Frost

August 1995

It wasn’t possible for her to see in the dark or feel anything around her. Her body seemed to stop moving as soon as the siren began blaring. The light flickered off and on, just enough to see her parents - Peter and Alisha Montgomery - pacing back and forth. Worry terrorized their features. The lights flicked off and the room was dark.

The house shook violently beneath her as she looked around trying to find something, anything, to make her feel safe. Her father spoke, a soothing feeling overtook her, her body relaxed in time for every window in the house to shatter, throwing tiny glass particles around in the air landing all around her, leaving shards embedded in her skin. She wanted to scream out loud, so the world could hear the pain she felt, but the high pitch sound from the sirens confused her mind and she was unable to think.

She tried to use her other senses, hoping they’d kick in, as she listened to someone rummage through a drawer. Loudly. Almost too loud. A clap of thunder rumbled through the house rattling the small knick-knacks on the wall. A bright flash of lightening lit up the room for half a second, just long enough to see her mother standing alone in the doorway. Where was her dad? Did he leave?

Hushed whispers talked amongst them as Mara held on firmly to a small teddy bear that her parents had given her the night before. She had been good at school, so her parents rewarded her with a brand-new stuffed bear.

She named it Butterfly.

“Alisha. Now. Grab Mara, we have to go.” Her dad’s voice was very strong. When she heard him speak it always made Mara feel safe.

Her mother picked her up and held her securely in her arms. Mara’s small hand lost grip and dropped the bear.

“Butterfly!” Mara cried. “Mommy, Butterfly!”

“I’ll get you another one tomorrow. We have to hurry now.”

Her mother opened the front door and pushed the screen door, opening it wide, just as a gust of wind blew it completely off the hinges and it flew into the house next door crashing through their large bay window. Mara’s heart pounded, looking around confused, unable to understand what was happening. Her mom paused momentarily to shut the front door before grabbing her daughter by the waist and making a mad dash through the water. A siren, that seemed incredibly loud, blared endlessly through the air as large raindrops, and hail the size of softballs pounded their heads.

Mara watched as her dad raced by, splashing water all over them, he opened the cellar door and ushered them down inside. Her mother walked carefully, trying not to miss a step, down the steep wooden staircase that led into what, sometimes, felt like the pit of death.

The cellar was pretty much empty except for benches that were connected to each wall, a large shelf in the far corner holding cardboard boxes and see-through plastic tubs, and another shelf – smaller than the other – at the end of the staircase leaning against the wall - this one held blankets, flashlights, and lanterns. Mara hated being down there, the smell alone was more upsetting than knowing what was going on outside. It smelled of mold, and dirt. A dusty old hole in the ground that had been there since before her dad built the house.

Her dad fidgeted with the lock, fumbling slightly, before getting it to lock into place. He turned, looking down where Mara and her mother stood, and taking the steps carefully he made his way deeper inside, before grabbing her mother and her into an embrace. She knew she was always safe when she was nestled in between her mother and father, if they were there, nothing bad could happen. Mara sighed, her pounding heart gradually settling, and they all took a seat on the bench farthest away from the door, the small window right above their heads.

Confusion still clouded Mara’s tiny brain as her mother held on to her little hand and squeezed hard. Difference noises wrestled around her head, making her fear the worse, she feared the train she heard. A large, loud train that was about to push its way through the walls that held her and her parents. The air around Mara’s head growled, her heart hammered intensely in her chest.

The scariest thing for any child, of course, is not knowing what is happening around them, and when their parents look terrified, it doesn’t help matters; parents are supposed to be comforting and in charge. In moments of weakness children are unaware of how to cope and handle things that are out of their control. Mara moved closer to her mother, her hand keeping its grip, as she swung her feet underneath the bench.

Waiting.

Her dad grabbed her attention as he stood, moving wall to wall – pacing. Mara and her mother watched as he walked to the left, stopping to listen to the commotion outside, pivoting and began walking to the right. Mara tilted her head to the side trying to gauge what her father felt as he wiped his forehead with the back of his left hand.

Flashes of light lit up the cellar through the small window. She listened as the rain battered the top of the cellar, clinking on the door. One single clap of thunder crashed making Mara jump nearly three inches off the bench. Her father unable to stop pacing was now clutching a flashlight tightly in his hands.

A noise drew her sight to the staircase and up to the door as she realized the door shook violently, pulling on its hinges. Her dad turned toward his daughter and wife, kissed them both on the cheek, and took off in a sprint to the door, dropping his flashlight. Mara watched as it rolled underneath her stopping when it hit the wall. Her eyes flashed back over to her dad just in time to watch as he grabbed the rope attached to the door and pulled, leaning back, he bent and tied the rope to a wooden step. The door shook harder causing Peter to trip, losing his balance and fall over; just as the door jerked, pulling on the rope, breaking the wooden step in half. He got back to his feet, the door was sucked up, breaking the metal hinges, and out of the cell and up into the sky. He rolled backwards, feet over head, down the stairs landing hard on the concrete flooring. As his body came to a complete stop, he looked up to see a solid black swirling mass and felt a suction, almost like he was hooked to an invisible cable wire, and someone was standing up there pulling.

The winds didn’t ease up, lifting Peter up into the air, almost as if he was floating over the steps. He was able to grab the fourth step with his fingertips and hang on for dear life. A splinter slipped into his first finger as the wind slid him back and forth on the step, trying his hardest to get a better grip on the step.

Mara held her breath, staring at her dad who was flying. She always knew her dad was Superman, this proved it.

The wind pulled harder; the force was becoming uncontrollable as the fingertips of his left hand slipped. The wind pulled his left arm up, his legs wiggled in the open space, and the only thing keeping him grounded was the fingers of his right hand.

“Peter!” Alisha screamed.

Peter tried to scream; to tell Alisha to stop, to stay with their daughter. He knew that there was no way his daughter would be okay if she lost both parents in the same night. Especially if she had to witness it right in front of her eyes. But as soon as he opened his mouth the wind sucked the breath out of his lungs, and he deflated. A tear formed as his fingers slipped completely off the wooden step; taking one last glance at his family - his wife, high school sweetheart, love of his life – the one person on planet Earth that knew him better than he knew himself. His daughter, Oh Mara, he thought, his darling daughter, the only other person that he loved more than his life and would do anything to keep her safe.

With his eyes still pinned to his wife and daughter’s face he mouthed “I love you” just as his whole body went limp and rose – lifting toward the door.

Alisha jumped to her feet, pushed Mara underneath the bench, and ran toward him. She put her hand out and grabbed his; using all her strength, pulled him backwards. She felt her feet sliding but stopped herself on the bottom step. She planted her feet securely on that step and held on. She gripped his hand with everything she had, she wasn’t going to let go until her arm detached. Just as she thought she had him, his body slammed into the steps. She lost her balance and fell backwards luckily pulling Peter with her. They both landed hard on the concrete rolling to the middle of the cellar. Peter stood up first and helped Alisha to her feet. With every amount of muscle Alisha could muster she pushed Peter backwards, just as the suction from the winds swept her feet from under her. Her face slammed into the concrete floor before the winds sucked her out, smashing her body into the steps on the way up.

“MOMMY! NO!” Mara yelled as she watched her mother’s limp body sweep out of the cellar and into the dark winds.