The Curious Case Of Missing Snowmen

Dear reader 

Welcome, I don’t know whether you will like this or not but I am assured of the fact that after reading this story you will start believing in magic. 

“Phatt” the snowball numbs my cheek

“Your it!” exclaims the sharpshooter my mom as I stand with a question mark of a face. What a welcome home. She embraces me but this time I catch her red handed trying to stuff a snowball inside my hood. Whenever I visit my mom, I have a hard time deciding whether I became old or she is ageing back.

“I am so glad that you made time for the holidays.” My mom poured out the mother in her by pulling my cheeks and mumbling “swooshy swishy bear,” and we’re back to my toddler days. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked mom. I am lost in daze trying to understand what could be the possible explanation of a person who has just landed a flight, parked her car, carrying luggage and not to forget got shot my snow ball, “I am headed inside.” 

“No, you are not!! Come on Em, its snow everywhere …” well that’s quite evident I could see the snow I mean its winter but where was she getting too, “so?” 

“…So, you know come on, go and join them.” said she pointing at the kids making snow men and carving snow angels.

“Wait. What no way mom! Come on I am not twelve anymore and besides it freezing out here so don’t you think I deserve some of your famous hot cocoa?” that was the biggest mistake of my life mentioning her famous hot cocoa she knew she could make me battle dragons and warriors and I would still come back defeating them just to have her hot cocoa. That’s the power my mom’s famous hot cocoa has over me. 

“Well, if you really think you deserve my hot cocoa then go and make some snow men, go on and don’t make that grinch face, enjoy!.” she goes taking my stuff inside shutting the door. 

“There is no going back so I might as well enjoy“ I thought to myself . Our neighbour and my childhood friend lizzie greeted me while her nitwit zika introduced herself. She held out her tiny palm and led me to the spot where she was making the “perfect snowman that the world could ever see.” Since she is only five so all I had to do was follow her instructions and to be honest five years olds are nothing less than your nosy boss who just wants everything to be perfect but the only difference is that she is cute enough to be less annoying. We spent hours and hours making snowmen, carving snow angels, hiding behind tiny dunes of snow, licking snow cones till they made our tongue turn blue, everything had the term snow in it. it was getting late and I was playing chase with Zika when the mothers (lizzie and my mom) called us in. I had lost the track of time, good thing I wasn’t wearing a watch (don’t mind my subtle puns). I rushed in. The house was filled with lights, cosiness, warmth and the bribe of all the time mom’s world-famous hot cocoa brewed for hour and hours covered with Choco chips and melting marshmallows. I sipped slowly sitting next to the fireplace. I didn’t want this to ever end. Man! I just realized that how much I had missed home, how much I craved this holy grail of a drink and how much I wanted to see my mom. 

Before going to bed I walked out just breathe in the Christmassy air, just to feel something new. The heavy lights dangling all around the neighbourhood. The shinning Christmas trees and the snowman, wait something felt weird. I went near to examine, looked like my snow man needed a nose job, spending a good minute I fixed him up all nice and good. Before I could walk back, I felt something didn’t seem right. It seemed as if his left twiggy hand had moved. I looked again and it was just fine. Anyhow I turned and shut the door. Something in my gut told me to peek from the window and see what exactly was going on. As I peeked and within a split of a second shut the curtains “no, no !! that can’t be it. Emily, you need some sleep you had a heavy day, the flight, staying in the snow for too long, it’s probably nothing.” but I unable to convince myself. I rushed out and saw he wasn’t there, the snowman wasn’t there, it was like poof! Gone in thin air. Oh god!! What if he was a thief dressed up as a snowman, what if he was there to kill people oh my god! oh my god! I was about to shout my lungs out when a stick shut my mouth. I turned petrified “Oh my god!! Oh my god!! Oh my god!” I yelled 

“Oh my god! oh my god!! Oh my god!!“ Yelled the snowman. After furious rounds of yelling, he shut my mouth again “Emily calm down!! Breathe In and breathe out, relax, activate your chakras come on breathe in and breathe out.”

He took his twiggy hand (or whatever you can call it, I don’t want to offend the snowman community) I starting dialling on my phone to which he said, “Are you ordering pizza? Can you ask for extra cheese?” 

“What! Are you nuts! I am calling police; you think you can get away like this! huh no way. Take off this weird mask you got on“ I tried snatching it but it wouldn’t come off “that’s’ some strong glue.” 

