A New Friend

Jimmy lived for vacations. Luckily for him, his family managed to take them often. Around four or five times a year they would travel to different little getaways all over the country. His family had money. They weren’t totally loaded but had enough to really live a comfortable life. Though, even with the wealth, friends did not come easily for Jimmy. This really ate away at his mother. She didn’t understand how he couldn’t make friends. She had once said to him, “Kids should be fighting to be your friend. Have they not seen the house you live in? Show them your house.”

He was a nice kid, just quiet – he kept to himself and kept his face buried in books most of the time. He wasn’t against having friends by any means. In fact, deep down, he craved to have a best friend very badly. It’s just that he would never seek them out. In his mind, he always thought he should wait to be spoken to. If someone wanted to be friends, they would come to him. He never wanted to force himself on another person. The thought of that made him extremely anxious. Vacations were an opportunity to make friends. It was easier. When families are on vacation, the kids tend to seek out other kids to pass the time with. Most every vacation, at least one kid would speak to Jimmy, and he would try his best to win them over. He had made a lot of acquaintances this way, but nothing serious. He once met a boy who loved Goosebumps just as much as he did and they exchanged favorites, but he never seemed to keep in touch after that.

This was the first trip without his father. His parents had gotten divorced early in the year after his father found Jimmy's mother in bed with her personal trainer. It was a messy divorce, and it took a toll on Jimmy. He clearly took his father’s side, which hit his mother’s ego harder than you’d expect. She would try to win him over, but still found ways to say rude and out of pocket things to him.

This week, he and his mother were staying in Sun Valley, Idaho for their winter trip, which meant a weekend of attempted skiing and sledding was in store. Winter trips were Jimmy's favorite trips. There was nothing he loved more than sitting in the cabin looking out at the snow and reading by the fire. He had his books picked out and was more than ready to relax after a stressful school year. The transition from 5th to 6th grade was tough on top of his parents’ marital problems.

The drive there was grueling. Sure, they had the money to fly, but his mom thought that a road trip and taking the scenic route would be a good time to bond. Jimmy got a headache any time he tried to read in the vehicle and had developed an aversion to car rides. They finally pulled to up the large, isolated, two-story cabin. It was gorgeous: it had huge glass windows, a deck that wrapped all the way around the second floor, and it was entirely too big for just the two of them.

The day was growing late as they unpacked their suitcases. Jimmy’s mother looked at him and said, “Wow, what a place, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s massive… is there anyone else nearby?” Jimmy asked.

“I don’t think so, but hey, who doesn’t love the privacy?” She answered.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

They went to a steakhouse about 20 minutes from the cabin for dinner. Jimmy’s mother got drunk and flirted with a bartender, who ended up driving them back to the cabin.

“Jimmy, go on up to bed, okay? Mom will be up in a bit.” Jimmy shut the door and went into the cabin. He went to a window nook that overlooked the forest and read until he passed out.

He was awoken by his mother. “Hey.”

Jimmy rubbed his neck and looked up at his mother. “Hey.” He said in a yawn. “What is it?”

“You think you can go out and play or something? I’m going to have a friend over.” She asked.

“A friend? What time even is it?” he rubbed his eyes, still half-asleep.

“This is my vacation too! Go find some kids to talk to! For once in your life, go make a fucking friend. Please!” she jabbed.

Jimmy didn’t say a word. He grabbed his jacket and ventured out the back door. On his way out, he peeked at the clock on the wall. It was around 7:00 AM. As angry as Jimmy was at his mother, he couldn’t help but be happy with the scenery. The snow-covered tundra seemed to stretch for miles with white trees littering the hills. Jimmy walked for bit, just taking it in, until he came across a small frozen pond. He stepped on the ice to test it out. He bounced on it: it was solid. He slid across it, acting as if he were ice skating. He almost wiped out, but caught himself and laughed it off. He walked off the pond and started t0 head back toward the cabin when he spotted a stick near the pond and picked it up. He walked over and took care to write, “Jimmy was here,” on the ice.

