Breaking The Ice

Breaking The Ice

Nina didn’t like new things. She didn’t like new places. In fact, she barricaded herself in her room when she was told she would have to leave all of her friends, her school, everything she’d ever known, behind. It came as a surprise over dinner, her mom explaining how she’d gotten this “big promotion”.

“It will be fun”, her mom had said. “Imagine all of the new friends you’ll meet, and fun activities we can do as a family, in nature!”.

Nature? Family Activities? Where even would we be moving to?

“Where Grammy raised me honey. When I was your age. Out by the great lakes, my hometown: Saturn Ridge.”

None of this sounded fun to Nina. Since when did her brother, mother, and baby sister, ever act as family?

Maybe aliens have came and abducted my mom…and her doting counterpart is here to play tricks on our minds, shake us up.

Nina pushed her food around on her plate, feeling as if she might cry. She looked to her brother Tom, and her sister Lynn.

“She’s telling the truth, Nina.” Tom said solemnly.

“NEW. FUN. HOUSE”, sputtered baby Lynn.

Feeling sick to her stomach, and suddenly losing all appetite, Nina ran up to her room, locked her door, and moved her bookcase in front of it.. .

"I can’t move if they can’t move me." she declared.

Six Months Later

Nina had set up her room in the old brick house similar to how she did back in California. She wasn’t yet used to the chilly, bitter, winter weather this side of the country offered. The move had been easy, and they had flown in as a family. Movers did the rest, it was just her job to unpack.

“Unpacking, unshacking.” declared Nina. She wasn’t in the mood to do anything in this new, old house. Her room was big though. There was something quaint about the old brick house, with its three wooden floors, and huge imposing staircase. There was even a pond just a short walk away, in the back.

“It dates back to the late 19th century” Nina’s mother had told her.

“We’re also pretty close to the town center, just one mile out! Funny as it is…I’ve explored this whole town when I was about your age, but never have I swam in that pond. It’s kind of a local legend that a young girl had drowned there one winter. So everything is free game to explore, but don’t walk on the pond. Even if it’s iced over. It’s not safe. Not that the story of that girl could ever be proven!” She laughed.

“The price you’re buying this for, is a great deal”, the Realtor had said.

”Just ignore those rumors.. It was forever ago, and you know how small towns are! Not much to talk about, is there? Well I must be off, so much to see and so much to sell. Ciao!”

“I have to get into town, get my office set up. I bought some sandwich stuff, and some really nice bread. Liz one of my old friend’s daughter should be here to watch you guys shortly. Bye!” She said as she kissed Nina on the forehead, and rushed out of the door.

Great. A “babysitter”, nina thought. She was fifteen! She didn’t need a babysitter.

There wasn’t much to do. The cable hadn’t been set up yet, and there wasn’t any internet either. Nina’s mother was “old fashioned”, and didn’t believe in cell phones. She could be reached at the office, or from home. Nina decided to explore the house. She checked the basement, with it’s cobwebs and old wooden interior. She flipped every cabinet door open in the kitchen, and banged them all shut. She even built something of a snowman with her baby sister, and Liz.

“SNOW. FRESH. FUN!”, squealed Lynn..

By afternoon, Nina had become bored. There was only one space in the house she hadn’t explored, and it was the attic. The creepy attic that had a pull down ladder. The attic that was only in her room. She decided she would be brave enough, adventurous enough, to take a peek. She pulled down the ladder and braced herself for the dust shower that followed.

"Sheesh louise, this house really is old…"

She sneezed as she let the dust settle. She pulled her shirt over her nose and grabbed a flashlight. With one hand moving forward, she began the climb. Once at the small square door, she readied herself and pushed. Giving way to a small, dark space.

She clicked on the flashlight and let the space be filled with light. A bright circle darted around, as she looked for anything intriguing.

Nothing. Great big nothing. Like the rest of this house!

That’s when she spotted it. A book. In the corner of the crawl like space she noticed a dust covered book. She quickly grabbed it, and interested, made her way back to her bedroom. She shut the door, and climbed back down. Pushing the ladder back into place. With one big breath, she blew the dust off the cover. It wasn’t quite a book, but a photo album. There was a family photo on the front, an old looking family. Standing in front of the huge brick house she had just moved into. In the middle of the cover there was young girl, she looked like she was about Nina’s age. She was wearing a long white dress, and had ribbons in her long dark hair.

Nina got a cold chill. She couldn’t image the same girl, probably aged, if not dead, by now. She plopped down on her bed. She opened the album as dust continually fell in her lap. Nina was too intrigued to care.

Our Dear Annabella. 1890-1905 was on the first page at the top in neat cursive. In the middle of the page was her photo. It was the same girl from the front cover, and must have been on the same day. Annabella was dressed in the same clothes.

