Chapter Text
In the town of…..Hometown, lies a house just a few yards away from the rest of the other homes that reside in the area.
This house belongs to the Holiday residence.
The Holidays were a family of reindeer that first started off with humble beginnings, but they would eventually work their way to the top as the matriarch, Clarice, ran for mayor.
However, what was once a home for a family of four, is currently a home for a family of two.
For you see, Clarice’s husband, Rudolph, is now in the hands of medical care after detecting an unknown illness.
And their eldest daughter…….well…….she……it’s very hard to explain. Especially within familial company.
Either way, only her and her youngest daughter, Noelle, remain.
But as much as the thought of family could bring comfort in times of need, it is not without its own problems.
Ever since Rudy’s admission to the hospital, things started to change for the worst.
Those who work at the town hall could recall the times when Clarice would stay in her office for days, even when everyone else had went home. As a compromise, she brought in an inflatable mattress to put in her office to sleep on, just in case if she had to stay for the night. She even spent the hometown’s tax dollars on plumbing fixtures to create an executive bathroom and shower for herself. Though the workers would take advantage of this new utility, it is a complete secret to the average citizen.
Noelle, on the other hand, is a different story. And yet, it is more of the same.
Whether it’s engaging with advance level subjects or participating in cross country, Noelle keeps herself occupied with educational activities. But it wasn’t out of genuine passion, even if she is considered to be the smartest one in the class.
Unlike her father, Noelle and Clarice never exactly got along with each other and while they both try to keep those feelings to themselves, there were a few times when it started to spill out during arguments. Still, it was only kept at a minimum. And now with prospect of her dad being in medical care, the tension between was only going to become more frequent than ever.
Noelle doesn’t like to stay at her own house. Even when she’s given the choice to do so, she would rather be anywhere else than there. Other times, she would try to make excuses for herself just so she could stay over at Catti’s.
Due to circumstances however, things would be a little bit different over the weekend.
It was Saturday, October 5, 20XX. The news channel forecasted a rain shower over hometown so most of the citizens decided to cozy up in their homes. For Noelle, she had no other choice but to stay and hope that she could wait it out. So, she spent most of her time in her room working on her school project and tried not to get in her mother’s business. She did see Kris and Susie outside, but as much as she wanted to hang out with them, she didn’t want to get in trouble.
The next day after the weekly church sermon, Noelle went over to the hospital to pay her dad a visit. Not much was out of the ordinary except that her mom decided to accompany her along for the hour. However, when Noelle was waiting outside the hospital, Clarice stormed out of the building. She didn’t say anything but by looking at her mom’s body language, she knew that she was still going to stay at home for a little longer.
Noelle was hoping that it wouldn’t be the case, but she didn’t want to find out by arguing with her mother. Besides, Clarice never said anything for the rest of the day. Even the atmosphere was quiet yet very tense during dinner time. Noelle sat across from her mother at the table, trying her best to focus on the task at hand, eating. Only a few times did she looked up slightly and saw a stern expression on her face.
There was once a time when every light in the house lit up everything outside within the vicinity, but now only a few lights are turned on. There was once a time when noises could be heard from any parts of the house, but now there are so little noises to make. And there was even once a time when a house like this felt so warm and so full of life, especially with Rudy and………but now everything just feels so cold and lifeless.
After dinner, Noelle went upstairs to wash up and get ready for bed.
Once she took care of all of that, she was about to head over to her room until she stopped herself. On her left and right were two doors. One leading to her room and the other for the room that belonged to…..Though at one point, Noelle’s room used to belong to that certain someone at one point and all it took was her being born into this world to give it to her. Because of that, the other room from across that used to be empty and small then belonged to her. And then after all what happened, it now became nothing more than a spacious storage closet. Or at least that’s what her mom told her. Noelle never really knew for sure if it was true and if that’s case then….
Noelle slowly approached the door on her right. She tried to see if she could open it, but it was locked.
