The Good Things

“Sweetie, get ready. It might be our time.”

“It’s still dark mom, just like it has been for the last forever.”

Kids can be so dramatic, thought Kathleen. She sighed. “Just look up. Right there. Don’t you see a little glimmer?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t mean anything. It happens all the time.”

“Just you wait. Soon the ground will shake and you’ll see that I’m right.”

Nicholas rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s what you said last time.”

Kathleen, sitting comfortably on her bench, gazed at the glimmer. Only a few more seconds, she thought. She prayed for it to be their turn once again, for her and her son to see the light once more.

They heard voices, felt the ground grumble ever so lightly, and even recognized a few tunes that seemed to be coming from a distance. But, after a few minutes, the glimmer stopped and the sounds were muffled.

Little did they know, they had simply been forgotten. But, not by little Marie, one of the smaller giants. She remembered them and came to find them once she noticed they were missing. The glimmer, which re-occurred after such a short period, took Kathleen and Nicholas by surprise. This time, Kathleen knew it was real. As the ground shook and the glimmer grew stronger, the mother and her son had the widest smiles on their faces. Their moment had finally come.

After the biggest earthquake yet, everything went still except for a few snowflakes and the glimmer which grew so big it was blinding. Nonetheless, after a few seconds, Kathleen and Nicholas were able to open their eyes and take it all in. They were in the light; they were in a winter wonderland.

Marie, the child giant, dived towards Kathleen and Nicholas and lifted them into the air, spinning them around.

“Be careful with that, Marie!” shouted Margaret, one of the biggest giants.

Making sure she stays off the naughty list, Marie stopped twirling, but kept looking around. She needed to find the perfect spot for Kathleen and Nicholas. After a minute of hesitation, Marie gasped with excitement. She rushed over to the windowsill, grabbing some white fluffy fabric on the way. Down on her knees and with one hand, she carefully and evenly laid the fabric over the surface, and then with both hands she gently placed Kathleen and Nicholas in the center of the frame.

“That’s very nice Marie, but you could come and help me untangle these lights?”

“Coming Mama!” Marie replied over her shoulder, still looking with awe at Kathleen and Nicholas. “How do you like you new place?” she whispered to them.

Kathleen and Nicholas tried shouting their appreciation as loud as they could so that Marie could hear them, but Margaret’s voice overtook theirs. She wanted Marie’s help immediately.

Marie stood up on her feet, swiftly turned Kathleen and Nicholas’ world upside down, and then ran to assist her mother, leaving Kathleen and Nicholas to themselves in the snowy paradise.

Kathleen, sitting on her bench, gazed at the snow coming down on them. She followed one snowflake as it made its way to the ground, then shifted her attention to her son zooming by on the frozen pond with his skates, helmet and hockey stick. They spent the next hour laughing, singing Christmas songs, and simply being merry.

Kathleen kept repeating to herself all the positive things she could think of, by fear that the dark might come back for them quicker. She thought that even though the snow only lasted a few minutes, that the new way it settled on the ground was even better then how it used to be. She thought that the view just beyond the pond, the place where the giants roam, seems even more polished and welcoming than ever. She thought that she’d never want to leave this place, that it’s her and Nicholas’ perfect little bubble.

The world was peaceful and smelled like gingerbread and hot chocolate, but everything was unexpectedly darkened. A creature, a beast they had never seen before, was pawing away at their wonderland. Nicholas immediately stopped skating, and Kathleen urged him not to move a muscle, to remain as still as he could be.

Kathleen and her son, in their immobility, breathed in all the details they could; the fire-like fur, the dagger-like nails, the two piercing eyes. One moment the beast was over them, the other it was laying down in the fabric, watching them intently. It looked hungry, whatever it was.

“Mom, I’m scared,” cried out Nicholas.

“I know, Nicholas. I know.”

“I’m gonna come to you now, okay?”

“NO!” yelped Kathleen, only terrifying her son more. “I mean, no, stay where you are. Just talk to me. What's going through your mind?”

“I’m - I… I don’t want to skate anymore!" sobbed Nicholas.

“Okay, okay. Let’s--Let’s just try thinking of the good things, okay? Just don't move.”

“Good things?”

“Yeah. Like… how much smaller he is compared to the giants. If we’re not afraid of the giants, why should we be afraid of this?”

“Yes, mom, but this thing has claws!”

“Oh, but haven’t you ever seen the tip of Margaret’s nails sometimes? She’s handled us many times with those weapons and nothing ever happened to us.

Nicholas giggled, but then felt the ice below him shake. The beast’s paws were now right on top of them, creating a veil of darkness.

“Mom!”

“Okay, okay. Listen to me. I want you to slowly get down on your knees, then lay flat on your belly.”

Nicholas followed his mothers instructions. Trembling, he crouched down, making no sudden movement.

“Alright, now I want you to slowly slide yourself towards me. Okay?”

The ground trembled again, motivating Kathleen to fall onto her knees and reach out a hand to her son. Nicholas, one move at a time, made his way across the frozen pond, confident he would soon be in his mother’s safe embrace.

Every few seconds, Kathleen and Nicholas felt another quake, but they kept pushing through. Nicholas kept going forward, and Kathleen started crawling over the ice, trying to get to her son faster.

The beast’s grip got tighter, stronger.

Kathleen and Nicholas both crawled a bit more towards each other, but only enough to grab each other by the hand. Before they could get a better grip, they felt themselves floating - weightless - and watched the ice shatter below them.

***

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