Dead Snow
Sometimes Relationships Only Last a Season
The relationship lived and died in winter, born when the sun made the pristine snow glitter like gems flecking a magic white blanket covering Boston in a reverent, heavy silence. I was from New Orleans and had never seen snow. Garrett introduced me to the angels you make, the hot chocolate you spike with Irish whiskey, the icicles hanging from the skeletal trees like stalactites hanging in a cave. You can shoot them with BB guns, sending them crashing silently into the magic snow blanket. I learned to love it all, along with the chapped lip, chattering teeth kisses and finally, the lovemaking under thermal blankets in the meat locker cold apartment.
I couldn’t live without Garrett. I knew I loved him more than he loved me. I begged and cajoled him to stay, to love me, to never leave me, but his heart grew as cold as the snow. He cheated, of course. And was leaving, of course, and I had no choice but to stop him.
My tears as I stopped him were watery and weak like Boston’s winter sun. But winter trudges toward spring, when the Boston snow hangs on in little patches peppered with dirt, honeycombed, and pitted, resolute but bound to fade away. Like Garrett, who faded after I stabbed him in the heart with a stalactite icicle. Then dumped his body in Boston Harbor with the offending weapon that would melt now and never be found. Gone with the snow.
.
About the Creator
Lacy Loar-Gruenler
Lacy Loar-Gruenler worked for a decade as a newspaper journalist and editor. In March 2023, she completed an MFA in Creative Writing and Literature at Harvard University.
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Comments (8)
Note to self: Icicles happen to be the best murder weapon. Lol. Garrett got what he deserved. Loved your story!
That was cold (pun intended). Still, icing him may have been instant satisfaction, surely the loss will bring misery later. Still, gratification is something...right.
That was great. I certainly wasn't expecting that ending. Remind me not to piss you off. lol
Oh, Lacy!!! You iced him!!! Loved it!!!
Dear Lacy ~ "Loved-More-Than" ~ How 'relatable' is that. Ah, another Lacy original ~ Icicle-Me ~ - A Fan - Jay Kantor, Chatsworth, California 'Senior' Vocal Author - Vocal Village Community -
Gone with the snow. Awesome. The sinister undertones, the cold biting descriptions - all moving us along at a snowy, trudged pace. Great piece!
There is a great line in the Movie 'The Christmas Story' - "Icicles have been known to kill people!" that came to mind with the violent finale of this story (or finality). You have a mastery of creating a sense of place, atmosphere and even temperature with the imagery in your writing, Lacy. I especially loved 'meat locker cold apartment.' What a great line! Or like 'The Christmas Story,' "What a great lamp!" Loved the photo. When we were kids, we'd break off icicles and lick them like popsicles.
Oh Lacy. This is so good. So many excellent lines and the way the story keeps on building. Fantastic stuff! On a side note... I must remember how stabbing someone with an icicle leaves no evidence behind!