Lost and Found: Chapter 1
By: Savanna Proffit
All the kitchen cabinets were light green and covered with charcoal black countertops. The sink laid on one counter below a small window with buffalo check curtains making the scene cute and quaint. A hall led from the living room to the back of the house, where a bathroom, two bedrooms, and an office were. In the one bedroom, the morning sun shone through the window, making the silver handles on her dresser sparkle. Next to the dresser sat a hiking pack with socks hanging out the top. Clothes were scattered on the floor and bench in front of the queen bed against the center of the north wall. Two small tables stood on either side of the bed with pretty white lamps on top. The sun caught her golden hair that sprawled across her pillow making it shimmer like strands of silken gold. She was just starting to stir; a stretch of the leg over here; a stretch of the arm over there; and then a yawn; finally a little flutter of the eyelids.
Twenty-one-year-old Kayla Sage Anderson opened her eyes and looked around her cozy little bedroom; she was still a little groggy when she went through her plans for the day in her mind. Kayla suddenly flew out of bed; she remembered she was supposed to meet her family in the Green Mountains for their annual backpacking trip. Her family had left a few days before to get a head start. Kayla could not join them due to some work orders she had to fill. Her mother had sent her the coordinates of their campsite, where they were waiting for her and her sister Megan, the day before, so they would know where to find them.
Megan, Kayla’s older sister at the age of 22, had not been feeling good the past few days and she and her husband, Nick Peterson, decided it was best not to go. Her mom, dad, two brothers, and her youngest sister had started ahead, and Meg and Nick would follow up later with Kayla if she felt better—but she did not. They texted Caroline, her mom, to let her know that they would not be joining the family trip this year. Though the family was disappointed, they understood.
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Kayla went through her packing list, “ Socks…check, plenty of shirts…yes, hat…check, pants…yep, sweatshirt…check, light…yes, food…yes, mug…yes, jet boil…yep…” She read through her whole list and checked everything off one at a time until she reached the end. Yet, when she was sure she had everything, she still felt she was forgetting something; something important.
“What could I be forgetting? I know I put everything I needed on this list…OH! My camera!” She raced down the hall to the dining room, dog in tow, and almost lost her footing on the slick wooden floor, to get her camera that she could not do without.
After everything was completely packed, she set her stuff down by the door, went to the kitchen, scrambled some eggs, fried some sausage, and made herself a nice hot cup of black coffee. The smell of the amazing breakfast cooking on the stove made her taste buds tingle and her tongue lick her salmon-pink lips that matched the color in her cheeks, which gave her a beautiful, youthful charm. Her pretty green eyes watched as the liquid eggs slowly turned solid and the red meat turned brown. Her eyes were perfectly placed on her gorgeous round face and paired just right with her nose, which was a smidge too big for her taste. As Kayla stood mixing her eggs and flipping her sausage, her wavy blonde hair laid down her back, stopping halfway, only adding to her beauty.
She poured her coffee into her favorite pastel green mug, grabbed a plate, and served herself a delicious breakfast of eggs and sausage. As she sat down on a stool at her kitchen island, she scarfed down her breakfast so she could leave as fast as she could. She went to take a bite of eggs and a piece of her golden hair slipped into her face.
“Ah, shoot! I still have to do my hair,” then she looked at her feet, “And put my shoes on! Plus, get out of my pajamas! What on earth have I been doing that I didn’t get dressed yet?”
She grabbed her plate and mug, headed to her room, and put on her favorite hiking outfit while she took bites of egg in between. Then she did her hair into two French braids which she started at the front and worked all of her hair into them until she got to the back. When she finished her hair, which looked like two golden cornrows on top of her head, she put on her hiking boots and tied the laces in perfect bows. She placed her favorite green hat with trees on the front of it, on top of her neatly braided hair. Kayla took a deep breath, and looked at herself in the mirror.
“Good to go!” She said.