Like A Snowflake

I was staring up into the sky when the first snowflake fell and I watched it in a kind of wonder. Slowly it drifted it’s way down and it landed somewhere on my far left but I could not see through the grass that had become my home to watch the fate of that single snowflake. As I continued to stare up at the sky I saw more snowflakes start to form and fall to the ground. As some landed near me I could see their struggle for existence before they melted into the floor never to be seen again. More snowflakes were falling now and with more speed and slowly but surely white patches were forming on the ground where it was beginning to settle. Nothing could beat the beauty of watching the falling snow winning its right to exist around me.

As the first one touched my naked skin all I could do was watch as it melted slowly and slid down my leg and into the floor below. I could not remember why I was naked in the first place or even how I had got to be lying on the grass and staring at the night sky. Maybe it was some dream because in all honesty I could not think of a more perfect place to be right now.

The snow was falling thick and fast now and more of it was settling around me and even on me. Bven so I did not want to move from where I was and somehow cause a disturbance to it. I knew that I should be cold but this was not the case. In fact I found my covering of snow to be as comforting as a warm duvet on a cold night. I just wanted to close my eyes to go to sleep in this whole feeling of comfort and protection.

I didn’t though and just stared ever skywards to watch the falling snow as it built up everywhere and formed the perfect blanket around the scene. I did not even close my eyes when the snow began to cover my face and I could barely see the sky. I still found the whole thing a comforting experience and I did not feel the urge to move.

–

The next day Alan was out walking his dog and admiring the beauty of the scene around him. No children had been out yet and so the snow lay undisturbed and shone a bright white of purity. He looked behind him and saw that only his footprints dented the drifts that have appeared overnight. The whole visual appearance of the morning filled him with delight that he had not had in several years.

Well, that was until he walked around the corner and noticed his dog barking.

”What have you got there boy?” Alan asked as a noticed that dog had something in his mouth.

Obediently the dog dropped the item that its feet and sat waiting for Alan to inspect it. As Alan approached the dog he saw that it had dropped what appeared to be a child’s trainer. As he bent to pick it up he noticed that one thing that you never wanted to see on anything belonging to a child and that was blood.

”Where did you get this?” he asked the dog as if he was going to get a straight answer to his question.

Not surprisingly the dog just looked at him blankly before looking back at the shoe.

”Yes Sebastian,” Alan said encouragingly, “this shoe… Show me where you found this shoe.” Sebastian picked up the shoe and took his owner to a spot not far from where they stood and wagged its tail. Alan patted the dog on his head as a congratulations but his hand stopped mid-movement as he spotted the foot sticking out from the snow.

He had always read about the people who discovered bodies while they were out walking their dog but he never expected to be one of them. Of course Alan knew better than to try and uncover what lay beneath the snow but it was with shaking hands that he dug out his mobile phone and dialed the police.

Alan stayed near the body until the police came because, as strange as this may seem, he did not want the victim to feel alone any more. And so he stayed and was a witness as the snow was cleared away to reveal a young girl who was, to all intents and purposes, naked and staring blankly skywards. She had been badly beaten and it looked as though she had been strangled.

It was with a heavy heart that Alan returned home and hugged his wife and his own daughter who was about the same age as the girl he had just found. He had never been as happy to see his daughter as much as he was at that moment in time. Alan was pleased that she was not frozen forever in time like the girl he had just seen.

–

Like the snowflakes that had fallen I had lost my struggle for existence.