But why keep a storage door locked? Was it a way to keep out from intruders? Given her mom’s ability to “kick ass” and “take names”, theft wouldn’t seem like such an issue.
But it didn’t matter. It was locked and Noelle couldn’t continue any further. Plus, the knob contained a special keyhole in case of an emergency, but there’s no key to be found.
And so, Noelle went to her room back on the left.
The aforementioned room was bigger compared to the other one. Even the ceiling was raised a little higher and even had a mini chandelier in the middle that was supposed to luminate the entire space. But Noelle had no need to turn it on since she would rather go to sleep then having to stay up and then get scolded by her mother. She closed the door behind her, trapping herself in darkness.
But it’s not like she couldn’t see anything. For instance, she could see where everything is in each corner of her room, not to mention the things that were in front of her. Like her bed, her calendar, her dresser along with her alarm clock, and the moon illuminating from her window to her bedroom door.
Noelle walked over to her bed. She took one look of her clock. It was 8:00 PM. She took one look at her calendar. Today was October 6, 20XX. Noelle took the blueberry-scented marker on top of her dresser and crossed it off. Tomorrow is Monday and she had to get up and ready for school. So, she laid herself down on her mattress and tucked under the covers with only her head visible and resting on a snowy white pillow. She was looking out her window and saw nothing but the houses from afar and the full moon above the night sky. Slowly….Noelle closed her eyes.
During the night……Noelle slept and slept like she normally would.
Then suddenly……..she felt this immediate urge to wake up from her slumber.
She opened her eyes and noticed that her head had turned to the other direction. She tried to see what was going on.
But there was only one problem.
She couldn’t see anything. Or at least, not anything that wasn’t within her field of sight.
Once Noelle sat up from her bed, she noticed that everything in her room was covered in complete darkness.
The only things that were visible were herself, her bed, her calendar, her dresser along with her alarm clock, and the moon illuminating from her window to her bedroom door.
Having to sleep in the dark is not so much of an issue for her, that is until she came up with a minor hypothesis in her head.
If she were to stick her hand out, then she would normally see some form of visibility. But everything around her is covered in a complete void. This isn’t normal darkness.
She then felt a breeze of frigid air going into her room that almost made her body shiver with chills. It’s almost like the AC’s temperature had been turned down very low.
But wouldn’t she normally hear the vent outside in the hallway?
Noelle turned her head over to the window beside her.
The entire thing was covered in frostbite.
Using her wrist, Noelle rubs it up against the surface to wipe off the moisture and see if she can get a good view from outside. Everything was covered in white. In layman’s terms, there was a snowfall.
But why would it be snowing in the fall? Last time she checked; it was October. It’s not unlikely to have such unusual weather from time to time, but this wasn’t an average occurrence. This was somewhere to around a foot of snow.
Noelle tried to take a good look of her calendar, but even that was messed up. There are about a total of 4 weeks in each month, even though they aren’t supposed to be as frequent. The days are also not marked consistently. And the most confusing thing of all is that the last page was completely torn off. However, after taking a second look, she noticed that the marked off days almost formed a letter and when put together, they create a sentence. This is what she was able to decipher:
“N-O-E-L-L-E-I-A-M-S-T”
And that was it before it cut off.
“Okay, this has to be a prank,” Noelle thought. Despite all the oddities, this wouldn’t seem like an opportunity for Kris to pass up on. But they hadn’t done any pranks in years, so what are the odds that they would do this stuff again? Not to mention the other stuff, but that’s beside the point.
She looked at her alarm clock, but even that was messed up too. It kept flashing 12:00 AM. It looked like it was never adjusted at all.
She then felt the breeze again.
This time, it was more potent.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Noelle finally got out of her bed to find the source.
She noticed that her clothing was a little light. Were these the pajamas she normally wore? In fact, why do they look so familiar?
“Or…is this a dream?” she asked herself.
She couldn’t think about that right now. She needed to stay focused if she was ever going to continue further. Finally, Noelle approached her bedroom door. Turning the knob slowly, she tried not to make any noise from the outside because she was worried that her mother may be sleeping in the other room.
