Snowballing 
 

      It was snowing as Elizabeth walked back to her home, seven years old, in a pink coat, bewildered. She opened the screen door and walked past her mother who saw the dazed expression on her daughter’s face.

      “Lizzy? What’s the matter?” She knelt down and stared into Elizabeth’s eyes. Elizabeth shook her head, confused.

      “What’s the matter baby? Where’s Charlie? Did he hit you with a snowball again?” 

      Elizabeth’s eyes widened. Charlie, she thought. “Charlie’s gone.” She stared back at her mother.

      “Where did he go?”

      Elizabeth stared at the snow falling lightly outside, ignoring the worry in her mother’s voice. “Lizzy, where is Charlie?”

      She called for her husband, “John, go look for Charlie, will you? Something’s wrong with Lizzy.” He grabbed his jacket and went outside.

       “Elizabeth, please tell me where Charlie is.”

      “Someone…he’s gone.” She didn’t know what else to say.  

      “Did someone take Charlie?” Her mother grasped her arms and shouted, “Did someone take Charlie?”

      Elizabeth nodded and her mother jumped up, running for the door. Elizabeth sat down on the kitchen floor and stared at the tiles. She tried to remember Charlie’s face and cried. She already knew that she would never see him again. 

~~~~~~~~

      Elizabeth gripped the steering wheel. She was twenty-six and worked at an outdoor magazine. She brusher her hair out her eyes and tried to read the road signs.

      “Why am I doing this?” She said aloud, making the turn into the ski lodge lot.

      Her brother had disappeared years ago but she was still wary of the snow and ice that had always been part of her childhood, something she had worked hard to forget. She had moved away from home as soon as possible and had gone to college on the west coast. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, hands shaking ever so slightly as she retrieved her bags from the trunk.

      She walked into the lodge and checked in, then approached her editor who was sitting in the lobby reading a copy of their magazine, Outdoor Living. Her family had been extremely surprised when she took the job, but until now she had avoided any articles involving snow.

      Her editor, Joe, greeted her, “I’m so glad you came, I really think this will be good for you and help you move up in the magazine world.” He winked and sent her off to her room.

      Most of the magazine staff had come up for the weekend for a ski trip and to work on a spread about winter sports. She had come to spend time getting to know the other writers and get friendly with the editors and senior correspondents of the magazine. .

      She stepped into her dark room and put her large blue suitcase on the queen size bed. Opening the suitcase, she gazed at all the new clothes with the tags still on. She had bought a whole snow wardrobe for this trip. While unpacking she kept gazing out the window. It had been snowing steadily since her arrival and she was starting to feel uneasy. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes; she was seven again with her older brother making a snowman. He stuck in the carrot nose and flashed her a toothy grin. She opened her eyes and rushed over to close the curtains. She’d never had flashbacks or daydreams of Charlie before.

      She quickly finished unpacking and went back down to the lobby. Some of her other co-workers had just arrived and she walked over to greet them. They stood chatting as Joe approached.

      “Here’s the plan people, we’ll all meet for dinner around 6, hopefully everyone will be here by then, then tomorrow we’ll meet at 8 outside and go from there.”

      He pulled Elizabeth aside, “Hey, I need someone to interview one of the ski instructors, you up for it?”

      She nodded vigorously and he patted her on the shoulder. “Good girl! See you at dinner.”

      Joe walked away, leaving her standing idly in the lobby. She glanced around and noticed a man standing with his back to her. Even from behind he seemed strangely familiar. He looked over his shoulder and she turned away quickly, an image of her brother Charlie jumping into her minds eye. She looked back and the man had gone.

      A second later her attention was drawn to another man walking through the door. He was a freelance writer that often wrote for the magazine.

      He approached Elizabeth and smiled, “Hi, I’m Rob, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

      He offered his hand and she shook it, smiling.

      “I’m Elizabeth, I work for Joe.”

      Rob smiled and nodded. Elizabeth grinned; she tried to pin who Rob reminded her of. It was a tie between Matthew McConaughey and Brad Pitt.

      “I’ll see you at dinner?”

      She nodded wordlessly and he smiled again then went to check in.

      Elizabeth hummed as she walked over to the elevator. There was music playing in the elevator and she tried to decipher the words. “The fire is slowly dying and, my dear, we're still goodbying so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!” She closed her eyes as her mind filled with her brother, packing a snowball with his thick wool mittens, laughing and waving, then disappearing in a flurry of snow.

