While she was pacing back and forth, looking down at her phone and debating what to do, an older woman came up to her, asking, “Are you okay, honey? Is someone coming to get you?” Startled, Jules looked up, her eyes wide. Although it had been constantly drilled into her head since the age of five not to talk to strangers, the old lady’s kind eyes and gentle smile were comforting to Jules, and reminded her of her own grandmother whom she was avidly searching for.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just waiting for a ride. Thanks for asking, though,” Jules answered.
The old lady nodded. “Well, I just thought I’d make sure. I hope you have a good rest of your day, and someone comes to get you soon,” she said, walking away to where a mother and children waited and greeted her with hugs.
Jules knew she had to make up her mind soon. She worried, Has something happened to Grammy? Is that why she’s late and hasn’t been answering her phone? The longer she contemplated, the greater she became certain that something terrible had happened to her grandmother. With that final thought, Jules opened the Uber app, and put in a ride request. Destination: her grandmother’s apartment. If the mountain won’t come to Mohammad, Mohammad must go to the mountain.

Jules sat in the back seat of the Uber, picking at her cuticles nervously. She glanced out the window, unsure if it was the clumps of snow falling from the sky – or the sense of foreboding she felt deep in her stomach – that made her inwardly shiver in her sweatshirt, even with the car’s heat blasting on high. Jules anxiously watched the minutes tick by and the car navigated through city traffic and came to a stop at the apartment building. Thanking the driver, Jules climbed out of the car and pushed through the revolving door, breathing in the familiar scent of the lobby that she had become accustomed to over the years.
“Hello, young lady!” the doorman exclaimed, giving her a friendly smile. “What can I do for you?”
Jules took a deep breath, and squaring her shoulders, said, “Hi! I’m here to see Marcia Czopek…my name is Jules, and I’m her granddaughter, visiting from out of town.”
“Oh, yeah, I know Marcia! I’ll call up and just make sure she’s expecting you,” the doorman answered cheerfully. He picked up the desk phone, and tapped in the digits. They waited together in silence. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. There they stood, looking at the telephone, glancing up at each other, then turning their gaze swiftly back down. They stared at it, listening to it ring, and ring, and ring. There was no answer.
“To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I saw her,” the doorman said. “Have you tried contacting her?”
“Yeah, but when I tried calling her, she didn’t pick up. It’s odd. She knew I was coming. I know she usually goes to work on weekdays, but she told me that she was able to get time off for this week,” Jules said, attempting to avoid sounding completely desperate. Despite her best efforts, the doorman seemed to notice her distress.
“If you want, I can give you the address to her work, if you want to stop by and see if she’s there?” he offered. Although Jules’ grandmother was almost 76, she still tried to go in to work at City Hall every day.
“That would be great,” Jules replied, shooting him a thankful smile as she typed it into her phone.
She pushed through the revolving door, back the way she came, and back out into the unrelenting, frigid snowstorm to get another Uber. As she waited, she shuddered, knees shaking and teeth chattering. The icy slush on the sidewalk seeped into her shoes, her sweatshirt insufficient in preventing the large snowflakes from landing on her neck and dripping down her shirt. Ughhh, she though, shivering silently. 

The Uber arrived, flashers blinking steadily, and windshield wipers moving rapidly as it waited on the side of the road. Jules got into the car, smiling gratefully to the driver as she fastened her seat belt.
“I see you’re going to City Hall?” the driver commented. He then added with a chuckle, “Aren’t you a bit young to be working for the City of Chicago? Or are they recruiting them young these days…” He started driving down the street, slowing for a red light that was barely visible under the blanket of frost.
“Oh, no,” Jules exclaimed, permitting herself a small laugh despite the worry gnawing inside of her. “I’m here to visit my grandma, and I’m trying to track her down. She works for the city, so I thought that maybe she’d be there,” Jules shrugged, trailing off. “I’m Jules, by the way,” she introduced herself.
The light turned green, and the car continued on its way. “It’s very nice to meet you, Jules,” the driver said, glancing at her in the backseat in his rear-view mirror. “I’m Noel.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you too, Noel”.
Jules talked with Noel for the rest of the drive, relieved that she finally had someone whom she could share her ordeal with. But all too soon, they arrived at City Hall. Jules, after saying her “thank you’s” and “goodbye’s”, hopped out of the car. Before she could shut the door, though, Noel said one last thing.
“And hey, kid?”
“Yeah?” Jules answered.
“I hope you find your grandma,” Noel said, eyes dark with seriousness.
“Thanks, Noel.” Jules gave him a weak smile . “It was really nice meeting you.” She hopped out of the car, the conversation giving her an extra spark of courage.

Jules shuffled into City Hall, wiping her feet on the mat inside to prevent tracking snow everywhere inside the building. Spying the main receptionist desk, she made a beeline for it.
“Excuse me,” Jules said, to get the receptionist’s attention, glancing down at her nametag. “Mary. Hi. Is Marcia Czopek working here today? I’m her granddaughter, and I’m looking for her.”
Mary typed a few characters on her keyboard. “Let me check…” she said, voice trailing off as she scrolled using her mouse. “It appears that she took today, and the rest of this week off,” she explained. Jules’ heart skipped a beat as she was overwhelmed with anxiety.
If Grammy didn’t appear at the airport to pick me up, and isn’t at her apartment, or at her job, where could she possibly be? she thought. As nonchalantly as possible, she pushed her hair back, facing the receptionist.
“Is there anything else you might know about where she is?” Jules asked, drumming her fingers on the desk.
“Let me think…Marcia Czopek…” Mary’s eyes dulled with regret as she smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think so.”
Jules trudged out of City Hall, shoulders slumped and eyes staring at the ground. Snow pattered against her shoulders, but she hardly felt it, numb to everything around her. Jules pulled out her phone, and requested an Uber ride. Five minutes later, it pulled up, and not knowing where else to go, she began the trip back to Grammy’s apartment. While she had been talkative earlier to her Uber driver, Noel, silence dominated the ride. Jules simply stared out the window, face frozen with unspoken worries.
What do I do if I can’t find her? Where do I go? Should I call my mom? The car stopped a block away from the apartment, and let her out. Jules pulled her hoodie up over her head, eyes blank as she stared into the distance, lost in her thoughts and shivering uncontrollably due to the cold in her thin sweatshirt.

The snow seemed to be coming down even harder than before. Jules could barely see in front of her. It covered the sidewalks in such a thick layer, that her footsteps left imprints three inches deep. She turned around the last corner, eyelashes white with frost and feet numb from the frigid conditions, when something made her stop.
Right.
In.
Her.
Tracks.
Her heart jumped in her throat, and she blinked a few times to clear her vision, unsure if what she was seeing was real. There, 15 feet away, hobbling towards her from the opposite direction and barely visible on account of all the snowflakes, was Grammy.
“Grammy?” Jules asked hesitantly, her voice carried by the wind.
“Julia Rose?” Grammy answered in astonishment. Jules ran towards her, and was enveloped in her grandmother’s warm embrace. She clung tight like she never wanted to let go, breathing in her grandmother’s familiar scent of coconut shampoo and coffee.
“How on earth did you get here?” Grammy asked, pulling away slightly to take a good look at Jules, smoothing her hair gently. “I thought your flight wasn’t landing until later! I got so caught up in planning a big, special dinner for you before I came and picked you up!”
“Oh, Grammy! I’ll tell you all about it later,” Jules said as she gave her grandmother a second hug, beaming from ear to ear. “I missed you,” she whispered. And they slowly turned to walk back to the apartment. Together.