Crystal Patterns

I hurried my way through the forest until I broke free of the silver thicket of trees to the hustle and bustle of her small little town. The fresh smell of warm bread wafted through the town as the bakery walked out of his shop, the florist was shifted flowers in the window and the rest of the town was slowly waking up. Bells were chiming through the frost bitten air and kids were running down the street pushing sleds. I couldn't help, but immerse myself in the scene that seemed to come out straight from a Disney musical scene; I almost wanted to sing.

A small child dressed in gray rags bummed into me and offered me a small smile, "Excuse me, ma'me," she muttered, turning to catch up with the other kids. I walked then towards the bakery watching crystal patterns appear on every window as I walked. I shook my head, what was going on?

"Good morning, John." I hollered, walking around the bakery.

"Natalia," he said, in his soft accent, "You shine like moonlight on the fresh snow." I smiled slightly, shifting a piece of hair back into my hat. I nodded in thanks, grabbing a few loaves of bread and box of cookies. "AH! Those are de best pastries in the shop. You are beautiful and smart."

"You try to charm your customers to them to buy more," I said, chuckling. He made a shocked expression as he bagged my things. I glanced at the window behind us where patterns were quickly swirling up the glass as if beckoning me to follow them. "How do yo suppose that happens?" I asked, mainly to myself.

John turned, followed my eyes and then turned to me. His gentle face slipped into that of smirk and he leaned over the counter to me. "Why you know, Miss Natalia, that is Jack Frost." Shocked by his answer, I grabbed the bags to leave; this whole town was deranged. Logically, there are no such things as fairy tales.

I continued the shopping until the patterns stopped following me as the children ran past. I sighed, packing things up and turning to leave the town and head back home. "Natalia!" I heard and I turned slowly around. I tall boy with brown hair and sparkling blue eyes ran up to me, Troy was his name.

"Uh," he said, ruffling his locks, "You dropped this," he said, handing me my bag of fruits. I smiled, taking the bag and stuffing it into my other mass of bags. "So, listen," he said as I began walking away again. He hurried to catch up to me and match my strides with his own. "You know the winter formal, it's coming up soon. I was wondering, if you know, maybe, if you wanted to, if you had a date yet."

I smiled softly, "No sir," was my simple answer. "I wasn't actually planning on going," I said as we walked closer to the screaming children. "It just seems pointless. Everyone dancing and laughing when really everyone is so nervous they're trying not to puke and half the people who are talking hate each other. A book is a much safer alternative," I said.

"But, Natalia. You'd look so beautiful. I'd really like if you'd g with me," he said, stopping me. "I think we could have real fun, I promi-," he was stopped by a snow ball hurdling into the side of head. He glanced at the kids, but all were continuing as if nothing had happened; the snowball seemed like it flew out of no where.

A small giggle escaped my lips as Troy slowly gained his composure to realize I had started walking away once more, getting closer to the woods and further away from him. "Natalia!" he hollered! He started running again, but got caught on a patch of ice and smashed right to the floor. I turned than, despite his calling and continued walking.

"Foolish boy," I heard in my ear, causing me to whip around almost dropping my bag of groceries. "Let me take you dancing," another whisper sounded. I looked around me, turning slowly. Suddenly, the silver beauty of the trees was becoming more ominous. I continued walking then, tucking my head low and walking swiftly home.

Around my name, mixed with other pleading echoed around me. It was like the snow was carrying whispers. The only answer I had was Jack Frost, but that was hardly an answer at all. It was logical nor could it be proven. It was just an idea, a childish mind game that was fueled by my mother's many stories. "Jack Frost," I whispered.

"Yes?" The answer sounded around me.

"No, no, no. This is stupid," I answered. "Just keep walking," I whispered to myself again. My feet crunched in the snow and I kept my nose, that was slowly freezing, into the warmth radiating off of the bread. I kept walking and ignored the sound around me. I was not a child, I didn't believe in stories. I was a big girl, a woman, who believed in logic, science, the truth. This was not explainable, a figment of my imagination, lack of sleep or hallucinations. Those can be explained, proven. This, well this was utter tomfoolery.

The snow began whipping around me making my journey almost impossible until slowly a figure began appearing. A white haired boy, with deep gray eyes, his skin was as pale as mine and his teeth were like perfect white pearls. I new found understanding of pearly whites came to mind. I blinked again, assuming it would go away. When he didn't, gravity took hold of my groceries.

"Snegurochka," he said, taking careful steps towards me as I took careful steps away from him. "No," he said, "Please don't be afraid." He continued walking towards me until I was pushed against a tree with no where else to go. Wake up, Natalia. Wake up. I thought to myself. "You aren't sleeping," he said, flashing me a dazzling smile.

When he was finally up close to me, he caressed my face and his smile broke out. "I can touch you!" He said, practically flying into the air. When his feet finally landed on the ground and he touched my face again. His gray eyes skimmed every feature while my own eyes looked over him trying to find some hint of reality in this scenario. "You're her," he said, firmly.

"Oh no, sir. I am no one. I'm Natalia. Little Natalia with her nose in a book and a sick mother at home who I need to be getting back to. It was so nice to see you, meet you. Um, imagine you. Uh, I'm going to go home, go to sleep and wake up again. Yes, that's exactly what's going to happen," I said, grabbing the groceries from the floor. I walked away faster than I had ever walked before.