51 - Beware, the Snowman

  “It’s a strange village tradition,” Aunt Greta confessed. “Very quaint. I think they’re very interesting looking.”

  “Interesting?” I frowned at her.

  “Well, make me a promise,” she said, yawning.

  “Promise?”

  “Promise me you won’t go running up to the mountaintop to explore the ice cave. It probably is a very dangerous place.”

  “Well…” I hesitated.

  “Promise,” Aunt Greta urged sternly.

  “Okay. I promise,” I agreed, rolling my eyes.

  But a few minutes later, I decided to break that promise.

  I was lying in my attic bed, my eyes shut tight. Listening. Listening to the strange howls from the mountaintop.

  Were they animal? Were they human?

  I hate mysteries. I have to know the answers to things.

  I’m going up there, I decided.

  I don’t care what I promised my aunt. I’m climbing up to the ice cave.

  Tomorrow.

  21

  I didn’t dream of snowmen that night. I dreamed about fluffy white kittens with sky-blue eyes. Dozens of them. The whitest kittens I ever saw.

  They began climbing over one another. Silently at first. And then they started to screech and hiss. A frightening, ugly sound.

  Suddenly they all wore red scarves around their necks.

  They clawed at each other, arching their pure white backs. Hissing and screeching.

  Until I woke up.

  Yellow morning sunlight poured through the round window at the other end of my bedroom. I could smell bacon frying downstairs. Aunt Greta was already up and about.

  I decided to climb the mountain right after breakfast. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I wanted to go up there and solve the mystery.

  I knew that strange, white-bearded guy Conrad was a problem. If he saw me, he’d try to stop me. He and his wolf.

  But I had a plan to take care of Conrad.

  If only Rolonda and Eli would help…

  As it turned out, I didn’t get out of the house till after lunch. Aunt Greta needed me to hang curtains with her. And then we put up the paintings and posters she had brought from Chicago.

  The house was tiny and cramped. But it was starting to feel a little more like home.

  “Where are you going?” Aunt Greta called as I pulled on my parka and gloves and started out the door.

  “Uh… nowhere really,” I lied. “Just going to hang out with Rolonda and Eli.”

  As I said their names, I saw them walking up my front yard.

  I closed the front door behind me and hurried out to greet them. Eli carried a snow shovel. Rolonda dragged two slender tree branches. She dropped them at my feet.

  “What’s that for?” I asked. “What are you guys doing here?”

  “We have to build your snowman,” Rolonda replied solemnly.

  “Excuse me?” I cried.

  “You won’t be safe until you have a snowman in your yard,” Eli said.

  “Listen, guys…” I started.

  “The snow is very wet,” Rolonda reported.

  “Good packing snow. It shouldn’t take long. Eli and I brought everything we need.”

  “But I don’t have time to build a snowman,” I protested. “I want to climb up to the ice cave this morning.”

  They both gasped. Eli gripped the shovel handle and gaped at me.

  “You can’t—!” Eli cried.

  “Jaclyn, I warned you—” Rolonda said.

  “I have to see it for myself,” I told them. And then I added, “I want you to come with me.”

  “No!” Eli gasped.

  Rolonda just shook her head. “You know we won’t go up to the ice cave, Jaclyn. And we don’t want you to go, either.”

  “But if we all go together…” I urged.

  “No!” they both cried.

  I could see real fear on their faces. Staring at them, I suddenly had an idea.

  “Okay, okay,” I said. “I’ll make a deal with you.”

  They eyed me suspiciously. “What kind of deal?” Rolonda demanded.

  “I’ll stay here and build the snowman—if you will help me when we’re done,” I said.

  “No. We won’t go with you,” Rolonda insisted. “You can’t get us to go up to the ice cave, Jaclyn.”

  “No deal,” Eli added sternly.

  “You don’t have to go up to the ice cave,” I told them. “You just have to keep Conrad busy so I can sneak past him.”

