Skating Away

Skating Away

By Philip Tennant

Katy put one skate clad foot tentatively out onto the ice. The glassy surface simultaneously crunched and squeaked under her blade. The ice looked thick enough, and her friends had told her they’d been out on it already. She could even see the tracks from other skaters further out on the pond, despite the light dusting of snow that had fallen that morning. But there was just that niggling doubt at the back of her mind, like some sixth sense was warning her not to. After much hesitation, Katy took a deep breath of the sharp winters air, then lifted her trailing leg, and pushed away at the same time, and she slid slowly out onto the ice.

It was one of those winter days that was near perfect for ice skating. The air was cold and crisp, any clouds from the earlier snow shower had cleared, and bright sunshine coaxed iridescent sparkles from the icy platform beneath her. There was little wind to speak of, only the very tops of the trees around the pond occasionally rustled under the influence of the slightest breeze. The term “pond” was a bit of a misnomer, as the water covered a fairly large area, and was more like a small lake. But as long as anyone in the town could remember, it had always been referred to as “The Pond”. Katy was in her element as she glided across the ice, slowly gaining confidence and momentum. There was a definite technique to skating on natural ice, as opposed to the smooth, graded ice at a rink. You had to keep your knees slightly bent, more flexible, to allow for the unevenness of the surface. You also had to be aware of any anomalies, such as a branch frozen half in, half out of the lake.

Katy was 15, and quite small for her age, and this often left her feeling unable to relate to her peers. Socially she was a loner and preferred her own company anyway. Some of her acquaintances at school (she disliked referring to them as friends) were more interested in boys and make up than school. Some even claimed to have lost their virginity already which appalled Katy, who had not even had her first kiss yet. She did come from a fairly strict catholic family, which had something to do with her lack of experience with the opposite sex. But also, she had no interest in boys and was happier helping her mother around the house and learning needle point. Being the subject of some bullying at school did not bother her too much. She didn’t really want to be like those other girls.

She loved to ice skate. It made her feel free, and helped her forget about all her worries, and her social awkwardness. She felt graceful, fluid, almost at one with nature. Even as the icy air numbed her face, the smile could not be wiped from Katy’s face. Her ears glowed from the cold, receiving no protection from her short blonde hair. The harsh grinding sound of her skates tearing up the ice invigorated her as she pushed on and on further across the lake. Then without hesitation, she jumped and spun round, beginning to skate backwards with little loss of speed, and she barked out a triumphant laugh. She had been skating since she was four years old and knew a few tricks.

On arrival at the pond, Katy had been surprised to find herself alone. Although she had wagged off school for the day, it was unusual not to find someone out here skating. However, she didn’t question her good fortune too much, just got out onto the ice and enjoyed the solitude. The wind had begun to pick up a little now, and little eddies of powdery snow began to dance across the pond in front of her. Katy slowed her pace a little, still skating backwards, but now studying the shoreline she had recently left behind. Already some considerable distance away, she could barely make out her bag sitting like a patient dog by the water, waiting for its master’s return. Her bicycle behind it looked like something a Barbie doll would use, rather the monstrosity that she had inherited from her elder brother and was at least two sizes too big for her.

Then her attention was caught by a noise coming from the trees over to her left and she turned her head to look. The wind had wound up another notch, and now the military like rows of pines that lined the pond on that side, had begun to sway and shake loose some of their gathered snow. Katy glance towards the sky and was unsettled to see a large bank of dark grey clouds rolling over the hill towards her with surprising speed. The forecast had been for a clear, sunny day, which was one of the reasons she had ditched school to come skating. She slowed her skating to a virtual stop, staring at the approaching storm that was heading from the direction she had just come. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should start to head back to her belonging, but her subconscious kept reminding her that no storm was forecast today, and it would probably pass over. Plus, it was too cold to rain, and she had skated in snow many times before with no problems. Decision made, Katy turned to skate forwards again, a wry smile crossing her lips.

