Hidden [Jack Frost]

Chapter 17

        The day was overcast, grey, and wet with rain. An unusual chill for mid-spring had settled in early that morning, producing a fog through the streets from the contrast of yesterdays temperatures. He watched from a window overhead the pathway outside, hood drawn up and standing halfway in the shadows. Watching as the cars pulled up one-by-one people began to slowly fill in, greeting each other, but not in complete happiness on the occasion.

        "Jack." It came from the shadows of the crows nest as the young man's head turned to meet Bunnymund's solemn greeting.

        "Hey, Bunny," he answered glumly.

        "We're all here," Tooth gave a small smile. "Though... I wish it was under better circumstances..."

        "Don't we all," North sighed. Sandy nodded with a frown upon his face.

        The organ in the small church droned on with dreary tunes, something that Jack was becoming increasingly irritated by. This was not how he wished for her to be remembered as. There was life, more so than the darkness that had crept into the last few months of existence. Why couldn't they focus on the happy memories?

        In memoriam, there were countless faces the spirits recognized over the years. Children, adults, and seniors filled the pews as the casket was rolled down the aisle, Jamie at the front with swollen eyes. From their perch they could easily see the body inside.

        Ally, now a young woman, dressed in her favorite red dress, holding a bouquet of flowers to her chest, with others surrounding the body. But the hair was fake, even if it did nearly match its once color. Jack didn't have a clue as to what they did to make her look so healthy, but it was a refreshing sight from the pale, gaunt look that had plagued the young woman as time went on.

        Her last days of life weren't something Jack liked to remember. He was unable to get close to Ally, with his freezing temperatures, afraid to only make her condition worsen with a sickness. A low immune system definitely took its toll on her body. It was the first year the frost spirit didn't come to town and give them a proper winter, hoping the warmer weather would do well for Ally. Bunnymund said she was grateful to him for that. And as sad as everything was, the situation, in a way, had brought the two of them closer together. He wasn't able to visit her, the Guardians sure to visit, but it was the Pooka, who was often there in his absence. In the end he wasn't able to say good-bye.

        But why did Ally have to die so young?

        Countless people came up to the alter to speak of their friend, babysitter, and daughter. It was heartbreaking watching the woman's father try to hold it together, but what really got Jack was Jamie's eulogy.

        "I've known Ally," he laughed lightly, "before I could remember anything actually. She was my babysitter when Sophie was just a baby. And she would always tell us legends of mythical beings like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman... and Jack Frost. As kids, parents are supposed to introduce you to such tales, but Ally... Well, to her they were real. And we thought so to. She was the reason I became so interested in them as a kid, why I was constantly searching for them, and still believe in them today. Even when we did grow up, she was still our best friend. And when we started having families of our own... she was always there." The young man took a shuddering breath. "Cancer robbed her from all of us, but her memory will live on in everyone. That I am sure of. We'll all miss her, but I'm glad she's no longer suffering. Ally has gone on to a better place. We'll all see her again some day."

        The ride to the graveyard was slow as a procession of cars made their way down the road with a police car as their escort. Through the town and to the other side, Jack was amazed that those they passed by paused before staring at the hearse with a saddened expression. Everyone seemed to be aware of the woman's passing, paying their own silent respects. Sighing, the spirit sat back beside the coffin, knees pulled into his chest out of comfort. The space was small, but he wouldn't have it any other way wishing to stay by the woman's side as long as possible until the last moment. The others had filed into the remaining room in various cars belonging to Claude, Cupcake, Pippa, and Sophie.

        There were people even waiting at the cemetery around the hole in the ground as they set up the wooden box to be lowered in. Jack couldn't see her face, palm resting against the surface in anguish as the priest continued on with his last rites. And then it began lowering into the darkness and one by one people approached the edge to toss a flower inside as he slipped towards the back. A smaller number remained behind as the workers shifted the dirt back into place and then all they could see was a fresh patch of dirt staring back up at them. Claude and Caleb were the first to leave for the banquet hall, where close friends and family would gather before the evening concluded. And then Pippa and Monty, soon followed by Cupcake. Sophie sobbed as her fiancé led her away, Bunnymund clasping her shoulder reassuringly as they passed, for which she was grateful.

        Then there was only Jamie. His wife led their children back towards the car to allow him some time alone. This was when the Guardians approached. They spoke in quiet tones, much of which Jack did not pay attention to, staring at the tombstone lost. Bidding goodbye to return to their various duties, the young man sighed, stepping up so they were right beside each other. There were tears streaming down Jamie's cheeks. "You did everything you could, you know that, right?" the spirit asked.

        "I was about to say the same thing to you," he answered thickly. "But we're still thinking, 'what else could I have done to make her stay'?" How right he was. "Is she a Guardian?" They had had many long talks on the matter when realizing there was no hope in Ally becoming well again, and that offered some light to those who still believed in their existence.

        "North believes it will happen... but we have yet to find her." They stood there for a moment in silence before the voice of Jamie's wife called out to him.

        "Promise you'll find her, Jack."

        And a newfound determination set within him. "I will."