When The Snow Settles
Good to be home
The snow slammed into his body harder causing him to scowl. What a great time to decide to come home for a visit. Why did his father have to build the cabin they lived in, in the middle of a forest? And why did his little sister have to come and meet him half way, now she was freezing next to him and there wasn’t much he could do for her.
His hands were shoved into his coat pocket roughly and his hair was now blowing in all different types of direction. He glanced to his side to make sure his ten year old sister was still there, which she was. Her shoulders were hunched and her hands were also shoved into her pockets, the only difference between them was that her body was shaking.
“Don’t worry,” he yelled over the wind. “We’ll be home soon.” She looked at him with her joyful face and smiled. She always seemed to look happy, no matter what. Even in the worst of times she would always cheer him up, not that he had seen her in two years.
Just as he began to quicken his pace, a sound caused him to freeze in his tracks. It was the sound of ice breaking. He had heard it once before, when he was twelve. His best friend in the world, his dog, had fallen through the ice and died almost instantly. He had mourned over that dog for a long time, but he was over it now. At the age of twenty, he had learned to let go of his old emotions. But now he was overcome with something different; fear.
Had someone fallen into the river or lake? Without even thinking about what he was doing, he turned and ran, desperately hoping his little sister was following. His feet carried him fast. His footprints disappeared within seconds in the snow, leaving no trace he was there. The wind wouldn’t stop and he was sure that he was going farther away from his home, if he remembered correctly.
But if memory served him right, when his dog had fallen into the river, the current had carried him down to the lake in a matter of minutes. If someone had fallen into the river, they would be at the lake any second.
When he burst through a thick layer of bushes, the frozen lake came in view. The only reason he could tell it was the lake was because there was a void of trees around it.
He turned around as he heard someone else come through the bushes. Relief spread through him as he saw his sister standing there, panting and looking irritable. She had never liked it when he would run off without her, he doubted that had changed. Before she could speak to get angry at him, he spoke.
“We need to hurry! Move the snow on the lake and look through the ice, if you see anything tell me.” He paused before quickly adding, “be careful.” With that he turned and ran onto the ice. It was thick enough to support him, but any sudden heavy movement, like slamming his boot down on it, would cause the spot he was at to shatter. He knew his sister knew that, for his father had always been over protective.
He glanced back to see her on her hands and knees using her hands to wipe the snow aside in places, staring down through the ice. The only problem was that the oncoming snow would cover it back up, leaving no trace of where they already covered. But he couldn’t over think this now, he had to hurry. He copied his sister and dropped to his hands and knees. He then began to wipe away snow with his hands. His hands were soon numb, and after a few more minutes he realized he was getting no where.
Maybe no one had fell through, he could have imagined it. He should probably get Emily inside, a ten year old most likely shouldn’t be exposed to this type of weather for too long. Just as he pushed himself up, a scream caused him to snap around.
Emily was staring through the ice, continuously wiping away the snow, her eyes wide. Her head then snapped up and stared at him, he took that as his signal to get over there, so he did; quickly.
He bent down and his heart nearly stopped. A girls body was there, pressing up against the ice. Her eyes were closed and her body was limp, she obviously wasn’t conscious, which was probably a good thing.
“Get out of the way!” He yelled to Emily who listened without an argument. He then stood up before contemplating, should he risk his own life for someone he didn’t know? She could already be dead, she had been under there a long time. But with a second glance at her, using his foot to clear the snow, he made up his mind. If she wasn’t dead yet, if she still had a chance, he’d make sure she lived. So in one swift movement he brought his foot down, shattering the ice around him and the girl. His body plunged down into the water, causing his body to first burn then numb.
He quickly grabbed the girls almost lifeless body and he used all of his energy to throw her body up on the ice. It landed and for a second he thought the ice was going to break again, but it didn’t. He then pulled himself out of the water, his body shaking all over and his teeth already chattering. The cool wind from above hit him and he knew that he would be in trouble if he didn’t get inside soon, but he once again pushed that thought aside and scooted towards the girl.
He flipped her over so her face was upwards. Her lips were slightly parted and blue. Her skin was deathly pale and cuts and bruises were scattered along her body, causing him to cringe just from the sight of them.
He put his fingers on her neck, feeling for a pulse. His heart beat faster for a second when he thought there was none, but he soon felt one, though it was very faint and slow.
