Beneath the Snow

Beneath the Snow

By: Saralyn Lockheart

Gently placing my shopping bags into the back of my SUV, the small cold rain droplets became more frequent as they rolled off my cheek. One could only hope that they had enough candles for severe weather that was to come during the cover of night. Looking up into the darkening clouds, I could only assume the ice created would be horrific on our small town. Modern comforts fashioned a false sense of security. Too many people would be concerned about getting their bread and milk, but they wouldn’t be for their fellow man or the creatures around them.

The wind snapped around chapping my face and brought me back to the real world after getting lost within lingering thoughts. As my body shivered from the sudden drop in temperature, I quickly hopped into my vehicle and cranked up the heat. Flipping through the radio stations on the way home, weather alerts became reoccurring between the music.

“An Ice Storm Warning has been issued for Southern Kentucky for early Friday morning through Sunday night. Expect heavy snow to fall following the freezing rain.”

I needed to keep an eye out for anyone or anything that may need a helping hand. With my eyes scanning the roads on the way home, I couldn’t see anyone around. After arriving home and unpacking the grocery bags, my elderly dog greeted me as I attempted to get into the door. She screamed and cried as I attempted to get past her with the bags clutched in my hands. With the bags finally placed onto the counter top, I stopped to pet my little Jack Russell mix.

“I know, I know, you missed Mommy. I’m glad to see you too, Chloe Bear,” I gently ran my hands over her smooth coat as she attempted to lick all over my icy hands.

Later on into the night, little Chloe Bear and I curled up on the bed to watch TV before getting any rest. The metallic clinking above continued on well into the cold night until the odd silence when everything would begin to freeze over. I felt terrible knowing that tonight many animals would perish in the snow; meanwhile my dog was snuggled underneath the blanket.

Awaking from my deep sleep, I kept trying to remember this strange dream that lurked in the back of my mind. I only remembered bits and pieces, one being the sight of the black iron fence around the flower garden near the library. Something about it was calling for me. Attempting to look out of the ice covered window, I realized it would be difficult to go anywhere just like they warned during the previous day. However, I couldn’t deny that I was being called.

Cautiously driving back into town and to the dead garden, my squinting eyes gazed over the intense colorless area. A slight glimmer caught my eye. Carefully getting out of the vehicle I treaded through the deep snow then I made my way though the entrance of the unlocked gate saturated in frosted icicles.

A lone man with a stocky black pit bull sat on the iron bench towards the back. Walking up to him, I tried to inspect if he was in distress.

“Hey, are you doing alright?” I tried to politely ask.

“I’m surviving,” the elderly shivering man looked up with hazy cataract covered eyes, but then he began to smile.

“You’ve got to be freezing; do you want me to take you to a shelter? I’m sure there’s one-” he cut me off.

“Oh no, no, honey you don’t have to worry about me. We’ll be going home soon,” he smiled as he brushed his wiry white hair back with his red frostbitten hand.

“Do you need anything to take with you? I have food and drinks in the back of my trunk. Maybe you would like some gloves?” I asked as I continued to feel uneasy.

After a brief pause, his eyes appeared to have a small glisten.

“There is something I could use your help with.”

“What do you need?” my fingers fidgeted with anticipation.

He slowly got up from the bench and started to stroll towards the corner of the garden. After following him, he stopped in front of a statue of an hourglass.

“I have something here under the snow, but my hands are too cold to dig for it,” he pointed directly down.

With my hands covered by gloves, I crouched down and began to scoop the snow away from the location. My fingers met with something very hard and sturdy. A small metal box was contained under the snow and sealed in ice.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” I wiggled the box out of the snow.

“Ah yes, I’m glad it’s still there. Would you mind taking care of it for me?” he simply asked.

“You don’t want to take it with you when you go home?” I remained puzzled and even contemplated as to why the box was in the snow in the first place.

“I can’t take it with me where I’m going; I believe it would be safer with you.”

For all I knew his home could have been in a tent somewhere out in the woods, inside a broken down car, or even worse.

“When the ice thaws off the box, I would like for you to read the book inside,” he tapped the box with his finger.

“I can do that,” I nodded my head.

“Well, kiddo, I need to get going. Oh, and I don’t need anything in that book anymore. Please, take care of it for me,” he patted me on the shoulder and began to walk towards the exit. The words “goodbye” simply wouldn’t leave my mouth. For some reason I didn’t want to say goodbye and hoped that I would meet him again. I lost sight of him once he reached the gate.