  “Huh? How are we going to do that?” Eli asked, leaning on the shovel.

  “We’ll think of something when we get up there,” I replied. “If you can keep him talking to you, maybe I can sneak past and get up to the cave.”

  “But we don’t want you to go to the ice cave!” Rolonda insisted.

  “I’m going to do it one way or the other,” I told her. “With or without you. So are you going to help me or not?”

  They glanced tensely at each other. Eli whispered something to his sister. Rolonda whispered something back.

  Then Rolonda turned to me. “Will you build the snowman first?” she asked.

  “You won’t be safe without the snowman,” Eli added.

  I wanted to tell them that building a snowman wouldn’t protect me against anything. I wanted to tell them how silly the whole thing was.

  But I needed their help. I knew I could never get past Conrad and his wolf without them.

  “Okay. Fine. First, we’ll build the snowman,” I agreed.

  “Then Eli and I will help you,” Rolonda promised.

  “But we won’t go any farther than Conrad’s cabin,” Eli insisted in a trembling voice.

  “Great!” I replied. “Let’s get started.”

  I bent down and started rolling a snowball for the snowman’s body. Rolonda was right. It was good packing snow. I rolled the ball across my snowy yard until it was big enough for two of us to roll. Rolonda and I worked on the body. Eli worked on the snowball for the head.

  Building one of the strange snowmen gave me a creepy feeling. I felt as if I had become part of the superstition. I was taking part in some kind of ancient village tradition. A tradition built on fear.

  The people of the village all built these snowmen because they were afraid. And now here I was, building one, too.

  Should I be afraid? I wondered.

  I felt glad when the snowman was finished. Rolonda pulled a red scarf from her coat pocket, and we wrapped it under the scarred head.

  The snowman’s dark eyes seemed to glare at me. The mouth was turned down in an angry sneer. The arms bobbed softly in the wind.

  “Okay. Good job,” I told my two new friends. “Now let’s get going.” I motioned toward the mountaintop.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Eli asked in a tiny voice.

  “Sure, I’m sure!” I declared loudly.

  But as we started making our way along the road, I didn’t feel as sure as I pretended.

  The road curved up the mountain. Soon the houses ended and we were walking through snowy woods.

  We didn’t talk. We kept our eyes straight ahead.

  The afternoon sun was slowly lowering itself behind the trees. Blue shadows stretched over the snow. The air grew colder as we climbed.

  When Conrad’s low cabin came into view, my heart began to pound.

  I tried to keep my mind calm and clear. But question after question whirred through my brain.

  Was Conrad inside the cabin?

  Where was the white wolf?

  Would my plan work?

  22

  All three of us stopped at the end of the road and stared at the cabin up ahead. The late afternoon sun had fallen behind the trees. The snow billowed in front of us in shades of gray.

  To the left of the cabin, I saw a row of low evergreen shrubs, covered in snow.

  “I’ll hide behind those shrubs,” I told Rolonda and Eli. “You run up to the cabin and keep Conrad and
the wolf from seeing me.”

  “This isn’t going to work,” Eli muttered, his eyes on the cabin.

  “It’s getting kind of dark,” Rolonda fretted. “Maybe we should come back in the morning.”

  “Maybe we should forget the whole idea,” Eli suggested. I saw his chin quiver. He shuddered.

  “Hey—you promised!” I exclaimed. “A promise is a promise—right?”

  They didn’t reply. They both stared across the gray snow at the dark cabin up ahead.

  “I came this far. I’m not going back,” I said sharply. “Are you going to help me or not?”

  I gasped when I heard a low growl from the cabin. The wolf must have heard or smelled us.

  I knew it would come running out any second.

  “Come on!” I urged in a loud whisper. And I took off for the snow-covered shrubs.

  I ducked out of view just as Conrad and the wolf burst out of the cabin.

  “Hello!” Rolonda cried to Conrad.

  “Hi!” Eli echoed.

  I watched Rolonda and Eli go running up to Conrad.