“Push on her chest... g-get the water out.” Came his sisters voice, he did a quick glance behind him, his wet hair clinging frozen to cheeks, before doing as she said. As soon as he did, water came out of her mouth and he half expected her to wake up. She didn’t though, her body lay as motionless as ever.
His body suddenly shuddered causing him to quickly stand up. He was freezing and he could barely feel his hands, he had to get inside now. With one swift movement, the girls small body was in his arms.
His feet moved quickly as he and his sister once again set off for his house, this time almost twice the speed. If anything, the storm had gotten worst. His teeth were now chattering and his body was beginning to shake. He didn’t know how much longer he could carry the girl. But he had to, he couldn’t just abandon her and let her die.
Just as he was about to let his shaking knees gave away, he caught sight of a very faint light. He knew that light, it was the street lamp in front of his house. He never did understand why his father would put a street lamp in the front of a house in a forest, but he wouldn’t complain anymore.
“G-g-go get f-f-father,” he stuttered to Emily who quickly obeyed. He watched as her body disappeared as she ran off to the house. He forced his feet to continue forward, but each step took so much power that he almost considered just stopping and waiting, but he didn’t. What if something was wrong at the house and they couldn’t come for a while?
He suppressed a shudder and kept going. The girls body seemed to have gone even paler in his arms, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she was frozen in his arms yet. She had been wet, he had been wet... it was cold enough to freeze his hair, was it cold enough to freeze her body to his? Probably.
His eyes blinked back the sudden wave of dizzy-ness and just as he thought he was about collapse his father came in a view.
An old balding man, strong nonetheless, running towards him, his mother right behind. She was considerably smaller than his father with grey-ish curly hair. She held that gentle look, her eyes always caring and herself always eager to help. His father was the same way, but not quite as much as her.
His father took the body from his arms, ripping some of his jacket with it, for her body had been frozen to him. His mother than put an arm around him and began to help him slowly walk as his father ran off with the girl.
As the light began to get closer, his father returned and took over for his mother, helping him now. Within a minute he found himself climbing the stairs. The door was then opened and warm air hit him fast, causing a sense of relief to flood him.
His mother was now making the fire bigger, where his sister was sitting with his youngest brother with a blanket around them both. The girl he had saved was now laying in front of the fire, her body limp. His father led him over to the fire where he set him beside the girl before running off. When he did return, he had many blankets. He tossed one to him before wrapping the girl in a few.
When everyone had finally settled down and he was beginning to feel his toes again, his father spoke.
“That was a mighty stupid thing for you to do.” He said, staring at him. He frowned, how did he know? “Emily told me.” He said, as if reading his mind. He scowled slightly before shooting a glare at Emily who was rocking back and forth with Tod, his three year old brother. For a three year old he didn’t seem to talk much though.
Tod was very small with a mess of blonde hair on his head and the orange-ist eyes he had ever seen. Emily also had blonde hair, but it was long and straight. He also had another brother, who was five, his name was Jake. He also had blonde hair, only it was short and spiky. His eyes were hazel, as were Emily’s. Then there was him, the odd one out. He had messy dark brown hair with blue eyes, the only one with blue eyes.
He then turned to the girl who was still laying there, not moving, but he was slightly happy to see a little colour in her cheeks. She had long blonde hair that was in a tangled mess. She looked no older than sixteen and as for her eye colour, he didn’t have the slightest idea.
“Daire.” At the sound of his name he turned to his mother who had called him. She smiled slightly at him before glancing at the girl. “Do you know who she is?” He shook his head and scooted closer to the fire. His mother then smiled sweetly. “I think it was heroic of you to save a girl you don’t know, but also as your father said, quiet stupid.” He didn’t respond. But he did allow what she said to sink into his brain. She had said it so gently too, but her voice was always like that; quiet and gentle.
“Father, can you get a look at her? Could you make sure she doesn’t have anything broken?” He asked glancing at his father. His father use to be a doctor, but as he got older, the town had wanted younger doctors, forcing him to retire. But he was still as able as ever.
His father soon disappeared and when he glanced up, after a few moments, his father was walking out of his bedroom with a medical kit. Emily then squealed and ran over, happiness radiating off of her. How could she be so happy? It was inhuman to be so happy.
“Can I be the nurse?” She asked while jumping up and down. His father glanced at him, as if seeking help before glancing back. He couldn’t help but letting out a small laugh.
“Uh... sure thing honey.” He smiled at his family, it was good to be home.