“Ouch!! That hurt! I am not a thief Emily. Come on don’t you remember me?” explained he rubbing his snowy cheeks that had gone red. 

“How do you know my name?” I gazed closely 

“Come on Emily it’s me come on you know me.” Said he, his beady eyes growing big and his super-sized smile. it did kinda creep me out at first but then as I focused. It seemed unreal. Could he really be? 

“Fluffy?” 

“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it that you would remember! Emily knows my name!! Emily knows my name!! …” he sang joyously twirling and prancing around. 

But how could this be. Maybe I was being paranoid. I was really regretting the time when I let down the chance to see that shrink. I am so lonely that I am talking to snowmen. if anyone saw me, they would think I am insane. Oh god!! Emily why didn’t you see that doctor when you had the chance, why are you so stupid. He noticed me cursing myself and stopped his dancing parade at once. 

“Now there what’s wrong with you, everything is going to be just fine. I know that the big guys at your work annoy you but it’s going to be fine.” his twiggy hand poking my back as he stoked me. 

“Nothing can be more wrong than this that a snowman is consoling me oh god!! Please tell me this is a dream, please! Please!! pretty please! !!”” I rubbed my eyes, pinched and slapped myself but it would not go away. Fluffy the snowman was right in front of me, live and alive. 

“Well, I think now you seem fine now so I must tell you my reason to visit you in such ungodly hours. I am sorry if I scared you (if, really, I mean?) but I am here on a mission, a mission impossible (wow, a snowman who gives movie references that was the only weirdness missing in the life) behold Emily I am going to reveal the secret … “

He pulled my ear “do not tell this to anyone, its top-secret code. THE SNOWMEN ARE MISSING!! Yes, you heard me right the snowmen are missing but not to worry you and I are together going to find them and save winter!” 

“hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahaha!!” I burst into laughter that could have easily covered up ten pages of this story. 

His beady eyes crossed and snapped instantly “What has gotten into you? Don’t you realize I am on a mission here? Don’t you understand the snowmen are gone, something is taking them away, Do you even realize that how dangerous and serious is this?? Your busy going LOL!!” 

“Of course, this is a joke come on a snowman is telling me that snowmen are missing, you really think I would fall for that. I think you have had too many of those snow cones, something has gotten into your head, missing snowmen like really.” I stated my valid reason for laughing my guts out. 

Before he could hit me with his comeback our argument was cut short over a sharp sound of zap and zoom as the night fell into deep dark silence. We hid behind the bushes and what I encountered next was something that I had never even imagined in my wildest of dreams, flying saucer let out a giant vacuum like thingy that sucked a snow man right in its valve few yards away from us and then zoom -zapped away. 

He sighed and we crept out to the crime scene. I am finding it difficult to describe myself in that very situation-stunned, shocked, unmoved or frozen I believe that there aren’t enough synonyms to explain the way I was feeling but I can tell you this that my eyes were glued to the sky.

“Ah-Ha I Got it!! I knew it. Bingo!!” declared Fluffy the detective breaking my focus. 

I rushed “what is it?” 

“I knew where all my people are. We need to get there quickly. We don’t have time come on let’s go.” Seriousness and a hint of concern in his tone as he stared at the piece of hay near the spot where they had abducted the poor snowman away. 

He began brisk walking (or crawling, I have never seen a snowman’s feet maybe its hidden beneath that heavy coat of snow) 

“But what about this?” said I calling his attention to the clue. 

“Oh that, yeah you can keep it. I don’t want to get my twig prints all over it. “And we were back. I was an intern, an assistant who had a gallon of questions but didn’t ask them, all I lacked was a notepad and nerdy specs. I had not the slightest of a guess about exactly where we going. I was basically tagging along with his crawl. Upon reaching the lamppost he whistled, a cherry red sleigh with golden lining appeared, fluffy patted the reindeer as they tap danced around him. This was as easy as calling a taxi in the bustling streets of New York City. 

Have you ever been in a situation which was so preposterous that with every twist and turn you became eager and petrified at the same time, I couldn’t compose myself at all, “you have a sleigh? I thought Santa had these.” Pardon me, the butterflies in my stomach could no longer hold and out they came. 