  The wolf lowered its head, watching them carefully.

  I saw Rolonda and Eli, both talking at once, chattering with Conrad. I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  They’re doing it! I told myself, my heart pounding. They’re keeping his attention.

  Time for me to move.

  Time for me to make a run for it.

  I could hear Rolonda talking to Conrad. I glanced over the top of the bush. The wolf had its back to me.

  Conrad was scratching his gray hair, listening to Rolonda. I couldn’t see his expression. But I imagined he was very confused and surprised.

  I knew he didn’t get any visitors.

  He must be wondering what Rolonda and Eli were doing up here!

  I forced all of these thoughts from my mind.

  It was time for me to make a run for it.

  I took a deep breath.

  Then, still crouching, I began to run.

  My legs felt like Jell-O. My boots sank into the deep snow.

  Ducking my head, I darted up the steep mountainside.

  Up, up.

  I had just passed the bushes when I heard Conrad’s angry shout—“Hey, wait!”

  23

  I stopped so suddenly, I fell over backward!

  I landed hard. The snow seemed to fly up in my face, sweep over me, surround me. Everything went white.

  I’m caught, I realized.

  My plan didn’t work.

  I stood up and turned to face Conrad.

  To my shock, he wasn’t coming after me. He and the wolf were running downhill. Chasing after Rolonda and Eli.

  I heard the wolf utter a high growl. Then they disappeared around a curve.

  I stood frozen in place, staring at the spot where they had just been.

  Would Conrad harm Rolonda and Eli?

  Should I run after them and try to help them?

  No. I had to keep going.

  This was the plan. This was my chance.

  Taking another deep breath, I turned and started to run up the mountainside. The climb was steep for a while. So steep I wasn’t sure I could make it.

  But then the ground leveled off. I found myself on a wide ledge. The ledge was slick. My boots slipped on the ice.

  I pressed my back against the mountain wall.

  And gazed up at the ice cave.

  Yes!

  There it stood above me. A cave as tall as a building. Smooth and glassy, it reflected the clouds in the sky above it.

  I couldn’t see the entrance from here. I was staring at one of the sides.

  The ledge narrowed as it curled up to the cave.

  I kept my back pressed against the wall and slowly—step by step—inched my way toward the top.

  “Don’t look down!” I murmured out loud.

  But as soon as I said it, I had to look.

  It was a deep drop from the ledge to the ground far, far below.

  If I slipped and fell…

  I’m not going to slip and fall! I told myself.

  A deep, rumbling sound made me jump!

  I grabbed the mountainside with both hands to keep from falling.

  The ledge trembled beneath me.

  Another low rumble made me cry out in fear.

  The ledge trembled again. The whole mountain seemed to shake!

  The sound came from the cave.

  Is something moving up there? I wondered.

  Or is it the normal sound of a mountaintop in the wind?

  I gathered my courage and moved forward. Inch by inch.

  I had come this far. I refused to retreat now.

  The ledge grew narrower, slipperier, as it curved around.

  Another rumbling noise made me gasp.

  Somehow I held on. And followed the ledge around.

  It seemed to take forever. But then the cave opening came into view.

  And after that, I saw the most terrifying sight of my life.

  24

  I didn’t see it at first.

  First, I saw the layer of solid ice that covered the ledge. The glassy cave rose up behind the ledge. The gaping entrance to the cave was blacker than the darkest night.

  I stood staring into the darkness. Trying to catch my breath. Trying to slow my pounding heart.

  Clouds reflected in the glassy ice drifted rapidly to the right. They made the cave appear to move.

  Sharply pointed icicles stabbed down from the roof of the cave opening. They reminded me of sharpened teeth about to close.

  I stared into the black cave opening and waited. Waited to see if anything would appear.

  I didn’t have to wait long.

  A rumble as loud as thunder made the ledge quake.

  Afraid I might slip off, I dropped to my knees.

  The rumble grew to a roar.

  And a tall, white figure lumbered out from the blackness of the cave entrance. An enormous snowman!

