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Hey, Jake, do you remember? That one damned day in the whole year when nothing goes as it should? When did it start again? Ah, six years ago I think, with our girls. They went out to have a "girls night", insisted that they needed some space. They were walking home after a long night at around four? Maybe five in the morning? It was fourth of February, one of the coldest nights we have ever experienced. That winter in general was abnormal for our town, we never had temperatures so low and such buildups of snow. The police said that probably if it wasn't for the snow, girls would have noticed the killer creeping behind them, waiting for an opportunity to strike. They were slaughtered and then violated, found in the morning by a passerby. It was a very nasty case. And easily avoidable! If we, the men of the pack, wouldn't have agreed for them to go alone, they would still be alive. It took us a lot of time to even think straight about it and after a year, we were almost at peace with out minds, the lie that we couldn't do anything at all to protect them rooted deeply in our minds.
And do you remember five years ago? It was the fourth of February again, eleven in the morning. Or maybe a little later, I don't really remember well anymore. We were walking to the cemetery to visit the graves of our friends. John stopped, needed to tie his shoe. We didn't wait. He ran after us, didn't look while crossing the road. The truck couldn't slow down fast enough. He died on impact, his neck snapping like a twig. It was a harsh winter again, snowing for the past few days. Roads were covered in ice.
What about four years ago? You, Dave and me, all three of us scared to even lift a finger, not to mention going out. We already knew that something was really wrong, we knew that this day was cursed and we did not dare to try our luck. Around four in the afternoon Dave decided he was gross and sweaty from all the worry and went to have a bath while we started watching some random film that was currently on TV. One and a half hours later we noticed he still wasn't out so I wanted to check up on him. My little bro was just laying there, his eyes closed, his face peaceful. I smiled, thinking he was only asleep and wanted to pull him out when I noticed a cable sticking out of the tub. He wasn't breathing. A hairdryer was placed poorly and fell. I cried and cried on the floor for hours when you comforted me. After that we called for someone to take his body. I looked through the window, seeing as they drove away with Daves body, noticing how they had trouble getting out to the streets because of the snow piled up everywhere.
Three years ago we spent the entire day embraced, waiting for death to take another one of us. Not moving we looked at the clock and when it struck midnight, starting fifth of February, I once again looked through the window, remembering the feeling from last year when my brother was taken away. We couldn't believe tah we lived. That year winter was kind and warm, roads clear.
Two years ago was similar, the whole day spent in the safe space of our arms but once again, nothing happened. Warm world promsied safety. We hoped that our bad luck was behind us, that our curse was lifted, that we suffered enough.
We didn't know yet how wrong we were.
Last year was white. I noticed a lot of fluffy snow promising lots of fun but didn't know yet what it meant. And when I realised it was too late... Far, far too late.
Last year we enjoyed our time together, cherishing every moment. We went for a walk late in the evening, stepping into nearby park at ten in the evening. Snow was covering every inch of the ground, lovingly allowing us to sink past ankles. We didn't know on what we were stepping, where our little stroll took us. We almost forgot all those tragedies from past years. We had fun! Snowballs were flying through the air. We were chasing around carelessly. We didn't know when we stepped on a frozen lake. In one moment I was dodging a snowball you threw at me and making my own, in the other I was searching for you. Those two things were only few seconds apart. I ran where I last saw you.... And was welcomed by the sight of already freezing again hole in the ice. You choked, water filling your lungs as I tried to reach you but you couldn't grab my hand. I jumped after you, hoping I could still do something.... And then I woke up in the hospital. The first thing I did, despite nurses trying to hold me in my room, was finding a doctor and asking about you. He just shook his head and I broke down. That day I jumped out the window. I should have died, I fell head first. But other than few cuts and bruises I was fine. And then three months of psych ward.
You know what Jake? It's fourth of February today.
And today the snow falls again.