Hidden in the Frost
Where was I? How did I get there? Did someone kidnap me? The questions made my head reel. I had no recollection of what had happened. The last thing I remembered was visiting my mom for Christmas; she and I were talking while I was going through some of my childhood belongings. It wasn’t snowing when I met her, so I wondered just how long I had been in that place. I dragged myself out of bed whilst rubbing my hands together; the chill was beginning to settle deep within my skin. Through the window, I could see flakes of snow swirling and fluttering in the air, concealing a sea of trees in its white haze. My legs trembled as I walked down the stairs. With only one layer of clothing on, I was barely prepared for snowfall.
Downstairs, there was a fireplace, but there was no wood to be found. I grabbed the single fire iron that was lying next to it and inspected the other rooms in the cabin. I was alone. Just where was I? I didn’t know how I got there, but I knew that if I were to just wait inside, I would eventually either starve or freeze, or both. My chances outdoors were no better, but I figured that I would stand a better chance trying to look for help. I didn’t want to resign my fate to a solitary cabin in the middle of nowhere.
I opened the door and found myself pushed back by a barrage of icy needles that pierced my skin. The cold crept into my airways; I could feel it begin to tighten its grip upon my throat. My heart raced as I stood there for a moment, pondering on whether I should take that first step. Mustering my courage, I finally ventured into the frost, wading through the cold clutches of a seemingly endless white sea. All the while, however, I felt like there was a strange presence watching me from afar. I looked around, but there was no one to be seen.
It was not long before I entered the woods and found myself amidst deep shadows. The dense trees deterred the howling winds, so much so that the air almost felt still. But even without the breeze, the chill in the air still bit with nearly the same ferocity. However, it was not long before my vision began to blur. My head began to feel heavier by the minute as I lost all sensation of my hands and feet. As I slipped out of consciousness, a foggy memory of me dropping something swirled in my mind. All I remembered was the cracking of a glass. The next thing I remembered was waking up in the same cabin from before. I looked around and called out to anyone who may have been inside. I could barely feel my hands and legs, but I still had enough energy to drag myself out of bed and look around the cabin again. There was no one there yet again. Moments later, however, I heard muffled voices from outside.
I opened the door and looked around to find the source of the sound. Soon, I began to see shadows floating across the sky, beyond both mist and cloud. The figures I saw were like silhouettes of giants—and I soon realised that the sounds were indeed coming from them. Giants? Was I dreaming? I pinched myself, but nothing happened. Suddenly, the howling of the winds ceased. The snowflakes fluttered softly in the gentle breeze as I stepped back at once upon seeing the image that was forming in the sky, if it could even be called that. A great hand brushed the skies clear as if it were a foggy glass.
“Wh-Who are you? What is this place?”
“I’m the one you were laughing at all those years ago.” The voice was cold and deep.
“I don’t understand…”
The giant cleared a greater portion of the sky, revealing to me what had been hidden by the blizzard all that time—it was my childhood room. It then hit me: I knew where I was. The snow, the cabin, the glass sky… I was in my favourite snow globe. The person I was talking to was the man from the snow globe itself.
“What have you done with my mom?”
“Oh, she isn’t around anymore.” The voice had an eerie cheer to it.
My body trembled with fear and rage. “Where is she?”
The man scoffed at my question. “You should be more worried about yourself right now.”
The winds began to howl once more as the clouds resumed their undulations in the fake skies above. The air itself began to sting my skin, forcing me to shut the cabin door that instant. Tears began to emerge from my eyes as my entire body began to tremble. The frost’s cold grasp melded with the fear that crawled under my skin, freezing me where I stood as I struggled to fathom what was happening. Was I going to be stuck in a snow globe forever? The cold began to seep through the walls; it felt as if the air itself was about to freeze. My body shook uncontrollably as I fell to the floor. My airways were seared, and my breath was abandoning me. I raised my trembling hand to reach for the door, but I found the world around me blur to nothingness. The last thing I heard was the sound of my hand hitting the ground.
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