  I gasped—and stared in horror as the mountain of snow moved toward me. “Nooooo!” I wailed.

  I forgot where I was. Forgot I was perched on a narrow ice ledge.

  And started to back up, to back away from the tall creature.

  And I slipped.

  Slipped off the ledge.

  And felt myself fall.

  25

  My hands shot up.

  Shot up and dug into the ledge.

  I gripped the icy ledge. Held on. Held on.

  With a terrified groan, I scrambled back up to safety. Trembling. My entire body shaking. My breaths escaping in short, frantic gasps.

  I huddled on my knees on the icy ledge and watched the snowman as it glared down at me. Its blood-red scarf flapped in the wind. Its round, black eyes were as big as doorknobs. Its dark mouth turned down in a fierce, angry sneer.

  And the scar. The scar cut deeply into the side of its round head, long and curling, like a black snake.

  “Ohhhhhh.” I uttered another moan as its tree branch arms reached for me.

  I shivered in a sudden, deep cold. A cold I’d never felt before. I could see frozen waves floating from the snowman’s wide body.

  And then the big, round head tilted. The black eyes bulged even wider.

  And the snowman bellowed in a deep roar of a voice: “WHO ARE YOU?”

  I trembled in the waves of cold that floated off its body.

  It talks!

  The stories Rolonda and Eli told me are true. It’s all true.

  Its round eyes locked on mine, the big snowman moved closer. Closer.

  I wanted to stand up. I wanted to run.

  But it had me frozen there.

  I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t back up. I couldn’t escape from it.

  “WHO ARE YOU?” the snowman bellowed again. And the whole mountain shook.

  “I—I—” My voice came out in a quivering squeak.

  “Please—” I managed to choke out. “Please—I didn’t mean to bother you. I
—”

  “WHO ARE YOU?” the huge snow creature thundered for the third time.

  “My name?” I squeaked. “My name is Jaclyn. Jaclyn DeForest.”

  The snowman’s tree branch arms shot up. Its dark mouth gaped open in surprise.

  “SAY IT AGAIN,” it ordered.

  I shivered in the waves of cold. “Jaclyn DeForest,” I repeated in my tiny, frightened voice.

  The snowman stared down at me in silence for a long while. It lowered its arms to its round, white sides.

  “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” it demanded.

  I swallowed hard. The question took me totally by surprise. I opened my mouth to answer, but no sound came out.

  “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” the snowman thundered.

  “No,” I squeaked. “Who are you?”

  “I AM YOUR FATHER!” the snowman cried.

  26

  “Nooooooo!” A long wail escaped my throat.

  I wanted to get away from there. I wanted to run. To slide down the mountain. To fly away.

  But I couldn’t move.

  The snowman trapped me in his icy grip. Held me there on the ledge. Froze me in wave after wave of cold.

  “Jaclyn—I am your father,” the snowman repeated, lowering his booming voice. He stared down at me with those frightening, round glassy eyes. “Believe me.”

  “Th-that’s impossible!” I stammered. I hugged myself, trying to stop my body from trembling. “You’re a snowman! You can’t be my father!”

  “Listen to me!” the snowman roared. “I am your father. Your mother was a sorceress. And so is your aunt. Your aunt practices all sorts of magic.”

  “No—!” I protested. His lies made me gather my courage. I climbed to my feet.

  “That’s not true!” I cried angrily. “I’ve never seen Aunt Greta do any magic. You’re lying!”

  The snowman bobbed from side to side. The ledge shook beneath me. I nearly lost my balance.

  “I do not lie, Jaclyn,” he insisted. His arms raised up, as if he were pleading with me. “I’m telling the truth.”

  “But—but—” I sputtered.

  “Your mother did this to me,” the snowman said. “She used her magic and turned me into a snowman. You were two years old. She turned me into a snowman. She tried to turn me back. But she failed. Then she and your aunt Greta took you and ran away from the village.”