But then again, when was her mother ever home?
However, before she could do that, she noticed something strange. The door across from her. It wasn’t there. Not even a hint of a knob. But surely it was there beforehand, right? After all, she saw it hours ago.
Noelle felt the breeze again.
Slowly making her way over to the master bedroom, Noelle only stopped herself once there were creaking noises coming from the floorboard. Not even the hallway carpets were enough to filter out the sound. But once she got to the door, she noticed that it was slightly opened. This would indicate that her mom was sleeping in there, but she would normally keep her door close. This only raised Noelle’s suspicions. Before opening the door, she called out for any sign of life in the bedroom.
“Mom?” Noelle whispered.
No answer.
She tried again, this time, she spoke in regular volume.
“Mom?” she said.
Still, no answer.
Finally opening the door entirely, Noelle got a full view of the entire room. Unlike her bedroom, there were no unusual signs of darkness covering the corners of each side. Everything from the drawers, the windows, the picture frames, the closets, and even the lamp were exactly where they were.
All except for one thing.
The bed itself.
The sheets were perfect. Almost too perfect. While her mom hadn’t been in her own bed for a while, there would at least be some signs of wrinkles. But they were nowhere to be seen. No snicks, no snags, no nothing. It’s like nobody has ever slept in this thing since they moved in.
But how is that they any different from reality? Unless if this is still a dream after all?
Noelle then felt a cold breeze going through her body again. She had to keep moving if she wanted to find the source of the climate. So, she left the master bedroom.
Going down the semi-circular staircase, she felt the air getting colder and colder. She must be getting close. Finally arriving to the foyer, she immediately noticed that the front door was opened.
Snow had spilled into the house, leaving behind a pile on the floor.
But this wasn’t just an ordinary snowfall. She could feel the wind blowing into her face.
Noelle tried to get to the door, but the wind had enough force to push her back up against the steps, hurting herself in the process. More and more snow started to spread out in her direction. She didn’t know what to do until she figured out that her family had a snow shovel in case of an emergency. Quickly getting out of the way—with a minor injury she obtained from that fall—Noelle tried to open the door that led to the garage, but it was locked. Unbeknownst to her, there was nothing in there.
Suddenly, the noises stopped.
Turning her attention back to the front door, Noelle noticed that the wind was gone. Once she finally got back to the foyer, she was able to see the gate in the distance. The blizzard was over and what it left behind was inches and inches of snow.
So now what?
There was something in her mind that was telling her to pursue further out into the open. She was no stranger to seeking out the unknown, but she wondered if such an attempt is worth trying.
That is unless if she took it one step at a time.
And so, she did.
One…two…three…four…five…si-then she stopped.
Her hooves finally touched the snow, sending a shiver up her spine.
Noelle continued.
Seven…eight…nine…ten.
Noelle was now outside her house and what laid in front of her was the white flurry pathway that led to the gate with no hint of concrete whatsoever.
Everything was silent.
The only thing that was audible were the sounds of her hooves stepping in the snow.
When approaching the trees that surrounded her side to side, there was something about them that seemed so unusual. There were no leaves, yes, but where is the snow? Surely a blizzard like this would have covered the branches tenfold. But they were nowhere to be seen.
Once she finally made it to the gate, she came across an issue.
The lock was frozen in an ice cube. Even if she could go back into the house to get a tool or a key of some kind—if there is one at all—she already came too far to turn back now.
Suddenly, the ice on the lock started to crack. Then the lock itself was broken in half.
The gate slowly opened its doors with a low groaning noise that could only be heard from yards away.
Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she took a few steps forward.
Noelle opened her eyes and was now outside her house AND yard.
But something didn’t feel right.
Then *CLANK*
The ear-piercing sound startled Noelle like an animal caught in the headlights. Immediately turning her head around, she saw…
The gate perfectly closed behind her.
This made Noelle incredibly uneased.
Between the unusual darkness in her bedroom, the message on her calendar, the front door, the trees with no snow on the branches, and now this—Everything just keeps piling up.
