When the Sun Shines

A Story by MaddyMae

A branch snapped. I tried to tell myself that it's just my imagination. No one is following me, no one is following me, no one is following me.

The night reached out with its greedy hands, pushing the black trees away with gusts of snow. It was stupid of me to take the shortcut through the woods when it was so late at night but I needed to get home. Quickly.

It was probably just a fluke, I chided myself, shrugging my thinning winter jacket tighter around my shoulders and arms. I could’ve sworn that the temperature had dropped in just the ten minutes I had been walking. Wait, no. 15 minutes. I should be at home soon anyways.

I kicked at the forming snow banks around my knees, trudging through as I pictured the safety and security of my well-lit home. There, I would see flicking lanterns on the porch. Inside, from the window, I would see the living room decorated in Christmas lights and little decor. My family’s Christmas tree would be lit up, covered in peppermint candies and welcoming me home through the large window. Then I could lock the door and run to my bedroom where my large pink fleece blanket and my cozy confinement would keep me safe.

A branch snapped behind me. Even though my heartbeat escalated to its peak, I didn’t turn around. I didn’t want to see if my imagination, for once in my life, was being honest with me.

I kept moving toward the general direction of the house with my eyes searching for a confirmation every few seconds. I had to be reaching my home soon, right? When it was in the daylight, it would only take me ten minutes. I must have made a wrong turn somewhere.

The trees seemed to be thinning or maybe it was just my eyes squinting through the thick layer of snowflakes on my lashes. The wind began to laugh as it whipped my hood off, taking my beanie with it. I yelped and tried to grab the hat with my chafed and aching hands but I knew better. It was long gone by now. I grabbed my hood and brought it back over my head, holding it with my bare hands. I already felt their heat created in my pockets escaping. If only my legs would move faster!

Finally, a break in the wall of trees was up ahead of me. As if that was simply motivation, I found myself moving faster until I was running and leaping over any of the white barriers in front of me. My heart pounded harder and harder against my chest as I drew closer. I thought I saw a house in the distance.

Then I stopped. Followed with a scream that pierce through the very soul of the wind and made it stop howling. I think we were both in confusion as I stared across the frozen lake, looking at the little cottage on the other side.

“No, no, no!” I whispered through sealed lips. I had taken a wrong turn and instead of crossing a bridge…

Shoot. That’s what I was missing. I was supposed to cross a bridge that hovered over a tiny stream about halfway through. That stream turned into a lake and, you’ve just got to be kidding me.

I was trapped. There was no way around that. I knew this lake by the back of my hand and if I were to skirt around it, I would definitely have picked up hypothermia by the time I reached my house if I even made it in the first place.

Another twig snapped, sounding much closer to me than the last. The water left me with two choices: face whoever was following me or try to pick my way across the lake. I looked up and cursed the sky, wishing the moon hadn’t hid behind the black clouds. Crossing the water would be dangerous at any given time but the night was by far the worst. No one knew I was out here except me and whoever was behind me. I didn’t think that that person would care much if the ice cracked and I fell through, drowning.

But I wasn’t left with any other options. Carefully, I picked my way down the bank, trying not to trip and twist my foot. That would be the last thing I need. When I reached the bottom, I told myself to just look up once. My head bent over my shoulder and saw him. I mean, I couldn’t really see him because it was so dark but my eyes had adjusted to the dark well enough that I could make out the outline of a guy. A well-built, athletic guy, the kind that you know would win in any fight or challenge thrown at him.

That’s when I panicked. I thought I saw a similar guy walking around main street when I went into Carmen’s Closet to donate my worn clothes. Of course, it was all making sense now. I noticed a man leaning against the door frame as I walked out and received a stupid sticker saying ‘I Donated!’ (it reminded me of the blood donation at school that upcoming Tuesday and I can’t stand the thought of seeing my own blood exit my arm through a tube and come back a little while later, just to do it all over again). That guy was strong and muscular, as well. I could feel the bile rising to my throat.

Then like a skittish deer, I ran out onto the ice, completely forgetting all sense of caution. I hardly heard how the ice groaned and cracked beneath my body, getting thinner and thinner as I raced to the middle of the ice. It was only when I reached the half way point that I slowed down, taking the time to pick a path across. It was also one of those moments where I was glad my mom pushed me to join the cross-country team in the fall and the track team in the spring, even though I hated running. Never in my life did I think I would actually apply those skills to my own survival, though.

