Page 10 of When the Snowman Whispered
“It makes dreams come true. What do you want?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well you should think about that while you’re wearing it and you’ll get your wishes.”
“Mom, someone was talking to me outside. I was making my last snow creature today. Rose asked me what I would name him, and then the voice said Remy.”
“I wonder why the voice would pick a French name.”
“Could we focus on the crazy and less on the origin of names?”
“Nothing sounds crazy to me yet.”
Maybe, I should’ve called someone else.
I continued, “When the girls surprised attacked me with snow balls, the voice told me to watch out.”
“Interesting.”
“And then later, when Brett came by, the voice kept saying, ‘Go away.’”
“Personally, I’m liking this voice.”
I sighed. “But, Mom, do you think I’m going crazy?”
“No, baby, you’re just finally opening your ears and really listening to the world around you.”
“What?”
“The bag helps you wake up too.”
“Wake up? I thought it made your dreams come true?”
“It does, by waking you up from the nightmare.” Chatter came from her end. “Okay, baby, I have to go. Daniel just finished and I promised to fix him some hot chocolate and a nice slice of my special pie.”
My stomach turned at the mention of that pie. Mom thought she could cook. Everyone else avoided her food like it was a bill collector.
“Mom, you don’t think I’m going crazy?”
“Baby, you’ve always been a little crazy. I love you and will talk to you later.” She hung up the phone.
Chapter 3
Faith
N
ight came.
There were no more voices. Not in the house or when I walked outside. Just silence. A gloomy quiet swallowing the sun.
Soon my recollection of earlier today fogged into doubts. Maybe, I’d never heard anything at all. Perhaps, I’d been so stressed out that I’d made it all up in my head.
There was no voice.
That night, I sat on a pile of blankets and pillows sipping a glass of wine and verging on the edge of drunkenness. A hollow ache wormed through my core.
The once cold, blue sky had transformed into a jet-black ocean, engulfing the land in a canopy of shimmering stars to illuminate the dark, moonless night. Closer to my house, shadows glistened, mirroring the stars. Faint wind brushed and ruffled the stillness of the snow.