She—again—took another deep breath and decided to look at one of the houses. More specifically, Catti’s house.
Had it not been for the gate disrupting her train of thought, she would’ve suspected that there was—unsurprisingly—something strange about its exterior.
After getting a closer look, her suspicions were correct. The house looked like it was unfinished. Or possibly abandoned during mid-construction. But it wasn’t just the exterior, the inside looked empty as well. Given that this is supposed to be Catti’s house, there would normally be an obnoxious number of feline-related objects surrounding the living room. But there was nothing there other than colorless drywall, carpet-less flooring, and the windowless frame that surrounded each side of the walls. Not to mention the darkness trapped the hallway in front of Noelle or the snow that poured inside the empty house.
If this didn’t prove that this was all a dream, then nothing will.
Suddenly…
“Noelle.”
Noelle slightly jumped at the voice she heard just now. It sounded so distant, yet so close at the same time. Not only that, but it sounded like it came from Ms. Toriel’s house.
Diverting her attention away from Catti’s, Noelle walked her way over to the path. She didn’t make it too far since she could still see it farther away, but she knew that just like the other house, this house was more of the same.
“Ms. Toriel?” Noelle called out.
No answer, same as before.
“Noelle.”
Another voice called out to her, except this time, it sounded a bit more masculine.
Noelle turned her head.
“Father Alvin?” she identified.
She slowly walked over in the opposite direction. The voice came from the church just a few feet away in the distance. And just like Catti’s and Toriel’s, it too was abandoned.
Then…
“Noelle.”
She turned her head again. This time, it was a voice coming from her left.
“Mr. Asgore?”
Then another voice appeared.
“Noelle.”
“Dad?”
Then another.
“Noelle.”
“Mom!”
And another.
“Noelle.”
“Ms. Alphys?”
And another, though with a slight delay.
“…………..Noelle.”
“Catti?”
“Like. Noelle.”
“Ummmm….Catti’s sister?”
“Noelle.”
“Berdly?”
“Noelle.”
That particular voice made her heart jump.
“S-S-Susie?”
Then things went silent for almost 30 seconds.
Noelle kept walking past the abandoned buildings and was almost heading pass the last one—the flowers shop--on the block until….
“elleoN.”
Noelle stopped herself.
“….Kris?”
“Noelle.”
“Noelle.”
“Noelle.”
“Noelle.”
“Noelle.”
“Noelle.”
“Noelle.”
“Noelle!”
“Noelle!!”
“Noelle!!!”
“NOELLE!!!!”
The voices all started to come back, this time in full force and louder than ever before. All that Noelle could do was be overwhelmed by the abundance of noise that’s being directed in her way.
“I-I don’t know what you want! Please get away from me!”
Noelle sprinted her way into the woods, trying her best not to look back.
Her anxiety levels were increasing. Her heart was pounding. Her adrenaline was rushing through the course of her veins. The only obstacle in her way were the green picnic tables on her right.
However, while sprinting, one of her hooves hit up against the metal legs.
Noelle tripped and fell face first on the bed of snow.
For about 40 seconds, she could only let the frozen crystals cover her skin as it almost gave her a slight freezer burn on her little red noise. She wanted to get up, but she was too disoriented from the impact of her wipeout. Not only that, but there was something running through her head about this situation.
For something that was supposed to be a dream, this was all starting to feel like déjà vu. However, she couldn’t exactly figure out if this is something that she went through or just something that played out very differently in real life. Either way, there was indeed a sense of familiarity to it all. But how would that explain everything else?
To reorient herself, Noelle got up on her lower back and legs so she could wipe the snow off her face.
But once her eyes were uncovered, she saw someone—or something—in the distance standing closer to the edge of the frozen pond. It looked like they were slightly crouched over.
Slowly getting up on her two legs, she attempted to cautiously approach the figure in front of her.
Just like how she stepped out of the house, Noelle counted her steps.
One…two…three…four…five…and that was it.
