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Warm Woolen Mittens
Though it is sad, this is a very well written peice, again, written by Elyse.
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“I think his name was Evan, although you couldn’t hold me to it. We were both in fourth grade, both were obsessed with Superman and James Bond, and we lived to swim. He lived right across the street from me, and every day we’d get up as early as we could… race over to each other’s homes and watch cartoon reruns. We’d go outside and make up our own games, coast down the driveways of the neighborhoods in a homemade roller coaster, try and see how much mud we could get on us during mudsliding in the ravine behind his house. It was true puppy love at the finest.
Those sweltering summer days held so much promise, so much happiness, there was love and joy. Now, looking back, I wish I had more days like those. When the only thing that mattered was how you would fit lunch in between planned meetings with the neighbors to play capture-the-flag and bike races down the hill. When worries were as common as a rainy day.
But the thing I remember the most was the ice cream man. He’d come every day, at exactly 6:38. Of course, we lived in a large neighborhood so we could hear the ringing music echo off every house for almost a half an hour before he got to our stop. It was like torture, but even those long moments were filled with laughing. Evan and I would argue over which popsicle was better, red or blue. We’d try and figure out exactly how much money we’d have left over to spend on bubble gum as the small truck rounded the corner. And then it was there, and we’d place our orders. The ice cream man even knew us by name.
It didn’t matter what we said we’d order, it always ended up the same, a firecracker popsicle for Evan, and a Spiderman one for me. We’d sit back down on the curb slurping the ice cream while trying to savor each and every last drop. Of course, it always seemed that there was more popsicle on the curb and on our hands than had made it to our mouths, but it didn’t matter to us. That was our life.
I remember wishing that the ice cream would hurry up. Why couldn’t he start with our street, and then work his way to the other areas? We had to stand in the sun, the scorching sun while he took his time getting to us. I remember feeling like that if he didn’t come I would die of heat, that ice cream was the only way to save me from melting under the intense rays. I wanted to be cool. I wanted to shiver, to feel like I wasn’t burning in the 100 degree weather.
I can safely say I probably will never feel that way again. Not after this,” Sydney said. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall for a second.
“Sydney, are you there still?” Vaughn’s worried voice came blasting in my ear.
“Yeah… sorry… just drifting off…” she answered tiredly, her eyes straining to stay open.
“Don’t drift off, you have to stay awake. Why don’t you do something, anything,” Vaughn replied. She could hear the panic in his voice. She wished she could be there, smoothing away the lines of worry she's sure were abundant on his forehead. She could almost hear them.
“What am I going to do? I’m locked in a meat locker smaller than my bathroom. There sure isn’t a hell of a lot of options here,” she growled back, letting her emotions shine clear. She was not happy about the situation.
“I know, I know Sydney. We’re trying everything here, but you have to do something… you can’t sleep, you have to be active. Otherwise your heart rate will drop. And that’s never good. Tell me a story. Just keep talking,” his voice came, obviously ignoring the belligerence in her last statement.
Sydney sighed, giving in. “My mother, when I was little was obsessed with talk shows. She thought they were educational, so she made me watch them with her. Most of the stuff went over my head, but I do remember one episode, we were watching in early November. It was all about how to protect your children from hidden dangers. I only remember a few of the segments, but two stand out clearly in my mind. There was a child in Philadelphia, young, playing outside in the snow with her brothers and sisters. It was right before Christmas, and all the presents were hidden in her mother’s trunk. Being as they were young, they felt it the perfect opportunity to take a peak. The girl climbed in and started to look around, when one of her brother’s basketballs landed on the top of the trunk, and it slammed shut on her. They couldn’t find the keys, and her mother was out working. The girl Vaughn… she froze to death in that car.”
By now tiny icicles were streaming down Sydney’s face, burning the tender skin they crossed. “The other segment I remember was about a little boy. He lived in a rundown apartment complex, and he and a whole bunch of his friends were playing when they found an old discarded refrigerator. Seeing as they were boys, they decided to make it their play toy. I can’t remember what happened, but the boy ended up getting locked in it as well, and he died too. I remember thinking about how it would feel, to freeze to death.”
“Sydney, there are people within twenty minutes of the facility. We’ll get you and you’ll be fine.”
“Vaughn, they can’t get in without a proper identification card, and even if they did I hardly doubt they’d be here in time. I can’t feel my hands or feet Vaughn,” Sydney said desperately, suddenly aware of the truth.
“Move them in circles, try and move as much as you can. Just don’t stop moving. We’ll break the doors down if we have to, we will get you. You will be fine.”
“I can’t move them Vaughn. I’m so tired, and it hurts so much. It’s cold Vaughn. So cold.”
“I know Syd, but you’ll be okay in just a bit. When the CIA comes will get you a whole blankets and take you to a hospital. It’ll be warm there, and you can have warm food and warm drinks. You’ll be fine,” Vaughn said, his words beginning to become fuzzy as Sydney closed her eyes and laid her head on the frigid metal floor.
It felt good just to relax, not to be worried. To let go all of her fears and sit. She could still feel the cold, but it didn’t affect her. She was in her own world. She was going to be fine. Here in her world.
“SYDNEY!” Vaughn’s exclamation came, snapping her out of the warm world she had been in. His voice was raspy, as if he had been screaming for some time.
“Just for a little bit, please Vaughn. I’m tired… just… just let me sleep for a little bit… now. I just want… to sleep… it’s warm there. I want to go back… let me go back,” Sydney said incoherently.
“No Syd, you have to stay awake for just a little bit more. The team is only five minutes away. Once you’re to the hospital you can sleep for as long as you wish. Just stay awake right now. Please.”
“No Vaughn… I’m cold… so cold. You’ll never be… this… cold. It’s like… they’ve ripped out… your insides… your heart… and replaced it with… ice. So very cold,” Sydney replied, her voice soft, the words coming slowly.
“Sydney come on, just stay awake. Please… I just talked to the team, they can see the building.”
Sydney’s head went limp, her eyes closing as she muttered, “Sleep.”
The team found her that way, lying on the ground, eyes closed. Her face, the face of an angel a pale white, stained by a bright red mark where it had made contact with the floor, her lips a blue grotesque blue color. Her eyes never opened again.
Sydney was wrong about one thing in her life. Vaughn was cold, so very cold. He felt the cold that she felt. There were so many things he had wished to tell her.
It wasn’t Evan.
It was him.
He had the same memories.
The ice cream man.
Mudsliding.
Sydney.
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