It's Too Cold Outside for Angels to Fly

Never once was his previous life made known to his wife. Sure, she knew that he was a hockey star and that he originated from Stockholm, Sweden, but Adelia Landeskog knew nothing of the girl that stood by him during the early years of his career or why he was the way he was with their twelve year old daughter Lucille. No, Adelia knew nothing of her husband, Gabriel’s, previous life.
It was intended to stay that way. Gabriel would never mention his experiences and Adelia would never ask. Their five kids didn’t care enough to ask. They never gave a thought as to why their father wasn’t so strict on them, but was strict enough when it came to partying and going places past ten. They never cared to wonder why once every year he would be gone for a whole day and then come back in the dead of night, drunk as could be and eyes bloodshot from crying. However, his one daughter, the only one he had, did care about one detail. To her, it sounded innocent, a simple question that anyone would want to know. But to her father, it was as if someone had drowned him in a pool full of ice. When Lucille Carissima Landeskog wanted to know why her father chose her middle name, the truth about his past came out. And it was not one that they wanted to hear or have to process what had truly happened to their father. But, once they heard it, everything made sense; why he treated Lucille like she was a fragile piece of glass, ready to break at any second, why he tried to give his kids the space they needed, why he let them make their own choices and didn’t pressure them into doing what he wanted, why he had only one rule on partying that they had to obey. Everything made sense the day Gabriel Landeskog, former captain of the Colorado Avalanche, told the story of a girl named Carissima Patricia “Rissy” Lindensburg.
~
She watched curiously through her peephole as a freakishly tall, muscular, blond haired man struggled to carry more than the average amount of boxes a man could carry into his new apartment. She had giggled when he dropped the two top boxes and made up her mind then and there to go help him.
“Thank you.” The man huffed out when he saw a very skinny, petite, blond haired girl pick up the two boxes he had dropped.
“Well, you looked like you could use the help.” She said. He was able to detect an accent in her voice and much to his surprise, it matched his own.
“Swedish right? You’re accent?” He questioned, his voice filled with glee has he realized that he had found someone from his native land to talk to.
“Yes!” The girl replied with a laugh once she realized her new neighbor spoke with the same dialect that she did.
“Where in Sweden are you from?” The man asked as he kicked open the apartment door with the sole of his sneaker.
“Vadstena. You?” She questioned as she followed him in.
“Stockholm.” Was the blunt reply as he put the boxes down on the floor. She gasped when she saw his face. He was not the man she had assumed he was. His voice aged him several years, she realized as she looked at his young, smiling face.
“I’m Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe.” Gabe said as he held out his hand to her, his face portraying a dazzling smile that made her knees feel like putty.
“Carissima, but you can call me Rissy.” Rissy copied. She took his hand and gave it a firm shake.
“Carissima? What kind of a name is that?” Gabe asked as he gestured her to join him on the couch, which was the only piece of furniture in the room.
“My mom had trouble deciding what she would name me and since she is very religious, she decided that I would be named of the saint whose feast day I was born on. And lucky me, being born on September fifth scored me the name Carissima. I think she did that in hopes that I would be a nice, church going, saint-like daughter.” Rissy informed as she fell into the couch.
“And are you?” Gabe questioned with a smirk.
“Yes I am. I go to church daily and I am nice to everyone, hence why I help you. But, I think the fact that I am training competitively for my whole life as something to do with it.” Rissy stated.
“What are you training for?” Gabe questioned, itching to find more about the girl sitting next to him.
“Equestrian. That’s horseback riding, in case you didn’t know.”
“Is that even a sport?” Gabe questioned. Rissy immediately whacked him across the head.
“Yes it is and I will have you know that I will be the next Olympic gold medalist in dressage, thank you very much.” She simply stated.
“You sound very sure of yourself.”
“I am very sure of myself. I’ve spent my whole life working for this. I have to make it happen. It will happen!” Rissy said firmly.
“Just never stop believing in yourself. That’s my advice to you.” Gabe said.
“So, what are you doing here?” Rissy questioned, getting the topic off of her.
“I was drafted to play for the Colorado Avalanche. They’re a hockey team in case you didn’t know.” Gabe told her hesitantly.
“I don’t follow hockey, sorry.”
“It’s alright, I don’t care.”
“Good, cuz I like you Mr. Gabriel Landeskog.”
“And I like you too, Ms. Carissima Lindensburg.”
“I’ve never had someone that I would look up to before. And I think I’m gonna make you that person.” Rissy mumbled after a moment or two of sitting in silence.
“Why me?” Gabe asked, completely bewildered by her statement.
“Because you’re my age and you are playing in a professional league. You followed your dreams and busted your ass to achieve them. And I look up to you for that.” She muttered.
“Well, I hope I can be a good example for you to follow your dreams.” Gabe whispered as he wrapped his arm around his first friend in this new country.
Little did the two of them know that in the end, her dream would kill her.