The Cold At Dawn

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the Earth.” -Genesis 9:13

He tried to cover his eyes to protect them from the sunlit snow on the highway, a blizzard had struck a few nights ago and only last night were the roads clear enough to drive. Today, was supposed to be, Henry’s fourteenth birthday, but as usual, his father’s work meant that they, being his parents and himself, were on the move. Yet again.

They were late to get to their next “home” due to the obvious delay of the blizzard and it was clear by the bumpiness of the ride that his father was rushing. And this was much to the nerve of his mother who he could hear arguing with him, though thankfully muffled behind tightly worn headphones. Henry wasn’t really allowed to listen to rock or pop music, so he listened to the gentle hymns of church choirs to soothe the noise and the ride.

He kept his eyes tightly shut, not enough to be uncomfortable, but to try and have the world fade away…

Henry could feel himself hopping along the clouds, breathing in the fresh air, it smelled lightly of mint. How nostalgic. He could see the vast world below, yet now so small, the golden light of god rays above highlighting choirs of angels beckoning him. Beckoning him to somewhere far and starlit…

He felt a tap on his shoulder, opening his eyes, he could see his mother standing beside him, she gave him a tired smile and said, “C’mon Hen, we’re at a rest stop.”

“Okay, Mama,” He pulled himself out of the car, standing eye to eye with his mother, he wondered when he’d finally grow tall like his father. He took a moment to stretch and look around, as honestly expected, the rest stop, while it did have people present, was largely empty. Still mostly snowed in.

Henry looked around to see where his father had gone, seeing the man consulting a TV in the rest stop overhang. After properly dawning his jacket, he walked up to where his father stood and asked, “What’re ya lookin’ at, Dad?”

“Hmm?” It took his father a second to realize his son’s question, “Oh, just the weather report. It seems the snowstorm went far.”

“Yeah?” Henry felt a little awkward, not really sure what to say, but “Do you know when we’ll get to our new apartment?”

His father lazily patted his hand on Henry’s head, “Hopefully by tonight, it’s why we left so early, remember?”

“…right,” Henry stepped away to use the bathroom. The inside of the bathroom was unexpectedly warm, a standing heater was present, but most of the stalls were [Out of Order] with papers that cited something about frozen pipes. Which would explain the man washing his hands one of those jug water dispensers, it had a hastily taped pipe to help guide the water in the sink.

He tried to finish his business as quickly as possible, not wanting to linger too long inside. He found it difficult to use the water dispenser, the water didn’t come out quick and was nearly freezing to the touch. He felt forced to only halfway do the job, leaving a bit of soap on his fingers he tried to wipe off with paper towel.

Leaving the bathroom, Henry glanced around for his parents, spotting them standing in front of a vending machine, punching in numbers. He could hear the machine whirring to life as something fell into the collection tray.

Stepping over quickly, he took a look at what they had gotten, a couple of cinnamon rolls, a chocolate bar, and a bag of chips. He looked over at his mother who was already holding onto three drinks, two canned coffees and a bottle of cream soda. His mother noticed him, “Oh, Hen, here you go.”

She handed him a cinnamon roll and the cream soda, “Thank you, Mama,” he replied simply, putting them in his jacket pockets to warm a little.

“Yeah, let’s go,” His mother said, showing that tired smile again. He looked over to his father, who was turned away, looking out at the highway.

They returned to the car and ate in silence, Henry nibbling slowly at his cinnamon roll. He wanted to return to his music but knew it was bad manners, even in a car, so he too just looked out to the highway like his father. Occasionally a car would pass, several at once or none at all, except for the bigger rigs which frequently went by. He got into the habit of reading whatever the trailers would say, and with the ice they move just slowly enough he could. It was the only way he had to stave off boredom.

Before long his father took the trash and left the car to throw it away, while Henry himself tried to get comfortable, readying his headphones when his father returned. Without a word he buckled up and started the car, the drive continuing, without any more delay.

Henry once again kept his eyes shut as the sun rises higher, they left right before the sun had peaked over the trees, it must have been eight by now. He tried to drown himself in the hymns once again, the sweet somber tones of Amazing Grace lifted him away to a place where the lull of calm waters tickled his feet…

He could imagine it cloudy, with shafts of sunlight peaking between breaks in the white fluff. The salty scent lingering on his nose, the view of a crowd watching a covered boat float out to sea. A fire on its stern. O’ how sweet the sound of gulls in the distance, laughing and playing. Such vivid scenery so bittersweet…

Then a rather large bump stirred him suddenly from his escape with a startling hop, he sat up as his headphones slid off his head, he was suddenly slung around as he heard banging and screeching. Henry felt like there was a moment he was floating, but when he came to, he was lying on the snowy ground, facing the sky..