“That’s just for the Christmas eve so that he can deliver happiness to the world. Rest of the year it belongs to us. It’s not easy being a snowman Emily you have to make sure that winter reaches everywhere.“Fluffy explained tightening the reins of the reindeer. I couldn’t reason with him at this time it was pointless. 

“Come on! Hop in! Get ready for the ride of your life!” he encouraged me strapping his helmet to this snowy neck. I was hesitant but then did I have a choice, was there any chance that I could back out. 

“Grab onto your seatbelts because we are about to flyyyyyyy!!” he cried out. 

“Wait but there aren’t any seatbelts?” I said cautiously 

“Oopsie-daisy! well then hold onto your seats!” Neighed the reindeer (I don’t know but it sounded like they neighed readers you have to be lenient I have been through enough for one night). We were in the sky, I mean I am not even kidding, we were figurately, metaphorically and literally in the sky. The intriguing part was that I was enjoying after ages I was really enjoying, spreading my wings breathing, brushing against the cottony clouds, oh this was indeed the ride of my life. I was smiling, so much so that I began to creep one of the reindeer out. In every aspect was I was HAPPY, when was the last time I was this happy I wondered. 

We were landing. I could see the reindeer going down. It wasn’t clear though, the fog had crowded the entire the view. The good thing was that I wasn’t afraid anymore rather curious to see what happens next. Finally, we were down. My feet felt soft there weren’t clouds I bent and touched it was snow, but it was too big for snow dune. The fog began to clear itself and I discovered we were on a top of snowy moor on the outskirts of town. 

It was tiny cottage made out of hay. The fence was made out of straw. The entire place was carved out of hay and straw. How bizarre was this but then what was normal about this whole night? I heard the same zooming sound in nearing us and immediately grabbed fluffy crouching behind the cottage wall. Drones were hovering all over it with their spotlights. I must say who ever this person is he does seem to have pretty tight security system. 

“Ah- ha! Found it!!” Mr detective was on the prowl again. 

“What is it? Got another clue maybe a key to where all the snow men are?” he could see the lines on my forehead showering care.

“Awhh! I knew it Em, somewhere deep inside you did care, anyhow look what I found” he pointed towards a hole in the wall.

“Yeah, so what about it?” I whispered staring blankly 

“This is our way in. come on let’s go.” He said thrilled 

“Hold up! Are you out of your icy brain? What’s wrong with you? How are we going to get through this tiny hole?” I whispered angrily 

He held my hand in his twiggy palm, glaring deep into eyes “Emily believe me and we will be just fine” We closed our eyes and Viola! the next moment we made it in. It sure did seem small from the outside but the inside was nothing less of being in a complicated security vault. We tippy toed, I mean I tippy toed he tippy crawled through the corridor keeping our eyes, ears nose and all the other senses open, “how long is this thing? It’s like going through a tunnel aahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” remember that phrase watch where you step well, I wish I would have done. I fell rolling down a crazy slide and ended up in a room and right when I was about to get my balance Fluffy touched down on me.

“Emily? where are you ?” he looked here and there

“In, h-e-re.” my broken tone made him get up. 

“Oh, I am so sorry! I hope it didn’t hurt much.” He said embarrassed. I wish I had known that snow could weight this much, he helped me up. He directed me to the cages, poor snowmen trapped and helpless. I wobbled near them but before I could step on, he stopped me “no!! don’t!! you see this is a coded tile you can’t just go through with this. there has to be a way…..” he examined the floor for a moment, “….ah-ha!! Got it!! step on the Santa and avoid the reindeer at all costs. Go for it!! go Emily!”

It worked as I crossed the first few rows of Santas but as I was getting closer and closer the floor was becoming a challenge to walk on so much so that towards the end of it, I was almost squatting. But thanks to my morning yoga I was flexible enough to hold it still and made it to the last tile. The alarm turns green and all the locks opened on their own. Snowmen hurdled together, a giant snowy rugby ball for a snowy reunion. I was mesmerized by the scene, it was awhh-worthy almost a tear jerker.

Sadly, it didn’t last long. I was so lost admiring them that I accidentally stepped upon the reindeer “oopsie-daisy!” the crow alarm went caw!! Caw!! Caw!! We hurried to run but the doors were shut. The roof parted and a murder of crows descended upon the floor carrying their master. I couldn’t really make out his face as he held his hand over it. it didn’t seem like a human but it was a sort of man like thingy. The minute his pointy stubs hit the floor “HIT IT!!” out came out his order and a crow beaked down a jukebox, it was time to face the music. 

