Bone Chill

The chill had finally started to enter the center of my bones. It wasn't a pain I expected, sharp yet numbing, not that I had thought much about the predicament at hand before to have much of an expectation. The compression I felt in my chest began to ease as I finally let the water slip between my lips, creating a whole new sensation of mind fog and I felt like I was just waking up from a nap that went on too long in the middle of the day, not quite feeling like the concept of time was right.

My mind urged my body to keep going, until it didn’t, until I entirely stopped fighting. I stopped banging on the floor above me, but I was sure the shadow that covered me continued on. I saw the glittering reflections of the late afternoon sun through my weightless golden hair, the black and gold spots appeared in my vision, it was too cold for my eyes to stay open, but when I closed them, the spots still danced behind my eyelids. My lungs began to burn and I gave in. I laid in the suspended time and unanchored space. I thought I had just saw something in the shadows, but…

Prickles. Pins. Needles. Weightless. Pillows. Tickles. Tickles…

Gravity finally captured me and I fell into the pillows sprawled across the bed, and then my little brother landed on me as my father threw him on the bed after me, “Oooof” left my mouth and his knee crashed into my gut and the sound of my hand smacking his bare stomach made my father do a quick glare before announcing, “Watch out!” and grabbed my youngest brother to throw him on the bed. We scrambled out of the way falling off the bed laughing. “My turn!” we both yelled at my father brawling for which one he would throw next.

He grabbed me again but instead of throwing me, he snapped my body up side down and holding both ankles with one hand, he tickled my feet with the other; my brothers caught on and began to try and tickle our father back, “Let go of Kylie!” one of them loudly chuckled. He threw me on the bed, beat his chest like a gorilla and yelled, “That’s the best you’ve got boys!?”, and he grabbed the closest pillow and began a pillow fight first whipping one at me and then diving for a second to throw at my youngest brother. My other brother, who had disappeared in the sliver of two pillow throwing’s, came running back through the door with the couch cushions, he let out his form of a roar and with two weaponized pillowed hands he jumped towards our father.

I was brought back from my memories to the golden spots and blacked dots as a wave of pain swept through my chest and then as quickly disappeared again. I was finally hallucinating, but the memory was welcome. I wanted to let out a last cry for help, but only bubbles. The few sparkling bubbles reached the icy ceiling above spreading out trying to find a way to the surface.

I looked over at Trevor in utmost terror realizing what I had done. His entire upper half of his body was covered in hours old chocolate milkshake, compliments of my no doubt ability to klutz my way out of any good situation. My heart sank as his mouth jolted open the moment I tripped and the creamy drink frosted his face, and all I could think was, This date was nice while it lasted, and then – he laughed. “Come here”, she said as he grabbed my hand and brought me into his chest and looked down at me. Looking up back at his smile, I still let out a sincere, “I’m so sorry!”, to which he responded with a soft kiss sharing a little more sugar than I expected the end of the night to have and then, “I hope you don’t mind. I thought I’d share too”.

I felt heavy again as the weightlessness began to fall away, but heavier. My chest felt like it was being beat by an angry god, and the wind rushing into my lungs was sharp and welcoming. “KYLIE! Kylie! Oh my god! PLEASE! Please! PLEASE!”. I faintly opened my eyes to see my youngest brother on the ground with his face near mine, his eyes red and tear filled, as the air that entered my lungs in another sort of drowning feeling pushed out the intruding water. On my side, I coughed at him over and over as water spewed from my lips, with a hand of another on my back smacking it to help the remaining liquid be expelled. I rolled over to my back and took a deep frozen breath. The feel of icicles entered my mouth and attached down my throat, my body trembling from shock and the cold. The other hand had been Trevor, he took my heavy drenched winter coat off and put his around me and laid my weak body on his lap holding me close, he cried into my neck, “Honey, honey, oh my god, honey. They’re on their way. They’re on their way.”, and held me tighter as the faint sound of sirens could be heard coming through the national parks dirt road towards us.

I could barely move. The shaking was getting worse, which I suppose was a good reaction my body was making. My vision and hearing still weak, but I could still take in some of my surrounds. As I lay on Trevor’s lap I could see where I fell into the partially frozen pond. I did go too close to the edge, I don’t think I actually realized I had gotten that far towards the unfrozen center on the thin ice.

As the paramedics came running Trevor and my brother took a step back worriedly and let them assess what I needed and then proceed to do so. As they picked me up on the medical gurney and began towards the ambulance one of the female paramedics asked, “How did you find yourself out there, dear? You're so lucky.”. I took a second and before passing out again I was able to tell her, “I recognized the bodies in the water”.