I made it my mission to never get too close to anywhere cold ever again.
After living in a now-abandoned town in the south Yukon for over half my life, I now reside in Jacksonville, Florida with my wife and daughter. I’ve seen a lot in my youth, and I have to say starting a family has definitely made me a better man. I work a stressful job with long hours and Marley, my wife, works weird hours as a nurse.
It may not be the perfect setup as I usually juggle seeing just one of them around the house but it is far better than enduring what I had been through.
It’s not that I entirely hate the cold. I’m just not safe in it. The cold is dangerous. Sometimes I still hear it. I sometimes still hear them.
I caught myself hearing their noises while looking at myself in the bathroom mirror. Louder and louder, muffling out the noises. I thought it was all behind me, I haven’t seen or done anything in years that reminded me of my time living in Avens.
Another muffled noise began to break through the noises, My salvation.
“Daddy?” I heard Eve, my daughter, call out from her room.
I probably scared her but I charged from the bathroom to her room. She looked bored sitting on top of her covers. I scooped her up off of her bed and into my arms. The noises had faded with my daughter’s laughter.
“I’m sorry did I scare you?” I said, putting her back down on the bed.
“No you didn’t, it was fun!” Eve cooed back at me, getting herself cozy underneath her covers. I recomposed myself.
“So what’s up, kiddo? I heard you calling.”
“Mommy isn’t here to tuck me in so I did it myself, can you tell me a story for bed?”
“I know, kiddo. Mom’s got a busy shift, it’s becoming a very scary world out there.”
Eve’s eyes lit up after that last part.
“Oh! Can you tell me a scary story then?”
“Eve, you won’t be able to sleep if I tell you a scary story.”
She didn’t relent, she shot her puppy-dog eyes at me that any parent would give in to. I thought about what I was experiencing in the bathroom earlier. I hadn’t told many people about it, except Marley and my therapist of course. “Talking about it helps,” my therapist would tell me often but who the hell would believe me?
I grinned away my anxiety. “Okay, get comfy.”
Eve giggled and got herself even cozier than I thought she could.
With a deep, shaky breath I began my story:
“There was a town way up north, outside of the country. It was a town called Avens. A sad boy, a bit older than you, Eve, lived with his mom and dad. This town was full of adults and teenagers that were bored all the time. There was almost nothing to do but to watch TV, or go out to the bar with friends.”
“A bar?” Eve asked.
“It’s a place where adults go to…uh…spend time together, you’re only eleven you got ten years before you’re allowed to go,” I responded.
“Okay, keep going!” she encouraged me.
“There was something about Avens that made it a bad place, it was always…cold. There was even snow on the ground! It made all the people never want to go outside, so the little boy stayed in his room reading most of his days away.”
“One day the boy noticed something strange. He couldn’t see outside because it was snowing so much. His neighbour’s house which he used to see all the time from his window, was invisible! A little bit scared, he ran to his parents who were also scared. They huddled together in their living room, as the wind howled and the snow piled up louder and louder.”
‘Something’s not right’ the boy’s dad said. ‘Eleanore, are the phones working?’
‘No dear’ the boy’s mom, Eleanore said. ‘What are we supposed to do, we can’t go outside in this!’
“The boy’s dad was furious, but more than that he was terrified. He was supposed to go to the grocery store to pick up food. The storm had gotten so bad that the doors to their home wouldn’t even open. The boy’s dad had to use all of his might just to get the door open, and it slammed shut on the way out.”
“The boy and his mom heard him pounding on the door almost immediately after. They heard the man, his father, begging for them to open the door. The boy and his mom did their best, but the wind was too strong. They couldn’t get the door open.”
“The boy watched in horror…as his dad…”
I began to shake a little bit. Eve stared at me, concerned.
“Sorry baby, just thinking of a way to continue this story,” I lied.
“His dad was too cold…he was so cold he was blue, his face frozen in a twisted face of fear as he tried to break in through the window, but something stopped him.”
“What stopped him?” Eve asked. I swallowed my nerves and continued.
“A song stopped him. It was a very nice song, even the boy and his mom could hear it. It was graceful, relaxing them if even for a moment. The boy’s father stopped what he was doing and began walking towards where the song was coming from. It was from the centre of town.”
“The boy watched helplessly as his father was picked up by an arm and carried towards the centre of town. The boy and his mom were now scared beyond belief. Something had taken his dad away from them. The boy never saw his dad again.”
“The song…filled his ears. It was the only thing he could hear. Whatever took his dad was close by.”
“‘Hide, Tommy, hide!’ his mom begged him. He could barely hear her over the noises.”
“He hid in the closet, crying. The song was louder than his own sobbing. The boy’s mom grabbed a big pointy knife from the kitchen, yelling and pointing at something. She was very angry, but he boy couldn’t make out the words she way saying. The only thing he knew is that she saw something out in the snow.”
“Suddenly, the window broke, and a big long arm covered in feathers reached for her…the boy…never saw her again.”
“The boy fainted from the fear. He woke up later, shivering. There were men in his house. They said they were looking for people, and that they were there to help.”
“The song he had heard was much quieter than before, enough to think that he was safe. He called out, and the men, in big green uniforms helped him to his feet. They gave him winter clothes, and a nice snack. They carried him into their big green truck where we was much warmer”.
“The boy watched as the truck drove through town, it struggled and slipped through the heavy snow. Many of the men in the truck were scared. The boy looked out the window when they passed the centre of town. There was a big hole right in the centre. There were also…monsters.”
“Monsters?” Eve asked nervously. “What kind of monsters?”
“Do you really want to know?” I asked back, my lips quivering.
Her eyes lit up “Yeah!”
I don’t think she caught on that this was happening to me, but those eyes and that smile gave me courage.
“There was a big monster floating over the hole. It was almost as white as the snow. It had large wings and even longer arms. There were smaller monsters, that looked like the big one, but without wings. They all sang the song the boy had heard. They sang as they threw the people they were grabbing into the hole!”
“The boy was forced to look away as the men in the truck pulled him away from the window, telling him never to look at it again.”
“The boy was scared for life, he probably will never stop being scared. But…he lived.”
I stared out into distance for a moment.
“The end.” I said. Eve giggled and rolled on her side.
“I didn’t know you could tell good stories too, daddy!”
“I…have some talent I guess! Goodnight kiddo, love you lots!”
I kissed her on the head, and left the room, turning her lights off on the way out. I know one day she may figure it out, that I was telling her of my frozen, fucked up childhood. But she wanted scary, and I wanted to release some of my pent up feelings.
I decided to get ready for bed myself. I looked in the mirror and saw only the scared young version of myself staring back at me. I began to cry. I was crying quite loudly because I heard small footsteps hurry to the bathroom door.
“Daddy, are you ok?” I heard Eve call out in concern.
“I’m fine I’m just…tired.” I pathetically came up with a response.
“Okay, well how about I tell you a story while you go to bed instead?!”