The Trans-Atlantic Snow Mobile

Luke pulled his scarf tighter around his mouth, hiding from the bitterly cold wind that sought to blast his face and seep away his warmth, telling him to go back from whence he came. Gripping his snowmobile with a death-like vice, he looked back to check on his precious cargo of fresh produce, grown in one of the pitiful few areas that remained arable in the whole earth.

As he approached one of many isolated base camps where travelers could rest from their trans-Atlantic journey, he gratefully slid off his ride and entered the beaten-up trailer, from which a welcoming glow of fire was visibly noticeable through the sole tiny window. Promising warmth and possibly the exchange of unbelievable tales of travel, he knocked on the door and was greeted by an old homey woman, who in years past may have been quite fair and pretty.

“Greetings young man, are you intending on staying for the night here? It will cost ten pounds per night or fifteen if perhaps you wanted meals together with your stay.”

Taking out two crumpled bills, which smelled of the bitter ink they used to print all money with, he handed it over to the woman, who proudly showed him the old couch he would be sleeping in, surrounded by several other derelict couches sprawled across the room. Those nearest the fire were all occupied and Luke could barely feel the wafting warmth from where he was sitting.

Hearing his stomach growl loudly, as if to remind himself of the past several meals he had skipped, he listened to his gut and walked over to the counter where several pots and kettles were on the electric stoves, boiling and bubbling, spreading around their delicious aroma and tempting the guests to crowd around the counter.

A short man in overalls, who seemed to belong in the prairies rather than in the middle of the ocean, handed out small wooden bowls and a metallic spoon to the ravenous guests and the old lady ladled a good portion of the stew to each bowl. Wandering around the guests, interrogating them about the taste of the food, the old lady came up to Luke and questioned him about the cargo he was hauling.

“It’s mainly fresh produce grown from central Mexico, you know, Agricultural Zone One? It’s only one of three zones left able to grow produce year-round.”

Asking her husband about the status of their larder, he confirmed that they were starting to run out of fresh greens and rice.

“Do you think you could sell us some of your produce? Our supplier doesn’t come till next week and we could use a topping off of our supplies.”

Shaking his head apologetically, Luke explained the importance of his delivery.

“The people of Europe are desperate for food, and everything in my cargo has already been presold, bought up by the government specifically for London. As you know, Europe hasn’t been able to grow anything since the Deep Freeze, and millions of lives are depending on suppliers like myself to bring them enough food to eat. I wish I could help, honestly, I’m sorry.”

Brushing aside the matter, the old lady accepted his apologies and went about checking with the rest of the guests, ensuring everyone was properly taken care of. Like a mother bird that was satisfied that her chicks had enough to eat, the woman joined her short husband and began washing the hardy wooden bowls, using ice, brought in from the outside and melted to create water for rinsing. As the hard-working owners of the rest stop finished tidying up the old rusty trailer, some older travelers began recalling some of their most memorable adventures or the daring escapades of their distant ancestors.

One particularly old man, with a moustache curling up the sides of his cheeks, began telling the story of his great grand-father, who was a traveler just as he was and all across the room, people quieted down to soak in all the glorious details of the old man’s story.

“When my great grand-father travelled across the world, there were five massive oceans that covered more than half of the earth’s surface. These vast seas were full of fish, kelp and countless forms of life, including the fabled blue whale: an animal bigger than this trailer here! Back then, travelling from continent to continent required large ships to brave the stormy and sometimes unpredictable seas. Before the Great Freeze, all the continents except Antarctica contained vast lands suitable for farming, and thus, the population of earth was able to rise given the abundance of food for everyone.”

One particularly young man piped up and asked a question that had been asked many-a-time by their generation who had not known a world without frozen oceans.

“Sir, excuse me for asking, but what then caused the Great Freeze?”

Stroking his beard as if to contemplate his response, the old man shook his head in uncertainty.

“No one knows, no one knows. Some say global warming from carbon emissions melted ice sheets and disrupted the ocean currents. Others say the cycles in sunspots, the earth’s rotation and orbit create cycles of ice ages and warm periods. And there are those who believe that the Great Freeze was part of a punishment for the inhabitants of the earth because of all the greed and evil in their society.”

Falling asleep as the storyteller droned on and on, Luke woke up the next day and checked on his snowmobile before starting the final trek to London, England. Checking his emergency batteries, he still had two out of ten units full of juice, which were capable of giving him a thousand kilometres per battery.

