[ROTG] Frostbitten: 1

"And don't forget, Sophie's bedtime is seven thirty. Read her a fairytale-- she likes the one about the fairies-- and then tuck her in. Don't forget her nightlight. Jamie goes to bed at--"
"Eight thirty. Nightlight and don't forget the snack a half hour before. Graham crackers, clean up the crumbs. Don't worry, Mrs. Bennett. I know the reigns", I reassured the worried mother, leaning against the doorway. The sun was just setting as Eleanor Bennett descended from her front steps, straddled with luggage and hopes to help her sister with her newborn son. A light snow fell steadily from the heavens and as the Bennett family car disappeared down the street, I couldn't help but look up in amazement at the little ivory flakes gently floating along the breeze.
"Jack Frost did a good job this year, huh?", a small voice rang from behind me. Taken aback, I jumped from my place and turned to see Jamie standing there, a broken smile as his bottom tooth's spot lay vacant.
With a smile, I responded, "I guess so. So you think Jack really exists, huh?". Jack Frost. Such a funny little myth. I always enjoyed the Rankin Bass special they showed each year but hadn't really believed in such a thing since ninth grade, the year when reality slapped me in the face and offered a bitter taste of adulthood. Jamie nodded vigorously at my question, explaining that he had met him two Easters before and went on a fantastic adventure. Sweet little Sophie chimed in as well, saying that she met the Easter bunny and assisted him in his egg painting. As much as I enjoyed their little imagination charade, what amused me more was how imaginative they truly were. Jack Frost and the Easter bunny. Such childhood fantasies. If only I could still believe of their existence.
The night flew by rapidly, escorting two sleepy children up to bed after a mild game of Candyland as a Disney movie flickered upon the TV screen. As long as neither of them stirred in their sleep, the rest of the night was mine. Curling up in a quilt on the couch, I gingerly switched on every light on the ground floor, the dark loneliness still instilling fright in me despite being almost seventeen years old, and flipped to a marathon of Friends reruns as I scrolled through status updates on my cell phone.
The snow had grown heavier with the deepening of night, intricate frost designs skating across the spotless windows. Leaning closer, I smiled at their delicate beauty, identifying one to strangely resemble a school of tropical fish. Flashbacks of that summer day I had tried so hard to forget throughout the years came flooding back, closing my eyes as those of electric blue flashed before me again, the pale boy floating beneath the surface, the kind voice reassuring me. Blinking my eyes open, I gasped with shock as glowing blue fish began swimming into the atmosphere around me. Surely I must be dreaming, I thought to myself as I cautiously reached out to touch one of the fish. The disturbance caused it's frame to ripple like the tapped surface of a lake, dispersing a cool electricity much like that which charged the eyes of the boy from under the water, though it ceased to disrupt it's path.
"Impressed yet?", a familiar voice called, though when I turned, not a single soul stood there.
"Jamie?!", I shouted. Reaching behind me, I searched for anything worthy of use as a weapon in case I needed to defend myself against a burglar but instead caught hold of something different, human, cold. Gasping, I jerked around, shocked as I was face to face with those same electric blue eyes.