Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
This sound was becoming the bane of my existence.
The snow was deep.
…Way too deep, actually.
And I waded through it with all the grace of a three-legged elk.
‘Tch! Who am I kidding?’
Even that comparison was too generous.
Grace and me?
We were strangers with nothing in common.
We shouldn’t be put together.
Never.
‘Left foot first, then comes the right foot.’
My movements were awkward even to me…
So much so, that I felt I had insulted three-legged elks by comparing myself with them.
They, at least, had the decency to look majestic while stumbling.
Me? I looked like a puppet with half its strings cut.
‘One…two…one…two….’
Still, I persisted.
I had to.
I was given no other choice.
‘I think—no, wait—yes—I think I am finally getting the hang of it.’
The words tumbled out like a prayer, like if I spoke too confidently the universe would take personal offense and trip me just for laughs.
No. I wasn't exaggerating.
Because that's exactly what this universe would do.
It had that kind of sick sense of humor.
‘One foot…then another…’
Luckily, my worry was unfounded.
The universe didn't care enough to play pranks with me. Not today at least.
Perhaps it had already done its worst.
Ha…
I could sigh with relief.
Nothing bad happened.
No hell broke loose.
Best yet, I didn't trip.
Instead, I found myself making steady progress through the snow.
‘Steady’ being a relative word, of course.
Step…crunch.
In a way, It was inevitable.
Like… Adaptation is just nature’s way of saying “deal with it”, isn't it?
….Though nature never mentioned how damn awkward and humiliating the process would be.
‘Well, whatever. Who gives a fuck if it's awkward, anyway?'
Right.
Awkward or not, I was making steady progress. And that's all that mattered right now.
At least that's what I kept telling myself.
Crunch…crunch…crunch.
Even through my inner monologue I kept on trudging.
I was slightly proud.
Rightfully so.
I have never once thought of myself as a man of resilience.
Hell, I was someone who gave up just on the thought of “giving up”.
Yeah…. that bad.
So, for me, trudging on snow, and still persisting was akin to winning a Gold in the Olympics for my country.
Still… I tried not to be that deluded. To not think of my resilience as some scientific wonder.
For a moment, I even entertained the thought that some kid, still wet-behind-the-ears might do a job far better than me.
‘Haha. Ridiculous.’
Even to my ears that sounded like nonsense.
Yeah, sure… trudging through snow was not some rocket science, but it wasn't a child's play either.
More so, when I was nerfed to the max.
Yeah, nerfed.
Completely and utterly nerfed.
“...”
I stared at my small hands - hands so frail they would snap at an impact - of course, they weren't mine.
I was a fully grown man…. Or, at least I once was.
My current identity was… how should I even word it… some dead child’s?
“...”
Apparently waking up in a frozen wasteland, wasn't enough of a cosmic joke.
No, I had to wake up in a child's body too.
Had to get used to the child sized limbs all of a sudden.
Added…
I was in a child's body with one eye missing.
Yeah, you heard that right.
I only had one eye…
The right one was just… gone.
Flap…flap.
I blinked—or winked, I guess—feeling the scratch of the makeshift eyepatch over my right socket.
The empty socket.
It was another shock to me. At first, I thought my eyes were so swollen I couldn't see, but after some painful inspection I realized it wasn't there at all.
‘Ah! Why is this happening? Really…’
Actually… I knew why.
Or atleast, had some idea.
You see—
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a strong wind came from the front and slapped me across the face, reminding me of its existence.
‘As if I need any reminders.’
I thought bitterly.
My situation was miserable to be remembered throughout life - and till death.
Swaa—
Though, the wind did serve one purpose—it cleared away some of the snow in the air, giving me an unobstructed view of the sky.
“...!”
And there they were again, those “twelve” moons hanging in the sky, illuminating the snowy landscape in some creepy night light.
Yup, twelve of those celestial bastards.
Gulp…
You would think I would be used to the sight by now, but nope.
Every time I looked up, It still made my eyes—no, eye quiver.
Made the hair of my skin tingle.
Crunch…crunch…crunch.
Each and every moon in the family of twelve had a different gradient. Yet, the snow largely reflected a green glow.
It was all thanks to the twelfth moon—the biggest bastard of them all.
It shone with such great intensity that the others seemed to dim in comparison.
And when I say big, I mean massive.
This thing took up a good 2/5th of the sky.
‘Talk about otherworldly….’
I wouldn't lie, it was hypnotizing to just watch it.
Every single time. No matter how often I had seen it since arriving in this frozen hell, that green moon never failed to capture my attention.
Each glance felt like deja vu, which logically shouldn't be right.
I mean, how could something so alien feel so familiar?
But it was…
I would have already monologued it, if not for that stupid wind.
Um, You see....
When I first laid - my good eye - on this green monstrosity looming in the sky, I had a memory trigger in my mind.
It was hazy and distorted, but unmistakable.
How could it not be?
It was the last memory of my old life.
Speaking of which...
I remembered being drunk. Not just tipsy, but full-on, world-spinning drunk. The kind of drunk where you wake up and immediately regret every decision you've ever made.
