Thawed

Chapter 3

The snowflakes fell from the heavens like the feathers of fallen angels. The castle of ice stood before Icelyn, beckoning for her to step inside. The gate to the entrance was lifted, prongs pointing down to the ground like teeth. Through the mount of the structure she could hear the chorus of moans. Above she could see their hands, reaching down towards her, begging to be saved. The entry way seemed to smile as she inched forwards. If she had been anyone else, she would have been scared. But she was like the ice the castle was sculpted from; frozen and numb. Then lightning flashed, boomeranging across the sky and bringing Icelyn’s attention to the balcony above. A man stood, hands on the railing, peering down at her. But he was only a shadow.

Icelyn woke in her bed. Her snowflake comforter was kicked off in her sleep and pooled at her feet. She had the same comforter for as long as she remembered, never seeing a reason to get rid of it.

It was a Saturday and Icelyn’s long day at Maxine’s Clothing. She opened and closed on Saturdays, taking a few hours off partway through the day as a way around child labor laws.

She didn’t mind. In fact, Icelyn was the one who insisted. On the surface her mom and her were able to keep up the appearance that they were financially stable. The truth was, they were on the verge of losing their home. So Icelyn worked long hours on the weekend and closed up shop Tuesday through Thursday nights.

She was there so often, and management thought she was the model employee, so they promoted her to assistant manager just last month. It was unusual to have a high school student in management. Usually someone who had been there for as long as Cathy, who had been slaving away at the store for two years, would have made manager over a teenager who started just that summer.

Icelyn stuffed her ice-blue, pail purple, and pink tie-dye messenger bag with her Calculous and Chemistry books. Her mom had already gone off to work, leaving Icelyn a quick I love you note and snacks. Only she drew out an eye with long curly lashes, an anatomically correct diagram of a heart, and a unicorn which was missing an eye. She probably worked on it the majority of the morning. Icelyn could just picture her mother sitting at the table, giggling about her creative genius. She tucked the paper in the front pocket of her messenger bag.

She splashed the gulp size of pulp-free orange juice down her throat. Took a bite out of the green apple, and through the granola bar in her pocket. They only had one vehicle- the Ford Explorer, and her mom had it for work. Icelyn would do what she always did, walk. The shop wasn’t far from the cabin. It was about a mile, thirty minute walk, up the road. She wore her winter coat this time. It was white and puffy with fur in the hood. She was pretty sure she looked like the abominable snowman. At least winter was only once a year. IN summer there were less layers to remember to wear. She didn’t need to worry about thick gloves, hats, scarves, or getting frost bite on the tips of her ears. It was the only season that made sense.

Cathy was already waiting outside the glass doors when Icelyn arrived. Her curly blond hair was pushed back by a thick black headband that covered her ears. She leaned against the brick siding, her black pea coat shielding her from the wind. She kicked her black Uggs, which were stained white on the tips from salt on the sidewalk, into the snow. Icelyn couldn’t help but think she was the prepiest Goth in all of Macedon.

A smug smirk played on Cathy’s lips as Icelyn approached. She lifted her pudgy chin, expecting a pat on the head for getting there before the assistant manager. What a good little pet.