Grandpa Died Watching the Snow

Grandpa Died Watching the Snow

By GMati

When I was a boy my grandfather told me that when snow falls the world around you would get quieter.

According to him the fresh fallen snow would act as a blanket, thick and suffocating- pressing down on the land.

Grandpa's dead now.

Police say he passed away peacefully in his rocking chair, watching the snow fall from his porch.

I decided to take the semester off to stay at his old farmstead. I tell myself I just needed a break, a refresh, some peace, but I know I'm just scared.

I’m scared to move on, scared to relive those horrible moments, scared to see… Her.

So I ran from my fear, to a little farm hours away from my painful reality, replacing classes, textbooks and responsibilities with frozen fields, decrepit barns and a frozen blanket of snow for as far as the eye can see.

It started snowing last night.

I understand why the police think grandpa died peacefully.

As I sit here rocking back and forth, back and forth, the wood of his old chair creaking in breaths beneath me, I watch as the sky unravels into fine white threads.

It's hard to not feel completely and totally relaxed.

It’s hard to not let my tired eyes fall.

In the total darkness, silence enraptures me; it's smothering.

“c,c,c,c,,iiiii,d,de”,

a … whisper? A sound so faint I honestly can’t tell at first, it's incomprehensible, so soft that I feel silly for second guessing it.

“c,c,c,c,,iiiii,d,de”

February 6th, 2026

It’s still snowing.

A couple days have passed…I think? And it hasn’t stopped. I'm going to start recording my days in a journal, it's hard to keep track of time out here, and I could use the entertainment. Grandad never believed in the internet, his boxy TV can only play the old stack of VHS’s in the corner of his den for christ sake… but atleast I have something to watch.

With all this snow my old Ford Focus doesn’t have any hope of making the 2 hour drive back into town. When I tried to move it into a barn, the tires just spun.

As a kid I initially despised the lack of cell service, but soon grew to appreciate the freedom it provided.

I'm starting to despise it again. What first felt like freedom is now making me feel isolated… The whispers aren’t helping in that regard.

“o,,,o.,.o.,.,,mmm,m,,s,s,s”

February 7th, 2026

I can only make it to the edge of the porch now.

Beyond that I’d have to trudge through waist high snow, any chance of driving back into town is now gone.

This damn snow hasn’t stopped.

These factors make what happened today all the more confusing. As I stepped onto the porch I was greeted by a black goat; standing dead centre on the floorboards. Its coat was so dark, darker than anything I’ve ever seen in nature, swallowing the little light that bleeds through the storm, and its eye; an unnatural ocean blue; and yes its eye singular since the other is gone-

a deep scar, resembling the claws of a predator marring the skin where it once sat.

At first I thought it was frozen, a neighboring barn’s animal who wandered astray in the storm.

*BAWWHHH*

Ok… so it's not frozen, further proven when the damn thing wanders through the front door like it owns the place.

So yeah, I’ve got a pet goat now. I named him Joel, after an old friend back home.

Honestly it's been nice having him around, I've exhausted my grandad's VHS collection and I can officially say I'm SICK of old Disney.

The whispers are getting louder, more comprehensible

“cCoO,,m,,,...o,,,,,t,Tt,,,E,e,e”.

February 8th, 2026

Joel and I have just sat on the porch all day.

He seems to prefer it, like I mean doesn't want to do anything but sit on the porch, including eating or drinking. But honestly I get it, it's really nice here, warm despite the raging blizzard, and quiet.

I've been reading through the old man's library. It’s mainly classics, Frankenstein,1984, Jekyll and Hyde; but then there's the weird volumes I’ve never heard of, languages I don't know; Niege, Naive, Zãpadã, Niyebe and Nix. I wonder what they're about? Any idea buddy?

*BAWWHHH*

I’ve found the whispers are quieter on the porch, maybe I'm just claustrophobic.

c.….ts..s…ie.

February 9th, 2026?

I fell asleep in grandpa's rocking chair last night.

I’ve looked everywhere there are NO heaters, in the floor, in the ceiling, in the god damn chair… there's nothing, I don't get how I didn’t freeze.

I'm not sure how long I was asleep, too enraptured by the story telling of Mary Shelley to look at the clock before slipping into dreams. I was following her in the snow, atleast.. I think it was her.

Joel was kind enough to wake me, his rough tongue grating against my face. Good Goat?

He nodded.

The house is a lot dustier than I remember it being yesterday.

I made an effort to clean it up when I first got here; at the time I thought it would make it seem less overwhelming to go through; so why does it look… untouched?

Maybe I cleaned less than I thought. I know the property is old, dust must be being pushed out through the air vents? Yeah… that must be it.

Joel's getting upset, sitting in front door

*BAWWHHH*

*BAWWHHH*

*BAWWHHH*

Maybe he’s right, some fresh air sounds nice.

It’s so much louder in the house.

CCCC….MMMM….OUUUUUU……IIIII

February 10th, 2026?