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It was late, I think.
...Or maybe, it was early?
I didn’t really know.
Time got fuzzy as I was too far gone.
I vaguely recalled stumbling out onto my balcony, bottle still in hand. The sky was its usual polluted self, a thick blanket of smog blocking out the stars.
But then… a break in the clouds. And there it was - the moon.
Barely visible, with a sickly green tint. Just like the one looming over me now, just a lot smaller in size.
I remembered... saying something.
…Cursing at the sky.
What exactly, I couldn't say. It was all a blur.
But I was sure, I wished for something, while yelling at the green-tinged moon.
I didn’t know what I wished for.
I didn't know why I yelled at the green moon.
Didn't even know what came before or after.
But that feeling of frustration and those angry words... they echoed in my head even now.
Next thing I knew, everything went black.
When I opened my eyes—well, eye—I was here. In this frozen wasteland, in this child's body.
Whatever I asked for in my drunken stupor, this sure as hell wasn't it.
I could bet my savings on that….
Haahh….Haahh….
I felt fatigued.
No, fuck that.
Fatigued doesn't even begin to cover it. I was exhausted to my very core, each step felt like I was dragging the weight of the world behind me.
In my original body, this much snow would have been manageable, probably reaching midway up my shins.
But since I was in a pint sized body…
It reached all the way up to my knees, turning what would have been a simple walk….into an Olympic-level event.
‘Damn it. Why did they have to be so meticulous?’
Bitterness welled up inside me, threatening to overflow.
The god—or whatever cosmic jokester was responsible for this—had never granted my requests before. Never made my life any easier when I asked.
But the one time I wasn't in my right mind, and threw some tantrums - cursing at the sky.
Wallah!
Instant hijacking of a dead body… that's been rotting in a literal frozen hell.
No less, a kid with a missing eye…!
Shake! Shake!
I shook my head, trying to clear away the ridiculous thoughts.
‘Let’s keep moving.’
…
..
.
Achoo—
It was getting unbearable now.
My will was suffering.
It has been hours at this point, since I woke up in this body and found myself here. And still, there was no reprieve in sight.
Achoooo—
Cold doesn't begin to describe it.
I was freezing to my core.
My teeth chattered so hard, I sounded like a woodpecker that had too much coffee.
‘Oh god…’
I was shivering so much, I probably could have powered a small appliance.
Okay, that was an exaggeration. But still, the tattered coat I had over me wasn't doing much to keep out the cold.
And to add insult to injury, it reeked of tanning chemicals and rotten flesh.
‘Just amazing…’
AAACHOOO—
Again, a sneeze ripped through me, disrupting my balance. I yanked myself in the snow with all the skills of a drunken penguin.
Thud!
‘Ow. Ow. Ow.’
Pain zinged through my head, especially on the right side of my face where my eye used to be.
‘What the fuck happened to it?’
…I didn’t know what happened to it, but it hadn't been there since the moment I woke up in this body.
Though, the injury was recent enough to know it wasn't long before that I actually had it.
Hnn…
As I lay there, dazed, I realized something was different. The makeshift earplugs I had fashioned from my torn clothing had come loose in the fall.
And then I heard it…
[Hee-hee, you fell, dummy!]
That voice.
The one I had been trying so hard to block out.
I called it Spooky…
Because it had spooked the shit out of me when it first spoke.
Like literally.
I nearly jumped out of my skin - or rather, this kid's skin.
That's why I had stuffed my ears in the first place.
Actually, I didn't think it would work.
Plugging my ears with torn clothing was something I did out of sheer frustration…
But for some reason I was proven wrong, and it worked.
‘Thank god it did.’
I couldn't think what I would have done without that.
Of course, it wasn't as if I couldn't listen to Spooky’s rambling at all, but it was muffled enough for me to act as if I was alone in this frozen landscape.
[That's what you get for not watching where you're going, dumbass!]
And now, without my earplugs, the floodgates had opened.
A never-ending stream of chatter, muttering, singing, crying, and laughing at me.
It was usually very incomprehensible.
Unlike now.
‘Fuck, it talks nonstop!’
Though even now, it didn't know how to stop. It kept on chattering, insulting, and doing something that I would call - sibling behavior.
[I bet that hurts a lot! Idiot! Hehehehe…]
You get the idea?
It spoke with a child-like teasing tone, layered with the classic sibling-like concern—enjoying your misfortune in silence while pretending to care.
‘Oh, shut up!’
I mentally grumbled, spitting snow out of my mouth.
‘Like you would do any better without depth perception.’
A solid argument, if I do say so myself.
Something hard to refute.
[Awww! Did the poor baby fall down…? Want your mommy? Want to cry?]
But…it was easy for Spooky. As it didn't know the fundamentals, or atleast didn't care enough to play fair.
It made sense.
Children, especially the mischievous ones, couldn't give two flying fucks about logic.
[Go tell someone! Go tell!!]
‘So annoying.’
[But wait! Who would you tell? Who who who?]
[The grown ups? The big people?]
[Think they will listen?]
[Think they will make it better?]
[They won't. They never ever do.]
