to be in Leavenworth for a month. Amazing how many vacation days accrued when you never took time off from endlessly crunching numbers.

Rosa headed to the kitchen and opened every cabinet she could reach from her 5-foot-4-inch frame. The kitchen was stocked with all the essential items, but the pantry and fridge were bare. Time to find a grocery store. She stepped into her boots, put on her pink coat, scarf, gloves, and hat, then grabbed her car keys and headed outside.

The winter chill was still in the air, but something felt different now. She was “home”–at least home for now. A dusting of snow covered everything, a blanket of soft silence and calm. The house, trees, and mountains were white. It was beautiful. The dark clouds beyond the mountains were ominous, but still. Rosa closed her eyes and took a deep breath of mountain air, her lungs filling to capacity. So fresh. So not full of smog and pressure.

The winter air chilled her to the bones–in a good way. Made her feel alive like she hadn’t in a long time. She promised herself that while she was living in Leavenworth, every day, no matter what, she was going to walk or hike. To build a strong body. Mostly for her mental health. To think of the good times and plan for better ones.

She hopped in her car, set the GPS to the nearest grocery store, and pulled out of the driveway. Her temporary neighborhood was on the outskirts of the little tourist town, this space a little more spread out and secluded. That was good. The less drama the better. Especially after the last two years. Overworking, a big health scare, and a boss who was completely overbearing, had made Rosa question the direction she was headed.

Hadn’t Rosa’s recent cancer journey knocked some sense into her? Why had she let herself fall back into an unhealthy lifestyle and let others dictate her career? And her life? What would her parents feel about how she has been living?

Turning onto Icicle Road, Rosa noticed signs for trailheads with small parking lots. Ahh yes. Hiking trails. Part of the reason she picked a rental property in this spot was its proximity to several popular trails. Rosa loved hiking. She had spent many hours hiking with her family as a kid on trails outside of Seattle, but it had been a while since she’d taken the opportunity. This time off would be different.

“So different,” she mumbled to herself. “Like, the total opposite of the old Rosa life.” She’d connect with nature, and hopefully herself. Figure out the next part of life.

In fact, why wait to hike? She could start sooner. Like, she could start right this minute.

The grocery store would still be open later. Rosa had all the time in the world. She could get a hike in before the early winter sunset. Afterward, she could actually spend the evening winding down and relaxing. She could even pick up some take-out and binge a TV show she never had time to watch .

That plan felt perfect. Goosebumps covered her arms and neck as a wave of excitement washed over her. Her time was hers. She could do what she wanted. Rosa turned up the radio and danced in her seat as she drove. This was one million times better than her Seattle commute. She could get used to this.

After a few miles, Rosa turned off the main road and onto a small side road that led to the Icicle Ridge Trailhead. Just ahead was a large wooden sign with a big map. Rosa rolled to a stop, parked the car, and got out. The snow crunched under her boots. The only other vehicle was a blue truck. Probably deserted because it was winter.

Who would hike in the winter? Well, she had, years ago with her family, but nothing very serious. Today, she didn’t plan on going very far. This was less of an actual hike and more of an initiation into her new lifestyle. A jumpstart to a hiking routine.

She took a deep breath. “Well, Rosa, it’s now or never.” That was her new mantra. Or something. Until she came up with something better.

Taking a moment to study the trail map, Rosa then took a picture of it. With her finger, she followed the trail, figuring she would go maybe half a mile or less, then turn around. That would be a good start.

In front of the trailhead map, Rosa took a selfie and sent it to her Aunt Lucia, something she always did for safety, but also to check-in. Let Lucia know she was okay–physically and emotionally. Otherwise, her aunt would fill her inbox with messages.

She shook her head as she zipped her phone into her coat pocket. If only Rosa was more like Aunt Lucia. Focused on the good things in life like good health and family. She could change that, right?

Yes, Rosa could change. And it all started now. Rosa took a big step forward onto the trail, at first unsteady.

“Is this crazy? This is crazy.” She swallowed. Then she took another step. Passing the trailhead map was like a symbol of her determination to keep going despite feeling unsure. Another step. Then another.

As she moved forward, a sense of relief washed over her. She was really doing this. Hiking in the snow, with not many tracks showing the way on the trail, but she could do this. To heck with work meetings and deadlines. This was real.

Rosa studied her surroundings. Snow blanketed the pine trees, but the rest of the trees were bare of leaves, their branches sparkling with icicles. She took a deep breath, the chill enlightening her senses. As the trail ascended, R osa’s breath became more labored .

“Out of shape much, Rosa?” She worked out at the company gym…occasionally. It was on the first floor of the building she worked in, so it should have been easy to utilize on a regular basis. Not like she had the time with all the work her boss Brad put on her accountant plate . Late nights in their office going over balance sheet after balance sheet, as if spending more time on them would help. The guy just wouldn’t stop. Not that Rosa stopped, either. Almost like she had something to prove.

The trail got steeper, and after a while Rosa was forced to stop and take a breather. She put her hands on her hips. The ridge had to be just up ahead, and past it likely a beautiful vie w. If she could only reach it. That was the thing about mountains and hiking. They were like a metaphor for her life. The hiker was always pushing forward but it didn’t feel like she got anywhere because the mountain just kept getting bigger.

Like so many things in her own life. Just as she was putting in effort, along came more obstacles.