I was almost to the other edge of the lake and to my house before I stepped wrong on a patch of ice and my leg twisted, bending beneath me as I fell to the ice. I screamed as the surface beneath me broke into jagged pieces, plunging me into the murky, cold waters. My leg throbbed in agony as I accidentally swallowed a few gulps of water while trying to break the surface. The snow boots and clothes on me felt like a dead weight, pulling me down. But I was not going to die tonight.

Despite the pain, I kicked my legs hard, propelling my arms and head out of the water. I grasped onto the ice, doing my best not to crush any more pieces of it. Then I let my lifeguard training kick in. Sprawled arms. Move slowly. Distribute weight. The hardest part of following the safety regulations was getting your chest on the ice. If you don’t have the strength to pull your torso up or try to push down on the ice while getting up, you might as well dive back under and drown. Dying would be quicker that way.

But in my case, I only had a matter of minutes before my legs would give out. I could feel them already becoming numb with the water. My heart pumped faster as my desperation climbed. I was not going to die, I was not going to die!

Finally, I lifted my torso out without further breaking the ice. The water soaked my legs, biting my muscles with fatigue. I inched my arms out in front of me, keeping them wide to keep my weight even. Then I twisted my hips, trying to get my right leg onto the ice.

My leg felt like it was caught. It wasn’t moving. I tried swinging my hips the other way and I felt my left leg clip the side of the ice. I lowered it back down and swung it back up with more force. This time my leg landed on ice and stayed there, not crashing into the water again. Carefully, I moved sideways, feeling tired and frozen stiff. When I managed to get my entire body out, I just laid there, too cold to move.

But slowly, I raised my head and looked at my warm, inviting house. I was almost there. I could make it. I moved like a worm, away from the hole. When I felt that I was a reasonable distance away from the hole, I got on my hands and knees and crawled across, practically dragging my right leg behind me. I didn’t really feel safe doing this but I knew that if I tried to stand, my leg wouldn’t work and I would probably go under again. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to pull myself out a second time.

I looked down at my hands and saw that my fingers were turning blue. I didn’t blame them. I continued to creep forward, praying that I would make it home, that the still cracking ice wouldn’t go again on me.

The edge of the lake was so close that if I straightened my arm, I could brush it with my fingertips. In excitement, I scrambled across, pulling my body across the last stretch. But I wasn’t thinking clearly.

I exerted all of my energy when I landed in the snow bank. My body simply collapsed. I tried to move, even just my finger, but the water and the snow had made its way to my brain, slowing down and stopping the nerve connections. Everything started to become hazy and spin around, making me feel dizzy.

At least I made it across, I thought bitterly as my eyes fluttered to stay open. I thought I heard footsteps and so I tried to turn my head to my left, away from the snow pillow.

Two men, no, wait. One man stood in front of me, looking down. I couldn’t see his face well and squinting my eyes didn’t help. I must have been hallucinating at this point for I thought that his face had a blue tinge to it. It looked like he was wearing just a t-shirt and jeans. I thought that it didn’t make any sense but nothing made sense in my brain at the moment.

I blinked a few times before closing my eyes and muttering, “Don’t kill me. Let me die right here in my sleep.”

He must have not heard me for I suddenly felt a strong arm slid around my waist and another around my knees. His arms were freezing cold but I didn’t think much differently about it. After all, he was wearing a t-shirt. It was his problem.

The man suspended me in the air and I felt us moving at an incline, over the snow bank and toward my house. I knew we had reached the cottage once my eyelids were filled with an orange and reddish tinted light. I wanted to open my eyes and look at the man holding me but it was too much effort.

My body dipped as the man’s hand around my torso bent to grasp the handle. He jiggled it a few times before the door creaked open. He moved inside and quickly shut the door with his backside.

I felt him walk to my right, toward the fireplace. The man set me down in my father’s large cushioned chair, dropping me gently. Then I heard him march around the house, opening cupboards and trunks, just to slam them shut. Then his boots stomped back to me and stopped.