She thought that the sound of her footsteps would have at least garnered some type of response from them, but nothing happened. Not wanting to make things awkward, Noelle decided to the take the risk and called out to them.
“H-Hello?” Noelle asked nervously.
The shadowy figure stopped tying their skate shoes, stood up straight, and put their hands between their waists.
“I thought I heard somebody tripping over themselves,” said ???.
That voice. It something that Noelle never heard in a long time. But she couldn’t know for sure. The main difference was that it sounded older. She looked at the figure’s body and noticed that they had antlers on top of their head. It couldn’t be her mom and dad because their hair isn’t exactly long. Though their clothes were obscured by the darkness, it almost looked like the back of a letterman’s jacket.
All Noelle could ever do was stare. This couldn’t be real. It feels more like a cruel joke than an outright miracle for something like this to happen. At the same time, she couldn’t help but let that curiosity get to her.
But what if wasn’t them? What if this whole thing is just a ruse? A deception? A Façade? It all sounds too good for something like this to happen.
But she had to know! She just had to!
“……Dess?”
“Sup, sis,” said Dess, still looking the other way.
It can’t be. It couldn’t be. It is her! After so many years of loneliness, the one person that Noelle needed the most has not only come back to Hometown, but also her life.
“W-what are doing here?” asked Noelle.
“Thought we can pick up where we left off,” answered Dess “I got an extra pair of skates lying around for ya.”
Noelle looked at the ice skates that Dess was pointing at. She tried to approach them, but she felt hesitant at first. Her sister didn’t really answer her question.
Noelle attempts to reiterate, “No I mean like…how did you find your way back here?”
“Found my sense of direction,” Dess answered so vaguely, yet so casually.
Noelle didn’t exactly get the answer that she wanted out of her, but it didn’t matter. This was her SISTER talking to her. Everything that happened beforehand—the houses, the voices, the climate, the trees, and just the overall thought that this whole thing was a dream—was meaningless. She wanted to fight back that denial, but even denial can take over anybody at their most vulnerable. And so, it did it just like that.
“I…it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Dess. Things hadn’t been the same when you disappeared. Mom has been more controlling than ever, and dad….well….dad is not fee-
“I wouldn’t worry ‘bout that.”
Noelle was surprised by Dess’s blunt interruption, but it wasn’t like she was a stranger to that sort of thing.
“Besides,” Dess continued, “I’m here now, am I not?”
Noelle couldn’t deny her sister’s statement. Seeing her in the flesh was enough to for her to unlock the memories that were in her head. And now, she gets the chance to create new memories with Dess. Memories that she never got to have before.
Noelle finally put on the ice skates.
“C’mon sis, let’s get on the ice,” Dess said while—again—still looking the other way, “You do remember how to skate right?”
That question was another thing Noelle couldn’t deny either. It had been a long time since she went ice skating. When she was young, there were times when she wanted her parents to teach her. But her mom was too busy to care about that stuff, and her dad wasn’t really a skilled skater himself. The only one who could’ve taught her that was her sister. And she did….at first….until….well…maybe she could learn a refresher or two.
“I guess I need a little boost in the old noggin anyway,” Noelle responded.
“Just remember what I told ya. Grab my hand and close your eyes.”
Noelle took a deep breath and grabbed Dess’s hand.
“You ready?” asked Dess, still facing the other direction.
“Y-yeah, I’m ready,” she answered.
Noelle closed her eyes. Both were standing there motionless, but eventually she felt a slight force that was pushing her forward. They were starting to get on the ice.
Noelle then opened her eyes. The only three things she could see were the back of her sister, the trees far off in the distance, and the ice that covered the entire surface of the lake. It was something that she hadn’t felt since…
“Heads up, sis. We’re gonna be making some turns.”
Noelle chuckled.
That laugh alone was everything that she needed to say.
Without any hesitation, Dess made a sharp turn to the right. The increasing acceleration only made it more exciting. The feeling of the skates scraping across the sheet of ice like frozen pencil shavings just felt right. It felt…nostalgic.
