One Cold Day

It is a crisp afternoon outside, not a lot to do but it doesn’t stop young James from playing out in the snow. He had already built a small snowman but he wants to do more.

He glances over his shoulder to the frozen lake just a few yards away. His brother Ryan had already run on ahead, as best he could in the knee-deep snow. Then James turns to follow and run after him onto the ice.

Their mother always told them before not to play on the ice, but it was fun to chase each other and to slide around like ice-skaters.

As James skids onto the ice to chase his brother, he looks back to see the cabin a little further up on the ridge. Nothing but snow, trees and the mountain looming in the distance surround the cabin. The front door opens up and their mother walks out.

“What have I told you about playing around on the ice?” she yells out to them. She then visibly sighs and follows up with another shouted comment. “Just be careful and come back safe, supper will be ready soon!”

“Thanks ma!” James yells back and then returns to the frozen lake where his brother is, feeling thankful that they can play some more. She was just concerned and had been a lot more since their father hadn’t come home yet from the war.

The coldness of the lake underfoot and the chill in the air, sends a chill down his spine, all the way to his toes. It causes him to shiver and wonder if it’s a good idea to be out here on the ice. But after a moment, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before skating off after his brother ahead.

“Woohooooo!” he exclaims in pure excitement, while skidding along several feet.

“Hey, think you can catch me?” His brother questions him with a playful smile.

“Oh, you’re on!” James replies, then jerks forward to get a head start on his brother. In doing so he slips and lands with a hard thud on the ice. A searing pain shoots through his body, emanating from his hip and he cries out in pain.

“Oh God, are you alright?” Ryan asks of him as he comes skidding up closer. James winces in pain for a moment before scrambling back up to his feet.

“It’ll take more than that to stop me from catching you!” He lurches forward to catch his brother but misses, only just maintaining his balance this time. The two of them giggle as Ryan skids off along the ice, with James racing after him closely.

They slip and slide all over the ice, laughing the entire time at how close they are to each other and James very nearly grabs a hold of his brothers coat a few times, but the two of them stop dead when the sight of a wolf comes into view just along the edge of the forest.

The snow begins to fall again. They can see their hot breath in the cold air as they breathe heavily. Neither of them moves a muscle now, hoping that the wolf will just run along. James can feel his heart pounding in his chest and glances sideways at his brother to see that he too looks frightened. The sound of blood pumping harder than usual fills his ears far louder than the sounds of the wind blowing as it picks up.

The wolf pads out slowly, head down and looking at them there on the ice. James wonders if it will approach them here, on the frozen lake.

It stalks them silently just along the treeline, but then James notices that it’s walking with a slight limp in its back leg. He doesn’t move though, still afraid that it will come for him.

Then, he notices that Ryan has begun to move backwards, just by the sound of his careful footsteps behind him. So, he turns to look and sees him walking away, but still staring at the wolf beyond them.

James pivots back to the wolf and watches it turn and slink off alongside the trees until it disappears into the forest.

James exhales a huge sigh of relief to see it gone, almost instantly feeling his heartbeat slow down. Then turns to look at Ryan again, who stands there in relief too.

“That, was way too close,” he states to James. “Maybe we should head back inside now.”

“Mhm,” James nods in agreement and slowly heads towards his brother. The two of them carefully walk towards the house on the edge of the lake, now aching to get back indoors to safety.

“I don’t think we should tell Ma,” Ryan starts as they gingerly plod along. All James can muster is a nod in response. “She will only worry further and won’t let us out next time.”

James stops. Then turns back to look at where the wolf had been just moments ago.

“Come on, no nee…” Ryans words are cut off mid flow with a loud crack and a splash.

“NOO!” James cries out, spinning round to watch his brother fall into the ice, right into a crack that had formed from where he fell a few minutes ago. “RYAN!” he calls out and drops to his knees, looking over the edge of the new hole and into the cold waters.

“RYAN! MA!” he shouts out at the top of his lungs. But nothing happens, his brother doesn’t re-emerge from the water. The little waves just splash around for a few moments until the sound of his mother screaming bursts into his ears.

“NOO, MY BABY!” She cries.

But then James looks up at the frozen lake, the memory of that fateful afternoon still haunting him to this day. He would never forget the moment that defined him on that cold, bitter day. A tear slowly flows down his cheek as the icy wind howls and batters his face and he feels the guilt he felt all his life from that moment on.

The snow comes down heavy now, but he turns his head and looks towards where the crack in the ice used to be. Leaning on his cane a little harder, knowing that time has run its course for him.

So it is here, that he chooses to meet his end. So, he can join his brother once again, after all this time. Not in the icy, dark abyss, but with laughter and fun forever more.