Saying goodbye to the rest stop owners, Luke headed off into the blizzard-like conditions, guided by his GPS despite having nearly zero visibility with the blinding snow. Pushing on bravely and trying to stay on course, he began to see shapes in the horizon that seemed to poke out of the frozen wasteland, seemingly in defiance of their wintery prison.

Pulling into what use to be the banks of the River Thames bordering the once proud city of London, Luke surveyed his surroundings and was astonished at how empty it was. All that remained now was snow covered buildings with small orange glows inside, signaling the evidence of life still barely existing in the city, flickering amidst what resembling a frozen wasteland.

Checking into the company’s headquarters for food distribution, Luke received his pay along with a suitcase of reimbursements made by the English government to Mexico for the provisions of food. Opening the case, there were all sorts of precious metals, jewels and crystals, enough to decorate a wife of some rich businessman. Shutting the case and locking it, Luke started recharging all his batteries and sat in the loading bay thinking of how important his delivery was to the English people that they would give such valuables in return for food. In the very back of his mind though, Luke felt like he was part of an extortion against the English people, charging them obscene amounts of wealth for the life-sustaining food.

Looking around at the people coming and going from the bay, he noticed a young woman who was holding a toddler in her arms. Going over to her, he immediately felt a wave of pity overwhelm his soul as he saw how thin and gaunt the little boy was. The woman, with a tear in her eye, asked of a single request from Luke,

“Sir, could you adopt my child and bring him back to your home? I promise he will be well behaved and will be like a real son too you.”

Taking a step back from the gravity of the request that the woman was presenting, Luke had never thought of adopting a child to bring back home. He and Sandra had been trying to have a baby for nearly a year now with no success, and it seemed adoption would be the perfect fit for their young family.

Holding out his hands to receive the toddler, Luke took the slumbering toddler and gently stroked his head in genuine affection for the boy. Nodding to the mother, Luke immediately went to the City Hall to register his adoption of the child, after which, he made sure to buy enough clothes to keep the boy warm on the way back to Mexico.

At first, the toddler was frightened at having been taken away from his mother, wailing loudly throughout the day. But after being given several satisfying meals to quell his hunger, he began to be accustomed to his new father, and patiently waited inside one of the cargo boxes. Stopping at rest stops along the way, Luke took utmost care of his new son, and many-a-guest who knew of Luke were glad for the new father who seemed happier than he had ever been in a long time. As they approached the Gulf of Mexico, the frozen Atlantic Ocean transitioned into water and so a roadway had been built to connect the ice sheet with the road to the mainland. Driving along the highway, Luke looked back at his son and smiled as the boy stuck his head out the door; reveling in the sun and basking in the pleasant heat.

Every now and then, the boy would cry in the night, wanting his mother and asking for her over and over again. But the requests for his mom grew quieter and quieter over time, and fairly soon, she was just a memory, as was the wintery barren land he was in before being taken in by Luke.

Arriving back home in Mexico City, Luke hugged his wife and showed her the money he had made from the month-long trip. Giving him a kiss, Sandra expressed the extent of how much she had missed him, berating him for not calling and at the same time thankful that he was safe and uninjured. Taking Sandra to the car, Luke opened the passenger door and his wife could only gasp as she saw the young boy in the car seat dreaming peacefully in his sleep. Asking Luke if this was real, she scooped the boy out of the seat and hugged him softly, elated at the surprise her thoughtful husband had presented her with.

Taking the little boy inside, Luke explained how the boy’s mother pleaded with him to take her son with him back to his home in Mexico, realizing that it was the one real chance for her son to grow up safely in a warm and prosperous land. Although the boy had fattened up a bit after eating hearty meals every day from the trip back to Mexico City, Sandra could still see his ribs along the side of his chest and realized that had the boy stayed in London for a longer period of time, there might have been a chance that the boy would have starved and died of hunger, if not taken away by the harsh wintery cold.

“I think his name should be Frío, since we live in a frozen world now. Perhaps when he grows up, the would may thaw out and once again become warm enough to ensure the prosperity of people around the earth.”

Nodding her head in agreement, Sandra continued rocking the toddler in her arms.

Frío’s parents along with many others across the world held onto their hope for a warmer world to save those still trapped in barren lands of ice. Their hope burned brightly despite the ravenous and bitter curse of winter, speaking to the tenacity and resilience of human kind, which is tough and most difficult to break.