Dess did another sharp turn again, except this time, it was to the left. Same verse, same as the first.
But she had something up her sleeve. A few to be exact. And that was her plethora of skate tricks. Dess knew every skill in the book. From
That’s not to mention how Noelle was feeling by being along for the ride. Seeing her sister perform these feats of wonder wasn’t anything that she had seen before. It felt difficult having to hold her hand, but she was still able to keep up. Noelle wondered how Dess was able to obtain such abilities but—exhaustingly—it didn’t matter.
Noelle laughed from excitement. A feeling of joy in her heart that she hadn’t felt in forever. But something strange was going on. She didn’t figure it out at first, but she discovered that both of were only increasing in speed. Probably even more than she could handle.
“Um, Dess?” Noelle said, trying to get her sister’s attention, “You can slow down now.”
She didn’t respond. In fact, she kept going faster.
“Dess?”
No response and there was another increase in speed.
“Dess,” Noelle said concerningly.
Dess kept speeding up.
“Dess. Dess! Stop it, you’re going too fast!
Again, Dess kept speeding up. It was such an unusual velocity that Noelle had never experienced before. At this rate, her sister would at least have the courtesy to stop when it got too much. But she wasn’t listening.
Panicking, Noelle tried to grab onto Dess’s arm and attempted to let go. But it was no use. Her hand was completely stuck to her forearm. FROZEN even.
Noelle called out to her sister again.
“Dess. Let go of me. Let go of me now, Dess. Dess. Dess! DESS WHY CAN’T YOU LISTEN TO ME!! I SAID!! LET!! GO!!!”
*SNAP*
The amount of force from the pull flew Noelle back a few feet in the air and she landed on the sheet of ice on her back. She felt disoriented yet again and almost felt like she may have even hurt her back even more. Noelle tried to open her eyes and all she could see was only the night sky. Except there were no stars, no moon, and no clouds. It was completely pitched black. She then slowly raises her head up and saw nothing but her sister standing still in the distance. There were also no longer trees in the background. Only the dark void that surrounded them. Noelle attempted to sit up straight, trying to figure out what just happened those seconds ago. She looked a little closer to her sister and noticed that only her right arm was visible.
Then Noelle felt something weighing down HER right arm……
Slowly she looked down and noticed a hand holding onto her forearm…..
It also looked blue….and felt cold…..
She traced the end and saw a bone sticking out….
Noelle could only process what it was….
Then it clicked…..
Her eyes widened…...her mouth gaped…..and then she let out a loud shriek like a cryptic in the night….
This sound….this ungodly sound….suddenly gotten her sister’s attention and she strangely turned her whole body around for the first time…..
All she had was a blank expression on her face….except her eye holes were full of void and had small white pupils….staring dead set on Noelle….
Then….Dess moved…not by moving her arms….not by moving her legs…and not by moving her feet…..she just…moved…
And then she spoke.
“N O E L L E.”
That voice was no longer the voice of the sister that Noelle knew and loved. It sounded like someone loudly whispering in the distance or like a ghost or a spirit of some kind.
Noelle panicked and tried to get back up.
With nothing but the skates on her hooves, she tried to skate and skate away from her as fast she could.
But then she remembered that the only thing standing at the edge of the ice rink was the void.
Thinking fast, she skids as hard she could and ended up stopping so close to the end. The ice shavings falling the supposed cliff of the rink and falling into the darkness below.
Noelle had nowhere to go. An anxious feeling started to build up in her stomach. Felt like an ulcer constantly nagging at her. Shaking, she turned her body to see Dess coming closer and closer and it became more clear that she was gliding more than actually skating.
Abruptly, her ice skates locked in place, unable to make her move anywhere else. She kept frantically swaying back and forth to get away. It was no use. Her breathing started to get faster and faster, but during her anxiety-induced episode, she used the remaining part of her brain to confront the truth.
