Everlasting Snow: Epilogue

Hmm?

Oh, hello!

I didn’t see you standing there.

What’s up?

…Quiet one, ain’tcha?

You seem like a good listener, though.

I could use a listener.

Say, would you like to hear a story? It’s a love story. But I promise it’s not a drag. It has noble heroes, a complex villain fighting them for all the goodness and light in the world, with twists and turns at every corner and stuff. Trust me, it’ll really tug at the heartstrings, play with your emotions on all ends of the spectrum. That is, if I can tell it right…

Yes? You would?

Awright!

Go on, take a seat. Get comfortable. It’s a pretty long tale.

There ya go.

Oh hey, what’s your name? C’mon, don’t be shy.

Heh, I like it.

So, this story is about the love between the eternal spirit of winter and a mortal human being, like you, and the trials and tribulations that they went throu—

My name?

Who am I, looking the way I do, with the ice on my clothes and this odd wooden stick?

Hold your horses, chatty Cathy. We’re getting to that.

Now, where was I?

Ah, yeah.

And the trials and tribulations that befell them.

Hmm, what’s the best way to tell this…

Hey, do you have a good imagination?

Fantastic!

I’ll tell it like that, then.

It’ll make it more personal. For you, I mean. Easier to get lost in the story.

In my opinion, at least.

Good therapy for me, too, other than just simply telling the fable to someone. It lets me live in their mind…

Who, you ask?

Someone very near and dear to my heart.

No, they aren’t around anymore. No longer with us. Just recently, in fact…

Haha, don’t worry about it! They live on up in here, forever immortalized in my memories. “Everlasting,” is a good word.

I’m going to put you in their spot in the story. Sound good?

Excellent.

So, get this.

It’s the beginning of winter, the air outside cold and crisp. But you’re inside, the walls of your house separating you from the elements. You’ve just lit a fire, one of your many books in your hand…

Fine, fine. Since you’re being so persistent about it. Man, once you start talking, you really don’t stop until your questions are answered, do ya? Thank goodness you still seem like a good listener. And I think we could be great friends. Promise no more interruptions? I really, really do swear that it’s a good story. You won’t want to interject, save maybe a sniffle or laugh here and there. I’ll answer your questions so they aren’t floating around in that head of yours and taking from the story. All right?

Okay then.

Yes, the same one I hold so close to my heart is the same one in this tale, whose spot I have put you in for the sake of storytelling. Their name was…

And then there’s me.

My name is Jack Frost.

And this…

This is my story.