I awoke to banging on the front door, it’s.... 4am?

How long have I been asleep?

I think it was…. When did I go to bed?

I should have brought a digital watch, the old grandfather clock seems… unreliable, the time on it seems to move wrong… looking outside its just… so damn dark… I'm getting off track, the knocking, or thumping? Banging? On the door.

Joel was already sitting in front of it as I descended the stairs. I scratched his chin, feeling reassured that he must have also heard the noise, I was starting to believe it had been in my head.

As I approached the door, the same warm feeling enraptured my body, like the feeling of stepping into a hot tub after being out in the cold.

Grasping the doorknob I'm assaulted by the whisp ....screams.

CCC..COOO..EEEOU..TTTT…SDDDDD.

I release the knob.

Joel releases a *BAWWHHH* of protest.

February 11th, 2026?

Joel and I spent the day barricading all the windows and doors, luckily one of the unfinished rooms had some supplies. I don’t know what the hell that was last night but I am OFFICIALLY freaked out.

I say Joel and I but he hasn’t stopped complaining.

*BAWWHHH*

*BAWWHHH*

*BAWWHHH*

I feel bad. I know he loves it out there… but it's for our own good… Right?.

I'm going to have to get used to the noise.

CcC..mm..OO…Tss.eE

February 12th, 2026?

Since Joel and I no longer have the option to sit on the porch, we've been exploring the house, every nook and cranny.

I didn’t notice it initially, but the lack of personality in the farmstead is… strange.

There aren’t any photos, not of me and my siblings, not of mom or dad, not even of grandpa; there's just generic paintings of landscapes, covered in snow.

There isn’t very much personal belongings either, besides from the books- shelves and shelves of them lining the walls. Some are in English, most aren’t.

The library looks impressive at first, large and sprawling. I had been content with the thought of getting lost in the seemingly infinite stories, that was until I realized, most of the titles are copies of each other. Niege, Naive, Zãpadã, Niyebe and Nix; Niege, Naive, Zãpadã, Niyebe, Nix; Niege, Naive, Zãpadã, Niyebe, Nix.

I’ve already read all the titles I could recognize, so I decided to open one of the copies of “Nix”. The cover was cold, eerily so. I haven’t actually felt cold since I got here, so it was a bit of a shock.

Opening the leather bound book I’m initially met with what I expected, lines and lines of foreign script; but as I start flipping through I notice certain characters are always bold.

C.O.M.E.O.U.T.S.I.D.E.

I drop the book,

*BAWWHHH*

I guess Joel didn’t like that.

The noise….How can I stop the noise.

CcCC…OOo…MmMe.E…OUUut..T

February 13th, 2026?

I pried off one of the wood pieces from the kitchen window. I know it was probably a bad idea but I just needed to look at something, something beside these book-covered walls.

The nails slipped out easily, and Joel perked up; a *BAWWHHH* of excitement, echoing throughout the house.

Looking out the window I'm greeted by… Snow, just snow, as far as the eye can see.

That's not right?

There are supposed to be fence posts, fields, buildings; I wiped the frost away and; There they are, but not the way I remembered.

The fence posts lean, Inwards, towards the stead, bowed at unnatural angles. The wires between them sag, half buried in snow, orange with rust. Beyond the fences lies the field, and barn, or what used to be a barn? What I see before me isn’t just abandoned like it was when I arrived it looks… forgotten. The barn has sagged in on itself, the roof collapsed into a deep V, heavy with layers of snow. The red paint has long since peeled, replaced by strips of grey, splintered wood; it looks soft with rot, like if I put my finger against it, it would go in with little resistance.

One of the barn doors hangs lazily open, crooked on a single hinge; It’s open just enough for me to see a black abyss on the inside.

Not the darkness shadows create, no this darkness,it’s like Joel’s coat, unnatural wrong.

The barn door slams shut.

There's no wind.

I leave the window.

*BAWWHHH*

SHUT UP

CC..OOOOOOO…MMMMM….EEEE

February 14th, 2026?

*BAM*

*BAM*

*BAM*

That's the noise that awoke me.

The grandfather clock reads 4am…like it matters.

Walking downstairs, the source of the noise becomes apparent.

Joel is on the porch, the door bashed open, horn marks apparent.

February, 2026?

How long have I been here?

Not just staring at Joel on the porch, I've been doing that for awhile.

No I mean here on Granddad's farm? Grandad's farm…. Which grandad was it again?

Moms dad… right? No he lives in the city, dads? No he died years ago?

I came here to get away, find peace after a breakup with someone good… what was her name?

2026?

There is so much snow inside.

I want to close the door, I should close it, I'm letting the cold in… That's a lie, it’s so warm.

I should go back up to my bed, tuck myself in. I should do that. I was going to do that,

but Joel keeps telling me to join him.

He wants me to “come outside Marcus”.

It does look so peaceful.

Joels sitting beside the rocking chair.

I want fresh air.

Ok.

I'm going to join him.

Just for a little bit.