That wasn’t Dess. It was never her to begin with. Dess wouldn’t have waited to the last minute to just look at her sister. Dess wouldn’t have disregarded her sister’s pleas to stop whenever things get too hectic. And she most certainly doesn’t have a missing arm or missing eyes.
As for everything else, this was no longer a weird dream. It had now become a nightmare. But there was something about it that feels so real for it to be one at all. It wasn’t about the unusual darkness in her bedroom, the front door, the message on her calendar, the branches with no snow, the gate, or the voices with no sign of a monster to be found. No, it was about her sister, the need to ice skate, the ice rink itself, and the fact that this whole thing ended in chaos.
Then it hit her.
It wasn’t a dream or a nightmare. It was a memory this whole time. A memory of when Dess and Noelle spent their……
“No. No no no nonononononono…” Noelle said repeatedly, sounding more upset as “Dess” glided within her reach.
All she could ever do was—as always—close her eyes.
Suddenly, Noelle felt her “sister’s” arms—or at least what’s left of them—hugged around her body.
Everything went silent for just a few seconds, and she couldn’t do anything but stay frozen in place. However, the last thing Noelle heard before everything went blank were these five exact words.
“N O E L L E I A M S T I L L here.”
Noelle immediately shot up from her bed, drenched in cold sweat and her heart beating faster like a prey running away from their predator. She quickly checked her surroundings and noticed that everything was just the way it was.
From the normal shade of darkness in her room to the normal pajamas to the normal temperature that filled the air and then to the normal sunrise that signified the beginning of a normal morning.
Noelle then looked outside her bedroom window.
Again, everything was just the way it was.
From the normal grass that is about to go dormant to the normal trees with leaves that are changing color to the normal clouds that slowly moved across the sky and then to the normal monster citizens that are out and about like any normal day.
She then checked the calendar on her wall, and it said, “OCTOBER 7, 20XX.” The days were crossed off in the correct order and even the December page was still intact….
After taking a few deep breaths, Noelle finally started to calm down and slowly laid back in her bed.
She didn’t want to close her eyes. All she could ever do was look at the ceiling, contemplating about what happened last night.
When a few minutes had passed, a series of thoughts started to rush through her head. All of them were questions.
Why did I have that nightmare?
What was it trying to tell me?
Why was the entire town covered in snow?
Why did the clothes I wore look so familiar?
What did it have to do with me?
Why did it have to be me?
Why did it feel too real?
What did I do to deserve any of this?
Why couldn’t my dad just get better?
Why can’t my mom just accept that I’m no longer a kid anymore?
Why did Dess have to….
Noelle had to stop herself. It’s bad enough that she had to endure the nightmare, but it wasn’t going to do herself any good by just letting it fester in her mind.
But no matter how hard she tried; the thoughts just kept coming. It just felt too painful.
Noelle then started to feel something building up in her chest and it started making its way up. She felt like there was an object stuck in her throat. Still staring at the ceiling, she then noticed that her vision was getting blurry.
She figured that she may be dealing with some seasonal allergies. Or maybe it was the cold air blowing in her face. Or maybe, just maybe, her tear ducts were malfunctioning. But she knew deep down that it was all a lie. Noelle was only making excuses for the truth that was facing right in front of her.
She really wanted to release those feelings, just so she wouldn’t have to deal with this stuff all over again.
Until…
“Noelle, I’m not going to tell you again! Come downstairs and eat your breakfast! You’re going to be late for school!”
A voice could be heard scolding the teenage doe from downstairs. A voice she hadn’t heard since the hospital visit from yesterday. Clarice was getting ready to leave for work. Noelle stopped herself and tried to bottle up her emotions. Even if she wanted to cry, what good would it do if she had to do that in front of her own mother?
Besides, it was 8:15 and Noelle had to be there by 8:45. Once she heard her mom closing the front door, she got out of bed and tried to quickly do her morning routine, all while her emotions still crept up behind her. Right now, she had to be the obedient daughter that her mother wanted her to be.
Noelle had to get ready for school.
……But did she really wanted to go?