You're the one they adore, who they came to see. You're a rockstar, everybody wants you. Player, who can really blame you?

[Invincible--OK Go]

I went hiking around Penny Packer park with Aunt Anne! I HAVE to bring Lolo there sometime. It's wonderful.

[We Made You--Eminem]

I went to the mall with Kim yesterday! Funfunfun. I got two new shirts, also known as the greatest things on Earth. I owe Kim seven dollars, though. She lent me money :)

Nordstrom's ROCKS.

Kim looks a lot like her mom. Just an observation.

Also got: bright pink lipgloss. I lovelovelove it :) I want/need mascara. I lost mine...

-

The little girl shivered, her thin arms wrapped around me with strength she didn’t have anymore. Maybe they were frozen there. I was terrified, more so than I had ever been in my entire life, but not for myself. This tiny stranger beside me, who now trusted me with her life, took up all my concern. I was too numb to feel my own pain, but her skin was colder than anything I had ever felt.
If only I had found her before night fell. Then we would not be here, freezing to death in a small, lonely cave, our only company and source of warmth each other. If only she had not had such a vivid imagination, if only she had not been so childishly gullible and believed the story told last night near a warm fire, a story about fairies and magic hiding in the woods. I remembered seeing her big, silvery eyes light up when the camp director, the teller of the story, said the fairies lived in flowers and came out at night to dance in the moonlight.
I remembered this, but at the time I had no idea she would run away into the night, searching for the fabled creatures. The camp was in chaos when I woke up the next morning. Her parents were wrecks, sobbing in the corner, while the camp director was trying desperately to form a search party. Eventually I realized they weren’t going anywhere, and I embarked into the forest myself, to find the girl. It had felt like…like my responsibility.
Now we were going to die. I should’ve moved faster. I should’ve just waited for the others to get organized. But then, I realized, she would be alone now. She might not have survived this long.
It was bitterly cold, freezing every muscle so every movement felt like I was being ripped apart, but I forced myself to say, “My name is Catherine.”
The little girl looked at me, but it didn’t seem like she was really seeing me, like she was in a daze. “My name is Jillian,” she whispered.
Her eyes were really, really silver. I had never seen silver eyes before. She had long, but pale, lashes that made her eyes seem endless. She was pale all over, maybe from the cold or maybe not. Her lips were thin and light pink, her face relatively small and white, her hair brown but somehow pale as well. She was extremely thin, barely a twig next to me. She couldn’t be more than eight.
“How old are you, Jillian?” I asked, trying to smile. “I’m fourteen.”
She shivered violently, trying to wrap her arms even tighter around my stomach. “I’m seven.”
“So, why did you come into the woods all by yourself?” I already knew why, but maybe she would realize her mistake and, hopefully, learn from it. Of course, it would only matter if we made it out of here alive. If we passed the night.
“I wanted to find the fairies,” she admitted, almost sheepishly. “I thought…I thought they would protect me. When it got cold.”
I tried to shrug and smile, but my muscles screamed in protest from the small movement. “They must be busy tonight. But don’t be scared…I’ll protect you.”
She smiled widely, and I wondered how she did it. “I know you’ll keep me warm, Catherine. I thought…I thought you were a fairy when you came through the trees. You look like one.”
I thought of my high forehead, dull green eyes, too-straight dark hair. What did she think fairies looked like?
It hurt too much to respond, so I gave a feeble attempt at hugging the little girl, Jillian. She snuggled closer to me and closed her eyes. This worried me, but it was too excruciatingly freezing to do anything but worry. I wanted desperately to close my eyes as well, to forget we were going to freeze to death, but I couldn’t let that happen. I had to remain conscious.
It hurt.
Jillian became very still, and I must have too. I couldn’t feel or think at all…the cave wall started to blur and swim in front of me, and the tiny child felt like a ghost beside me. I blinked furiously, ignoring the sharp ache it caused, trying to force myself to stay alive. My arms and legs became increasingly numb, and my heart was burning, whether with cold or heat. I was vaguely aware I wasn’t shivering anymore. I didn’t think I could.
The little girl hadn’t worn a jacket because she was in a rush to escape into the woods and find the fairies she was so sure existed. I couldn’t blame her…how could you expect small children to listen to anyone about survival rules, like always bring a coat with you wherever you go? It was me who had been careless; it had been so warm this morning, I hadn’t thought I’d need a jacket. I hadn’t anticipated the sudden, violent drop in temperature that came as soon as the sun disappeared. Now we were freezing and had nothing but our thin clothes to cover us, and it was my fault. We were going to die, and it was my fault. Jillian was so young…only seven years old. I was twice her age, but I had been so stupid…
Slowly, slowly, black creeped in from the borders of my eyes, fogging my thoughts. I tried to fight for the remainder of my vision, but I had no energy left. I had to stay conscious; I had to save the little girl who even now was clinging to me. A dim sparkling flashed in my eyes and the world went black.