      Her eyes snapped open as the elevator dinged. She shook her head, trying to clear the image from her mind. The doors opened and her heart jumped. A man stood inches away in the hallway outside the elevator doors. He had sunken eyes and a thin nose. He stared coldly at Elizabeth as she pushed past him and ran to her room. She rushed in and slammed the door. She watched him from the peephole in the door as he stood momentarily in front of the elevator staring down the hall then walked past her door to the stairs.

      She sat on her bed curled up in a ball and turned on the TV while trying to calm down. She often thought of Charlie, but never of their last day together. She surfed through the channels thinking of the creepy man outside of the elevator.

      Somewhere a phone rang. She wished that someone would answer it. It took her a few more rings to realize there was a phone in her room and that it was ringing. She answered.

       Joe was on the other end, “Where are you? We’re having dinner. Did you forget?”

       She apologized and checked the clock.

      Rushing rushed down to meet them; she was flagged over by Rob and Joe. They had saved her a seat between them.

       As she sat down Rob leaned over, “Where were you?”

      She lied, “ I was taking a nap.”

      She reached out for her glass of water. As she drank she looked around the restaurant and choked. The creepy man was sitting alone at a table on the other side of the room. He was chewing with his mouth open, glaring at her table. Their eyes met and she nearly dropped her glass. Rob caught it and Joe looked at her concerned.  Her hands were shaking and sweat had broken out on her forehead. The image of Charlie disappearing in the snow clouded her eyes. She pressed her wrists to her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

      Joe touched her shoulder, “Elizabeth, are you all right?” She looked at the creepy man’s empty table and nodded slowly.

      The next morning Elizabeth held up her hand to block out the glare of the snow as she walked up to the ski lift. After dinner last night, she had lain for hours looking out her window. She had been surprised by how peaceful she felt, watching the snow drift through the dark and land gently upon the ground. At one point she thought she had seen a figure standing outside staring up at her window, but when she looked back it was gone. Even now as she sat down on the lift she wondered if she had actually seen anything at all or if it had been a trick of the light on the snow.

      She cleared her mind of those thoughts and stared at the ground below kicking her legs and feeling like a child again. She smiled softly, remembering the first time she had ever gone skiing. She had ridden the lift with her brother and he had kept his arm around her the whole time because she was afraid she would fall out. She looked down again and realized there was no one up there to help her now. She glanced around, looking for the end of the lift. She gripped the bar in front of her and closed her eyes.

      When she got off the lift she stood nervously next to one of the life operators. He regarded her curiously then turned back to the other skiers. Taking a deep breath, she turned away from him and prepared to ski down the mountain. Snow flew up around her and fell down from the sky covering her with a thin layer of frost. Flying down the mountain, she relaxed and took in her surroundings.

      A few skiers whizzed by but she couldn’t help but notice one coming down very slowly. She recognized him even before he passed, with his pale face and sunken eyes. He nearly slowed to a halt as he passed her, eyes fixed upon her face. He looked worse than he had the night before. Stubble covered much of the lower half of his face and his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. His lips curled into a sneer as he turned and disappeared down the mountain.

      Elizabeth slowed to a halt at the bottom of the slope and looked around quickly for the creepy man. As she stood scanning the slope Rob slid up next to her.

      “ Who are you looking for?” He looked at her curiously.

      “I’m looking for a guy I saw yesterday outside of the elevator. He was just standing there, right outside the doors in the hallway. I just saw him come down here.” Her voice trailed off as she strained her eyes against the falling snow.

      “That sounds really creepy. Maybe you shouldn’t-“

      “There! There he is, do you see him?” She pointed at the creepy man as he walked up towards the ski lifts.

      Rob squinted towards the lodge, “I don’t see anyone…”

      “He’s wearing the red vest and the black beanie! He’s there!”

      She looked imploringly at Rob who shook his head. She glanced back at the stairs but the man was gone.

      “Shoot! He was there a second ago. He must have gone…somewhere.”

      “Elizabeth, maybe we should go inside.” was staring at her worried. She stared back at him then sighed and allowed him to lead her back inside the lodge. They went into the café and he bought her some hot cocoa. Sitting in silence, she sipped her cocoa and avoided Rob’s concerned gaze.

