Snow tipped pines

when it happened

All I could hear was the sound of my boots sinking into the snow. If I concentrated, I could perceive the feeble beating of my heart and my almost non-existent breaths. My mind was whirling with confused, half formed thoughts, and black spots constantly took over my vision. After a second, I noticed the cold seeping through the material of my pants and realized I had fallen to my knees. I stayed there, slumped, for who knows how long. It could’ve been hours, or minutes before I finally had the will to move. The pain had long ago disappeared, the cold numbing my skin to the point of not feeling anything anymore. I should care more, I thought. I should care more that I was going to die. But all I did was stand up slowly with jerky movements. I forced my feet forward, my head bowed. It had stopped snowing, but the icy wind hadn’t let up. I let it push me slightly forward, but I staggered and fell again, this time with my face pressed into the snow. My mind was foggy, but I managed to conclude a single thought: this is it. This is where I die. I didn’t even have the energy to turn over as I lay there, the snow suffocating me. My eyes were closed tightly, unwilling to let the snow blind me, even in my current predicament. After a few seconds, I realized I was able to breathe again, and I slowly became aware of a buzzing sound. It took me a while to come to the conclusion that there were voices surrounding me. No, not voices. One voice. “Do you wish to live?” the words pierced through my foggy mind, clear as the sound of a bell. It was a beautiful voice, smooth and melodious. To my surprise, my mouth managed to open with my command and I took a sharp breath. “Yes.” I hissed out, the cold seemingly choking me. “Lift your hand, and take this ring. It is a gift from God.” My mind immediately scrabbled to obey his voice, not minding that I didn’t believe in God. It seemed to take an enormous amount of strength to lift my arm, but I did. I felt cold fingers, even colder than mine; drop something lightly on my hand. My eyes flew open with shock at the temperature of the ring. Even here, almost buried in snow, my hands unfeeling and numb, the small band was freezing. I felt the owner of the voice get closer to me, as I felt his breath fan over my ear. “Sleep now, little boy. I with you luck.” And slowly, the world went dark.