“...”
[Dumbass silent~! Dumbass silent~! La~ la~ la~ la~ LAAAAA~!]
Its voice raked across my skull like fingernails on glass, each note climbing higher until the final screech nearly split my head in two.
‘Ouch, my head.’
Still… I didn't bother responding, having learned from the past exchanges that engaging with Spooky only encouraged it.
Ha….
I lay there in the snow, feeling utterly drained.
My fingers and toes had long since gone numb.
I knew, if I didn't get up soon…
I would end up becoming a human popsicle.
[A popsicle, huuuh? Pop-si-cle! Pop! Si! Cle! What a funny word~!]
[WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT? I WANNA KNOW!]
[TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME TELL MEEEEE!]
Even in this dire situation, Spooky found a way to be annoyingly curious, like a child who just learned their favorite new word.
‘Go away! Let me relax…’
I groaned, trying to swat at the voice in my head like it was an annoying fly buzzing in endless circles.
[Pop~si~cle! Pop~si~cle! Pop~! Pop~! Pop~!]
Yet it chanted, undeterred.
‘Please, just be quiet!’
I begged.
[Pop! Si! Cle! Pop! Si! Cle!]
Spooky kept going.
‘Tsk… suit yourself. I don't care.’
I clicked my tongue, feeling more defeated than tired.
If I could, I would have decked this asshole right in the face.
Not even caring if it was once a child or not.
A well connected punch right to the face. Dead center. No compromise.
None. At. All.
But I couldn't fulfill my fantasy. So I choked down my anger like a bitter pill.
[Hey..?]
‘What now?’
I grumbled, ready to throw hands with air—Of course, in my distant fantasy that is.
I was still sprawled out like a rug on the snow.
Making no effects to move, whatsoever.
My body was slowly freezing, but I couldn't muster the energy to move.
Heck!
….It was a miracle I had made it this far with an empty eye socket where my eye should be. The makeshift eye patch might have protected it from the biting cold, but every step sent a dull throb through my skull.
[Ah ah ah! Are we planning to take a nap?!]
‘What?’
[Nap nap! Planning to take a nap?]
What the… what was this little motherfucker talking about?
A nap?
Here?
Now?
What kind of crazy nonsense was that?
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to let loose.
I really did.
But I bit my tongue.
Kept my calm.
What was the point of arguing with a voice in my head?
None.
It would only make me look even crazier than I already felt.
‘Yeah, sure, it's nap time,’
I said dryly.
‘Let’s just curl up in the snow and take a nice, long snooze. I am sure that will end well.’
My words dripped with sarcasm.
[Yay yay YAAAY! Nap time in the fluffy snow! Like angels, like angels!]
[Nap time~ Nap time~ fluffy fluffy naptime~]
Spooky cheered happily.
Either not picking up on the sarcasm or choosing to ignore it.
[We are gonna be the bestest popsicle ever! Whatever that is! Funny word, funny word!]
There it was again, that “we” thing.
I found it weird how Spooky would sometimes talk about us like we were a package deal.
‘Tsk, whatever.’
Now was not the time to think about Spooky's quirks or some other bullshit.
[Bestest~ Bestest~ Pop~Si~cle! He~he~he~! Ha~Ha~Ha! Such a silly word to be~!]
As much as I hated to admit it, Spooky’s nursery rhyme, along with the tirade I went through, had helped me realize my situation better:
‘I have got two choices….’
First choice.
I could lie here, and let the cold take me.
‘I have tried enough.’
Or…
Second choice.
I could struggle….
Push through the pain, the cold, the exhaustion.
‘What should I do?’
[Take a nap! Take a nap! Let’s be a pop-sicle!]
‘Alright, you little shit!’
[Less go! Less go! Bestest pop-sicle!]
‘Ah, no, not that….’
I have made my decision.
‘I am passing on being the pop-sicle….’
[No! Why why why?]
‘Just not.’
I grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular.
And with a groan that refused to leave my throat, I forced myself to move. I pushed against the snow, struggling to my feet.
‘Let's get moving before we both turn into ice sculptures.’
[NO! WHY WHY WHY!]
[DON'T WE WANT TO BE THE BESTEST POPSICLE?]
[NO FUN! NO FUN!]
[No fun at all…]
Spooky whined, but I could swear I heard a note of relief in its voice.
Was I imagining it?
Well, whatever.
Why does it matter anyway?
‘Too bad, kiddo….’
I said, shaking my head for dramatic effect.
‘We have got places to be, things to do. Freezing to death is not on the to-do list.’
Even I thought I was cool as I blurted out those words.
‘Now then…’
Swaying slightly, my remaining eye once again locked onto the trail of footprints stretching out before me.
Yes. Footprints.
They belonged to the group that had left me—or rather, the kid - behind.
Of course, I couldn't be sure as it was something said by Spooky.
Who were they? Family? Friends? Or just fellow travelers?
That was something Spooky didn't tell.
Well, whoever they may be, their footprints were the only thing that kept me going.
Made me want to try.
To live.
My… only hope of survival in this frozen wasteland.