Something must have happened to her at age 15…

The room was silent. Nina felt uneasy. She was just going to turn the page, when all of a sudden,

“Hey you! Dinner’s ready!” exclaimed Liz, making Nina jump.

“Don’t scare me like that!”

“I did knock silly, now go get washed up for dinner! You look like you’ve been working in a coal mine, or maybe you’ve seen a ghost!”

Nina closed the book, and put what she had read as far back in her mind as she could. She tucked the book under her bed, and washed herself for dinner.

TWO WEEKS LATER

Nina hadn’t been sleeping much. She needed her sleep, as she was now back in school. She would toss and turn all night in her bed, her mind conjuring images of Annabella grabbing her. From where? Nowhere. The dark. Under her bed. The dreams were always different. The worst dreams would start with Nina in the woods closest to her home, lost and scared. She would blink, and Annabella would grab her, appearing seemingly out of thin air.

“Ninnnnaaaaaa” she would whisper.

As they would sink into the ground, Nina would wake up panting. In a cold sweat she would run to her mom’s room. Her mom would explain that Annabella was just a person who had lived in the house. The stories were all in Nina’s head. In fact, it was a sign that Nina was creative. She could lucid dream. Nina didn’t feel the same way. The dreams were so real to her. Her mom even threw the old photo album away, as a sign of ridding Nina of Annabella. The dreams then stopped. Nina wouldn’t have anymore nightmares.

ONE WEEK LATER

It had now been a week since Nina had a night terror. She was fitting into her school and had even made a neighborhood friend! Josh. Her brother Tom had joined a band, and baby Lynn loved her new preschool. Everything was getting easier, and maybe the moved wasn’t so bad.

Knock knock knock.

You could hear the sound of someone knocking all throughout Nina’s house. Old houses were always like that. Despite having moved, the acoustics were as such. “I’ll get it!” Yelled Nina. She didn’t want Liz to do everything for them. She was trying to prove to her mom that she could take of things herself. Nina ran to the door and opened it, it was Josh.

“Hey Neighbor! Want to play a game outside? The weather is nice today, and we have so much fresh snow to play in!”

“Sure! Let me get bundled up, and I’ll be right out.”

Nina returned five minutes later all snug in her newly bought winter clothes. She and Josh made their way to the back out the house, where they often played tag and built snowmen. There was even a small hill leading to the forbidden pond, perfect for sledding in.

Indeed today, they would go sledding.

“I haven’t seen this much snowfall here in a while! We can make a ramp at the bottom of the hill and catch some big air!” exclaimed Josh.

So they made their ramp and began their snow frolic. Josh had gone first, and his sled had caught some “big air”. It was now Nina’s turn and she was excited. She fastened herself onto her makeshift sled. It was a garbage can top, cylindrical, and cold metal.

“You’ll get better air than me, with that one!” yelled Josh from the bottom of the hill.

Nina took a deep breath, and she pushed off the hill holding on tight. She was racing down the hill, catching snow in her mouth along every inch of her descent. She braced herself for the big bump that was their ramp. Her stomach jumped as she watched herself lift up into the air. She closed her eyes and felt glee that she might beat Josh with her turn. She felt herself hit something hard, and she opened her eyes.

She had landed on the ice with a thud, and her sled was a bit aways from her.

Nina was on the lake. The forbidden Lake. She looked back to see Tom waving his arms. How far had she gone? She knew that the lake was dangerous. She knew that she shouldn’t be on it. As she stood up to walk back across the lake, she felt a chill arise in her. The wind picked up, and she could clearly make out a voice.

“Ninnnnaaaaaaaaa.”, it whispered.

“I want to play with youuuuuuuuuu”.

She was convinced it was Annabella. She quickly put two and two together that Annabella had been the young girl from the legend. Annabella had been the fifteen year old girl who had drowned. She wanted off of the pond. NOW. As she stood up and moved one foot forward to begin her walk, she heard the ice crack.

She froze. She had never felt such fear in her life.

“Commeeee to meeee Ninnnaaaaa”, she heard an icy voice screech.

A ghostly arm arose from the water and grabbed at her leg. It was Annabella. Anabella wanted a playmate, a dead one. Nina fell, and tried as hard as she could to move her leg out of Annabella’s icy grasp.

Her sled! She saw her sled out of the corner of her eye and barely managed to grab it. She began hitting the arm with it. She broke free! She ran all the way back to Tom, and was in tears.

“It was Annabella! She was trying to take me with her!”, she panted.

“I didn’t see anything, but you falling!” declared Tom, “Come on and let’s go in to see if you are injured.”

“I’m not making it up, I’m not!” screamed Nina.

From that day forward…Nina never stepped foot out back, or in the pond again.