He ended up hiking in the woods for a bit before starting home. On the way back, he noticed something strange. The stick he used to write on the pond was sticking straight up out of the ground. He crept over to get a closer look when he saw something written on the pond next to his note. “Hi, Jimmy,” it read. “I’m Emily. No one has been through here in a long time.”

Jimmy quickly looked around, confused. He hadn’t been gone that long, maybe 10 minutes. How could he have missed another person that quickly? He looked for footprints but only saw his own. He felt a little silly but decided to pick up the stick and write back. He scrawled, “Hi, Emily. How did I miss you? I’m in the cabin just south of here.”

Jimmy turned to run away, but a loud cracking noise startled him. He turned around to see a large hole had formed in the middle of the ice.

Jimmy tiptoed toward the pond again. He peered into the hole and saw a person – a girl, with dark hair, bobbing in and out of the water as she tried to pull herself out.

“Hang on! Don’t panic!” Jimmy screamed. He grabbed the stick that he had used to write the messages and edged his away across the ice. He was quick, but careful to not step on any weak patches to make the situation worse. “I’m coming!”

He carefully extended the stick toward her. “Grab this!” he shouted.

She struggled a bit; her hands slipped off it a couple times. Finally, she got a firm grip. Jimmy pulled as hard as he could. He let out a loud yell as he pulled back with all his strength. Exasperated, he fell back on the ice with the stick still in his hands, thinking he had saved her. He arose to see that the girl was gone.

“Oh no! No, no, no!” he cried.

He looked around frantically. He crawled over to the break in the ice once more and looked down into the water.

Jimmy didn’t move – he was frozen in fear. The girl was there, looking up at him. She had changed – she smiled a wide, sinister grin as her hair swayed in the water. Her body was a pale, sickly white, and she had huge, dark black eyes, as if they were only pupils. Paralyzed with terror, Jimmy continued to stare. It was the only thing he could do.

Suddenly, she lunged out of the water, hands outstretched and ready to take Jimmy. He threw himself backwards, scrambled to his feet, and began to run. With every step he took, the ice seemed to become thinner and thinner. His left foot sank into the water. He stumbled but managed to pull it out and throw himself onto the land. He crawled away from the water and watched the pond intently. The ice was almost completely gone, but he could see it beginning to freeze over again.

Tears filled Jimmy’s eyes. His heart was pounding out of his chest. After he convinced himself he was safe, he stood up and brushed the snow off him. There were so many thoughts running though his mind that he almost forgot he was freezing. He looked at the pond and saw a new message written in the fresh ice: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just want out of here.”

Jimmy turned and ran as fast as he could back to the cabin. When he got back, he ran inside. “Mom! Mom!” he yelled. No one replied, so he yelled louder. “MOM!”

His mom rushed downstairs. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” She seemed mildly annoyed until she noticed his demeanor. Her tone changed. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” she said, worried.

“There is a girl in a pond out back!” he exclaimed. “I think she’s dead.” Jimmy began to cry.

“I’ll call the police,” his mom quickly said.

“No! They’ll think I’m crazy! I’m not crazy.” Jimmy rubbed snot from his running nose. “Come with me to check. You’ll see. I want you to see it.”

She followed Jimmy out to the pond. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that the pond was completely thawed.

“How is that possible? There’s no way. This water should be frozen.” She said, confused.

“Where is the girl, Jimmy? Are you sure this the right pond?” His mother probed.

Jimmy pointed down at the pond. “Yes. She’s down there.”

Suddenly, Jimmy shoved his mom into the pond with force. She screamed as she fell into the water, but before she could rise out of it, the pond froze over top of her. Jimmy looked down at his mother, screaming and beating on the underside of the ice. Panic filled her face.

Jimmy smiled widely at her. Emily, the girl from the water, appeared standing next to him.

“I made a friend, Mom."