Letting the skates take over, she completed a few large sweeping circles and figure of eights, encompassing the whole width of the pond. She crouched down onto one knee, span backwards then forwards, jumped over an approaching branch on the ice, hitting the perfect landing. Then she thought she heard a voice from behind her, and screeched to a sideways halt, sending a wave of ice shards spraying up into the air. It was a faint, distant voice, but sounded vaguely like someone calling her name. At first, she thought it had come from the trees again, the leaves whispering amongst themselves as if sharing some conspirative message, driven by the ever-increasing wind. No, what Katy had heard was more human, but hard to pinpoint, it just swept towards her on the wind with no particular direction.

Looking back towards the shore again, she was shocked to see that snow had now started to fall quite heavily. What was more disturbing was the way in which the snowfall was advancing. There was a very definite line between where it was snowing and where it wasn’t. It looked to Katy like there was an enormous pane of glass moving slowly towards her, not allowing any of the snow to pass beyond it. She watched fascinated for a moment, as the near perfect line of snow advanced unrelentingly. She could still just make out her bike on the shore, her bag was just a snow-covered mound in the foreground. But in front of both these, Katy could see a figure standing. It was hard to tell due to the distance and the on coming snow, but the figure had a feminine look about it, slightly taller than Katy’s petite 5ft, but not by much. The persons arms were crossed in front of their chest, and they appeared to be staring out directly at Katy.

Once again, the voice drifted towards her, muffled by the oncoming snow, but now she was certain it emanated from the figure she could now barely make out on the shoreline. Perhaps one of the other villagers had come down to skate, and was now trying to warn her of the weather closing in. Making a snap decision, Katy began heading back towards dry land, directly into the oncoming blizzard. She picked up as much speed as she could, knowing that the layer of snow left in its wake would slow her progress once she hit it. And hit it she did. Almost losing her balance, she hit the veritable wall of falling snow and almost instantly regrated her tactics. The ice hard particles of snow stung her exposed face and neck, all but blinding her as she pushed on. Not only was she fighting against the snow, but the wind also fought against her every inch of the way. Then, without warning, a gust of wind seemed to hit her from one side and sent her sprawling on the ground.

Initially winded, Katy took a couple of seconds before hoisting herself to her feet. She swiped at her face with one gloved hand, brushing frozen flakes from her eyelashes, trying to regain her composure. Realising she was now completely disoriented, and had no idea which way to head, a trace of panic began to ripple through her, her heart racing not just from her recent tumble. Deciding the wind must still be coming from the same direction, she turned into it and began to slowly push through, forcing her skates to find purchase on the ice under the ever-thickening layer of snow. She was having to wipe the crusty snow from her eyes every few seconds, and all she could see in any direction was white. Starting to lose her calm, she spun a couple times, shouted out for help, then stopped, shoulders sagging in resignation. Then again she thought she heard her name for a third time, from off to her left, she turned in that direction

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimmer of light. It started as nothing more than a pin prick, then expanded to a large cone, the size of a decent flashlight, or more likely a car headlamp. Sobbing with relief, and thanking who ever had come to her rescue, she took off towards the light. Not caring she was heading away from her belongings, just wanting to reach the shore, she’d get to safety and then worry about getting back to her things. Now, with the wind at her back she made much faster progress, and soon she could see nothing but the light ahead of her and she knew she was going to be safe.

Katy’s mother stood on the shore, hands folded across her chest, staring silently out across the pond. It was a beautiful winter’s day; it usually was at this time of year. She always came down here on the anniversary of Katy’s death to remember her. The sunlight sparkled on the icy surface, almost too bright to look at with the naked eye. It had been ten years ago today that her precious Katy had fallen through the thin ice and drowned, but it still hurt Margaret as if it was yesterday. She had often thought of moving away from the town, leaving the memories behind. But that felt like a betrayal, tantamount to killing her daughter a second time. So, every year she came and stood on the spot where Katy’s bike had been found and watched the ice. And she would call Katy’s name out three times, to let her know she was remembered. And sometimes, just sometimes, on a slightly windy day, she thought she could see her daughter’s figure in the far distance, out on the ice, swooping and speeding gracefully across the surface. And sometimes the tinkling sound of her laughter was brought to Margaret on unforgiving winds. Finally, as the wind began to gather in intensity, she turned to leave until next year.