      “Elizabeth, I-“

      “I saw him, okay? I’m not crazy.”

      Rob sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think you’re crazy, maybe you just need some sleep or something.”

      “Yeah, maybe I’ll go sleep.”

      She put down her cocoa and began to walk towards the elevator. She slid through the lobby then tripped and ran into a man. He caught her arms and roughly pushed her away. Their eyes met and she nearly had a heart attack. His eyes were bloodshot and glazed. His eyebrow was twitching and his lips were pulled back in a snarl. She saw his teeth, they were crooked and yellow. Wheeling around she howled in fear and fell to the floor, blacking out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Lizzy sat in a pile of snow next to a smiling lawn ornament. He had on a red hat, green shirt, and little yellow shoes. She called him ‘Hairy” because he had a bushy beard. She was waiting for Charlie, who had said they were going to make a snowman. Charlie was getting a hat and scarf and Lizzy was supposed to be designing their snowman, but she didn’t have any paper.

      Finally, Charlie came out of the house and they began to walk down to the river where there was enough snow to make a snowman. They walked hand in hand, giggling and talking about what they wanted for Christmas. Lizzy glanced back at their snow-covered house and noticed a red streak across the snow.

      “Charlie! You dropped the scarf!”

      She let go of his hand and rushed back to retrieve the fallen scarf. She held it up and waved it at him as he walked backward toward the river. He smiled and waved back. Then out of nowhere a man appeared and grabbed Charlie, who seemed to struggle for a moment before being whisked away. Lizzy rushed over to where Charlie had been standing. He was gone. She spun around looking in all directions, breathing hard. She looked down at the thin layer of ice where he had stood moments before. All that remained was the snowman’s hat. The falling snow had covered Charlie’s footprints.   
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Elizabeth’s eyes snapped open as she gasped for air. She lay in Rob’s arms on the lobby floor, while a woman knelt over her, smelling salts in hand.

      “Miss…miss, are you alright?” She had a thick accent, maybe European. Elizabeth slowly met her worried gaze then, nodded like a bewildered child.

      “I’ll help her back to her room.” Rob stood, helping her to her feet. He took her arm and began to lead her back to the room.

      Rob spoke anxiously, “What happened in there? Why did you fall down?”

      “Charlie.” Elizabeth whispered softly. She looked frantically around the room for the creepy man.

      “What?” Rob looked on with curiosity. “What did you say?”

      Elizabeth spun around and stared at him. “Charlie…my brother. He’s gone.” She grabbed his shirt and cried out, “Charlie’s gone! What will I do?  He’s gone!” She let go of Rob’s shirt and ran away.

      Racing from the lodge into the snow, she cried out Charlie’s name. Her sneakers sunk down towards the solid earth and she struggled to move forward. Breath sprang from her chest in quick bursts of steam. She stumbled, catching herself with her bare hands, the snow enveloping her arms up to the elbow. Sweat dripped from her forehead onto the snow inches from her face. Panicking, she leaned back onto her knees and looked down at the holes in the snow that had held her arms.

      Something moved out of the corner of her eye. She looked over, startled, and cried out in fear. The creepy man hurried towards her, his face obscured by the falling snow. She lurched up off her knees and turned to run, breathing hard. Her heart felt like it was going to explode.

      Running back toward the lodge she glanced over her shoulder. He was closer now and she could see his face. It was completely emotionless, which frightened her more than if he had looked angry. She tried to scream for help but her throat tightened and she stumbled forward. She kept running gasping for breath, blinded by sweat and tears. Someone was yelling her name, but she kept running anyway.

      She passed the lodge and ran down towards the river behind it. Looking back again she saw that he was right behind her. She could almost feel his hot breath on her back. A moment later her feet flew out from underneath her. She landed hard on her back and had the wind knocked out of her. Laying on the bank of the stream she gasped for air. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

      He was standing a foot away staring down at her. His jaw was tight and his eyes bulged. She could hear his ragged breathing and saw his chest rise and fall like the pistons of a train. He had brown hair and black eyes. His lips pulled back into a grimace and he hissed her name.

      She cried out and tried to stand but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Screaming and sobbing, she thrashed about, pulling away from him. He let go of her arm and pushed her down onto the ground. She sat, holding herself and weeping. He spit on the ground next to her then crouched down and stared into her face.