Silence ensued for a few moments. Those few moments turned into minutes. Once again, I asked my brain in desperation to at least let me peek through my lashes. My nerves agreed and my eyes flickered open, seeing the man’s back as he leaned over the fire place. I watched silently as he struck one match after another (a small pile was gathering on his right side) until finally, a tiny flame caught hold and glowed. Then he reached forward and placed it into the pit gently, the fire catching onto the other logs of wood. Then he got up and stared at me with his head cocked to one side. I don’t think he saw that my eyes were open as he left from my sight and went into the kitchen, banging some pots and pans around. Another cupboard slammed and I heard him move to the sink.

The water’s frozen, I thought, as no sounds of the liquid came rushing out. The man shut off the sink and moved back into my view with an empty pot. He stuck it into the fire and stretched his hand out, touching the pot.

What I saw happen next was absurd. There was no way I was in the right frame of mind. I thought I saw water gush from his hand and into the pot. I know that that pot was empty before he stuck it into the fire. My mind had to be playing tricks on me.

He stood there for a moment, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans before he turned around and knelt down at my feet. What was he doing?

The man’s hands reached forward and began to unzip my boots from my feet. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that but I really didn’t have much of a choice to stop him. He yanked off my right boot and peeled off my wet sock. Then he repeated the procedure with my left foot. When his fingertips brushed my ankle, I felt a shock of cold go through my leg. I looked down at his hands and saw that, in fact, his skin was blue.

He got up and grabbed the pot of boiling water with his bare hands. The man set it down in front of my feet before grasping my legs and gently dropping them into the water. I squinted my face at the initial sting it gave but soon, I found myself relaxing a bit, grateful for the feeling it was bringing back into my legs. My eyes grew heavy once more but I forced them to do the opposite of closing. I blinked, doing my best to keep them open. I felt like my senses were starting to come back to me. If anything, I was not going to fall asleep and trust that this stranger wouldn’t hurt me.

As if the man felt my gaze, he looked up suddenly, his black eyes locking with mine. Then, he gave me a smile. It seemed to soften out his strong jaw line, or rather, his blue jaw line. He reached around the chair and grabbed a blanket from the knitting basket next to me. Then he set it down next to him before he sat up on his knees. I watched as his mouth moved but no sound came out. Was it my ears? Was I deaf?

The man hesitated, looking at me before scowling. He stood up and looked around the room. Then he marched off toward my left, toward the hallway and bedrooms. I heard one of the doors open and a muffled sound like papers being sorted coming from within. Then he reemerged with a blank piece of paper and a pencil in his hand. Then he scribbled something across it before shoving it into my face. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to what the cursive handwriting said.

You’re going to be okay. That’s all it said. I looked up at him and frowned. He could potentially be a serial killer and he’s telling me that? I didn’t buy it. I ran my tongue over my lips. So many questions were running around silly in my head. But I was beginning to fall asleep.

Stay awake, I thought to myself but I knew it was hopeless. I was losing the battle. The water around my ankles wasn’t helping in my attempts, either. I flicked my gaze back to the man in front of me. He tilted his head before scratching the parchment again. Then he held it in my face.

Go to sleep. I’ll protect you. I’ll explain everything in the morning. The man smiled again and reached out hesitantly before touching his cold hand to my still-soaked hair. Then he leaned forward and gently placed his purple lips to my forehead. Confusion broke across my face. Why did he do that? I didn’t know him, did I? There was only one guy who ever kissed me like that. In fact, there was only one guy who ever kissed me. His name was Josh Pentin. It was back in my sophomore year of high school. I remember that he used to call me sunshine because I was always complaining when the sun disappeared or when I was cold. But I had forgotten about all of that. I thought he had moved away to another country, like Iceland or something because his mom became deathly ill and there was a doctor who lived there that claimed he could heal her if they came to him.

Besides, Josh didn’t have blue skin, I thought as I gave a huge yawn. My eyes were squinting now, barely staying awake. I saw the man write something once more on the paper and held it in front of me, nudging my shoulder carefully. Through my eyelashes, I barely made out the words. Then I gasped. It didn’t… he couldn’t be… no, I had to be wrong. It was just a coincidence. I was too tired, anyways. But then again, maybe, just maybe… I felt myself slipping out of consciousness and yet, I desperately wished to know the meaning of his words. As my eyes closed permanently for the night, the words rushed over and over again, taunting me, trying to force me to put all the pieces together.

You’ll understand when the sun shines.