Once I was back inside of my vehicle, I turned up the heat and placed the frozen box in front of the vent. Water would drip down and onto the plastic mats, but it didn’t matter. I had to know what was inside the box that was so special to him. Forcefully prying apart the box I was able to retrieve the contents. Pulling out the sealed envelope, I carefully tore the top open and pulled out a single little black notebook.

Flipping through the pages of the book, I noticed it was the tale of this man and lessons he learned throughout his life. He was once a troubled soul who found beauty in the world even though the world didn’t see the beauty in him. He was a man gracious for the warm sun to shine on his face and a man who was as free as the wind. On the last page of the book clues were left along with the photo of the man when he was younger and other people gathered around him.

The quote “The future begins here today” was paired with a simple drawing of a small fountain which resembled the fountain on the other side of the library. Further down on the page it was followed with an address and the quote “My heart and soul continues to live on.”

After making my way over to the small fountain crafted into the side of the hill, I kept looking over the rocks trying to figure out what I was supposed to be looking for. I wouldn’t be able to search the bottom of the fountain since it was frozen solid. Maybe he hid something behind a rock? Which rock could it be? With the rocks being frozen solid together, I would need something to break some of the ice apart to pry them out. Thankfully with so little people out and about I wouldn’t seem suspicious. After fetching a small crowbar from my SUV, I returned to analyze the rocks.

Which seem out of place when they all blend together? A small group of cardinals landed on the edges of the rocks, chirped, and tilted their heads as they stared at me. As a turned my head, all but one of them flew away. The remaining bird continued to chirp and hop on his rock before flying away. Chipping the ice away from this rock, I was careful not to cause any damage. After prying the rock out, I found a small zip lock baggie with a lottery ticket inside. The bright coloring insisted that one could win up to $20,000. Rapidly placing the stone back into the crevasse, I jogged back to my SUV and would head to the next location.

Parked outside of the address listed, I stared at the lottery ticket. This amount of money would be enough to get a new car. I wouldn’t have to worry about the rust eating away at my vehicle any longer. The voice in the back of my mind told me this is not my money if by any chance I were to win. Picking up a quarter, I began to scratch off the tops of the card. The objective was to get five hearts in a row. As I scratched through the rows losing hope one scratch off at a time, I reached the final row. Closing my eyes, and taking a deep breath I quickly scratched off the remaining row. Slowly opening my eyes open, the hearts aligned. This is the way it was meant to be.

Walking up to the door and proceeding to knock, I waited for an answer. A younger woman who appeared to be tired answered the door while holding tightly onto her newborn baby.

“Can I help you?” she asked uncertain of why a stranger was at her home.

“Excuse me, but do you know who this is?” I asked showing her the picture.

“That’s my Dad, how did you get the picture?” she arched her brows.

“You may want this,” I handed her the small black notebook that contained the winning lottery ticket inside.

“I ran into him this morning, we don’t even know each other’s names, but he asked for help.”

“I haven’t seen him in such a long time. I told him never to speak to me again, but that was so long ago,” a tear streamed down her face.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you, I just thought that this is what he wanted me to do,” I apologized.

Her newborn daughter began to fuss and cry.

“I’ll leave you alone, but please, make sure you look inside the book,” I spoke as I turned around to head back home.

The next day I went out to visit the elderly man once again, except this time I brought Chloe along. Part of me hoped he wasn’t still there and he had bunked down somewhere nice and toasty. With Chloe leading on her leash, she headed for the back corner of the garden where another group of cardinals flocked around the hourglass. She moved with such haste as if she could see something in front of her leading the way. I remember hearing old folk-lore that cardinals are sent as messengers. Perhaps that’s why they were always around me.

As Chloe whined she started to paw next to the spot where I had dug out the metal box.

“What’s wrong baby girl?” I asked her as she continued to cry.

Kneeling down I started scooping snow away from the spot until my hands met with something that was not ground, but a coat. Frozen hands wrapped around a black pit bull lie frozen in place by the ice. The snow was untouched and fell during the first snow storm right after the ice storm. If I hadn’t been distracted by flipping through the radio that day, would I have been able to save you?

“As one door closes another one opens,” I heard a distorted voice speak from behind me.