      “Look at me, Elizabeth.” She shook her head. He grabbed her arm and she let out a wail.  He shook her hard and she jerked around limply like a rag doll. He held her arm tightly and pulled her forward. His hot rancid breath hit her face in waves as she clenched her eyes shut. Sobbing, she let her head drop back and tried to free herself of his grasp.

      He yanked her arm forward again and she cried out in pain. She covered her face with her other hand and bawled. He slapped her and she let out a shriek. She opened her eyes and stared at him.

      “Why are you doing this? Why won’t you leave me alone?” She looked at him, her eyes filled with hatred and pain.

      He let go of her arm and stood. He spoke slowly, “ I want you to know t he truth about Charlie.”

      Something clicked in her head and she was there on that snowy morning with Charlie outside of the house. He was holding her hand tightly and was whistling.

      She sang along, “Rudolf the red nosed rain deer, had a very sparkly nose…”

      “He had a shiny nose not sparkly, and that wasn’t what I was whistling. I was whistling “Frosty” because we’re going to make a snowman.” Charlie sighed annoyed, rolling his light brown eyes and letting go of her hand.

      Lizzy pulled the corners of her mouth down into a frown. “Why do you have to be such a meanie Charlie?”

      Her nose began to run and she reached up to wipe it with the back of her hand. She stopped a moment later and decided to take off the pink mittens their mother had knit for her first.  Sniffling and cold, she wiped her nose then began to put her mittens back on. She stood and watched Charlie spin around, catching snow in his outstretched hands. His mittens were blue and grey.

      Charlie stopped, dizzy, and turned to her. “Lizzy, you look really cold. Do you want my scarf?”

       He began to unwind the long red scarf from around his neck and held it out to her but she shook her head. Shrugging, he hung the scarf over his shoulder and gently patted her cool rosy cheeks. They grinned at each other then joined hands and began to walk down to the river. Lizzy sighed happily then glanced back at the house and saw a red streak across the snow.

      “Charlie! You dropped your scarf!”

      She let go of his hand and rushed back to retrieve the fallen scarf. She held it up and waved it at him as he walked backward toward the river. He smiled, waved back, and turned to continue walking.

      “Charlie! Charlie, wait for me!”

      Lizzy rushed down frantically after him, not wanting to be left behind. Charlie looked back over his shoulder laughing and began to run.

      “Stop! Charlie!” she whined, slowing down, unable to catch up with her fast older brother.

      Laughing, he continued to run, leaving the bank of the river and stepping out onto the ice. Lizzy heard a strange cracking sound and looked around for its source. She heard Charlie yelp and looked back at the river. The ice opened like a huge mouth with another crack and he disappeared, falling down into the frigid water.

      Lizzy gasped and ran over to the bank of the river, searching frantically for her older brother. There was no hole in the ice and no sign of Charlie. The snowman’s hat sat menacingly upon the ice. Lizzy stood alone and horrified. How could there not be a hole? Where had Charlie gone? She stepped closer to the ice the jumped back afraid to even try and step out. She felt her throat growing tight and fear gasp her stomach. Her brother had been stolen away by the ice without a word. Where there should have been a hole, there was only ice and snow. Where her brother should have stood warm and alive, there was only cold dead earth.

      Elizabeth opened her eyes, her mouth going slack. The creepy man was gone, of course now she knew now that he had never been there at all. All those years, all that guilt and fear building up inside. Ice had taken Charlie, not a man. She had hid it away for so long, lying to everyone including herself. She whispered her brother’s name softly and dug her hands into the snow. S he tried to stand, only to fall upon the ice of the river.  She looked down at the solid slab of glassy frost beneath her, staring at her reflection, which was veiled by a thin layer of snow.

      It was then she realized what should have happened. The falling snow had erased Charlie and it was time that she, little Lizzy, joined him like she should have so many years ago. She lay on her back on the banks of the river and felt the snow falling softly upon her.

       Eyes open, she looked up at the pale colorless sky and watched the snow fall down towards her like feathers falling from a bird. She didn’t feel cold or frightened anymore, she didn’t feel anything at all. The snow began to sap the warmth from her body as her heart slowed. Her eyes wavered as things began to go black.

      She strained to see past the snow and saw a solitary man wearing a red scarf standing on the other side of the river.  His light brown eyes met Elizabeth’s and he smiled softly. Someone shouted her name and the man put a finger to his smiling lips. She smiled and closed her eyes as he turned and began to walk away, his footsteps erased by the falling snow.