Her labored breathing and burning muscles were getting the better of her. Rosa had already lost sight of her car, but her fitness watch told her she had gone a measly fourth of a mile. What had her mom always told her before she died? “No hay mal que por bien no venga.” There is no bad from which good does not come. Maybe that should be her mantra. Usually, she tried to avoid thinking of her mom. The day her parents died–no, she didn’t want to remember that. Tears threatened behind her eyes.

Snow fluttered from the sky. Of course. Why not add one more thing ? No, Rosa. Quit thinking like that. Snow was cold, but it was beautiful. Peaceful. New. All things she needed.

With renewed determination, Rosa kept climbing. With each step, the trail became steeper, and her legs burned, but she kept pushing forward. Pushing forward, like she did with her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Pushing forward, like she had to following her parents’ death and everything surrounding how they died. Pushing forward, trying her best to work despite her complicated relationship with Brad.

Tears flowed as she cried out, the pain of the past few years all rushing out at once. It hurt. But cathartic at the same time.

S nowflakes landed on her face and she wiped them off. The snow picked up, and soon a wall of white in front of her. Snow collected on the top of her boots. Despite the heat building in her coat from exerting herself, her feet were freezing.

She reached the ridge and stopped, staying back a safe distance from the edge where a drop off went straight down. The view beyond was a beautiful snow-covered valley, at least what she could see of it. Fog was common in Seattle, but at least she knew what was beyond it. Now with the snow falling fast, the view around her was closing in. Her heart started racing.

Suddenly, thanks to the fresher snow, the trail that kept going up past the ridge disappeared. No more footprints. No more outline of where the trail lay. Now she was on a ridge, except the snow and dark clouds made it hard to see much of anything .

Rosa wiped the frozen tears from her face. She came here to be better. To figure out her life. And she was already lost–literally. Where even was the edge of this ridge? Wasn’t it just a few feet that way? The snow added another layer, hiding where the real dangers lay.

Maybe it was time to turn around and admit defeat. She hated that. Giving up. But she couldn’t do everything, obviously. Rosa had already tried that. Tried being the perfect daughter, employee, everything. Totally didn’t work. But in rewriting her life, she clearly had no idea what she was doing. And no one was around to tell her which way to go.

She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Took a few deep breaths.

How about taking one step at a time back to the beginning? Even if the trail was, well, somewhere. She could try a different trail tomorrow. Rosa would try again. She nodded. It was one thing to be determined, but she needed to figure out boundaries.

Rosa took another deep breath, turned around, then slipped down the mountain.

“Ahh!’

She fell on her butt first, the impact sending pain radiating up her back. “Ouch!”

The momentum of the fall and the incline of the mountain pulled her down further, closer to the edge of the ridge.

“No!” Now on her back, her body slid closer to the edge of safety, the drop off misty thanks to the weather. A drop off where nobody would find her.

As she slid, her life flashed before her eyes. Rosa’s short, twenty-nine-years. With so much missing. So much left to do.

“Akk!” she called out and desperately grabbed at a tiny bare tree also hanging on for dear life in the dirt and rocks at the edge. Rosa stopped sliding, thankfully, and was able to roll onto her right side. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily. The snow was falling even harder now. But she was still alive.

She hadn’t gone over the ridge. Barely.

“Oh my gosh. What am I doing? I am stuck here on the side of a freakin’ mountain.” For a split second, she turned her head only to see how far down she’d fall if she let go of the tree. While her upper body was on the edge of the ridge, her legs and feet dangled over the edge. After a quick brush of vertigo, she looked away.

“Nope. Nope. Nope. This isn’t happening.”

With a death grip on the tree holding her steady, she attempted to move her feet around, trying to find a spot under them that would hold her so she could climb. Nothing. Her heart rate increased and panic set in. Would the tree hold? Could she somehow pull herself up toward the flat part where the trail was?

If only she had spent more time in the gym lifting weights. If only she had not come on this hike. If only she hadn’t moved to Leavenworth to “find herself.” She’d be safe at work or her apartment right now.

Rosa had been in some real pickles before, but this one was probably top ten dangerous and embarrassing. If she was here long enough without checking in with Aunt Lucia, she’d send search and rescue. By then she’d be covered in snow, blue, and frozen like a Helados Mexican ice cream bar.

The thought would have been amusing, if she wasn’t in so much danger. More memories flooded her mind, of Rosa and her brother sneaking into the freezer and eating the ice cream bards in the backyard. Her parents catching them and saying they were in trouble, but really, just getting chased and tickled . A good memory. She hung onto it like she hung onto the pathetic tree.

Maybe this was how she would die.

No way. She had survived cancer , for goodness sake. Why die on a mountain in the snow? She had too much left to do. “Come on, Rosa. No hay mal que por bien no venga.” Her mom’s voice willed her to try something, anything.

Time to pray. Or yell. Or both. Wasn’t there one blue truck parked near her car? Maybe someone was close. “HELP!” Rosa yelled over and over. “HELP!”

After a few minutes, her voice hoarse, muffled footsteps sounded, running toward her through the snow.

A mountain man , with kind eyes and the most adorable brown mustache and beard she’d ever seen, appeared above her. He crouched in the snow, reaching toward her.

“Give me your hand,” he said. “I’ve got yo u!”