“I am bad!! I am bad!! You know it!! I am bad!! “The weird man like thingy sang and the crows became the chorus “your bad!! Your bad!! You know it your bad!” Whoever he was but he did have some taste in music, I mean Michael Jackson not bad at all. He swirled-break danced- moonwalked himself out of the room but the crows dragged him in. 

“Boy you got some moves!!” sorry that slipped out involuntarily but, in my defence, he danced really well. 

“Thanks darling and welcome to my humble abode.” his goons came flying crowding us all. He didn’t have any teeth it was just hollow dark inside, “look what the cat dragged in?” he said trying his best to squint (or at least that’s what I could make out) 

“You don’t have to say it everyone know you’re the baddest of them all huhh!” Roared fluffy. 

“Oh!! If it’s not Mr carrot nose.” He mocked 

“Shut up! You straw face!” Fluffy hit him back. 

“So, we are playing now okay you know I feel sorry for you, in fact I feel sorry for all of you, how difficult it would be for you to go from point A to point B when you don’t have legs just your tummy ahh!! Take that!!”

Now this was it, before they went on war and mess up with room with snowflakes, hay, feathers and fallen carrots I knew It was high time I budged in, “Alright!! Now stop it you two! Look at you, arguing like kids. ….”

“He started it.” Fluffy interrupted 

“He called me straw face.” The man – like thingy defended. 

“…Okay!! Not a word now!! I am tired and sleepy. We are not here to fight okay…” I saw fluffy rolling his beady eyes “…. I saw that and yes, we are not here to fight. We are here to find a solution like mature snowman okay now you weird man looking thingy tell me what’s our story?” 

“My story!! My story!! Give me a C major…” the man thingy cleared his throat to sing “….ahem! ahem listen up !! 

“Many winters ago, when the sun was shining bright 

I used to scare away the crows, 

The field was my pride 

Soon the winter came 

Desolate I became 

Snow took over mountains, fields and homes 

I was left to rot all on my own 

Shivering I was beginning to fade

Then these poor crows came to my aid 

They stitched me up nice 

And fed me good 

Looked after me 

Like a family would 

From then on 

claws and straw made a team 

Going against the man so mean 

Who fired me to die 

I sweared to rain my wrath upon them 

They would never heal

For there shall be no snow men, no winter

And thus no Christmas feel “ 

Crows hummed the end 

“Okay that was all nice and rhyming but can you just please stop hating on us? Do you even know how hard it is being a homo sapiens let me tell you, when your young than you believe that everything Is possible, you wannabe an astronaut yes you can be, you wanna drive the train yes you can do that you can do and be anything you ever dreamt off, real deal begins when you grow up just to find out that these were just dreams, it was all made up, and that there was no chance that you’d be able to inch close to turning it into a realty, there was just no way. Next thing you see yourself scurrying away from nine to five meanwhile your boss! this man !! you know what he does just sits in that huge revolving chair playing God and you are nothing but a hamster in his cage running the wheel over and over again. And don’t even get me started on leave application, anyone that is ranked above you doesn’t believe in the fact that you too want to live, you too have passion to follow and you too need a break from your freaking mediocre life!!!” that was too much to digest. It had been a long never-ending night. I had been saving this since I don’t know ages perhaps, the bottle just burst open and boom!! It was all out there. Not a single utterance the moment I shut myself. A young crow offered me a glass sewed out of bamboo shoot which had strange colour liquid inside, I was to worn out to question now. The lavender flavour took its toll on me. Now that the cribbing was over, I was much calmer. 

“I am sorry for what I just said and I apologize from the bottom of my heart that someone put you through such horrifying misery but just because someone did this to you doesn’t make the entire mankind bad, now does it? Isn’t it unfair for you to go on a revenge spree, not everyone deserves this punishment besides if you too are being mean than what’s the difference between you and the person who ill-treated you, have you ever considered that? Revenge will get you nowhere trust me I know I am sound all preachy here but to tell you it’s indeed the truth. What we need to do right now is to find a solution otherwise we never get to the end of it. So, what do you say? Are you two ready to make peace?” this might look like I am flaunting but I was so good, I even joined my palms just assure that our message was solid. 

“Okay.” Agreed the scarecrows stretching out his pricky hay hand. 

Nodded the snowmen too, “great, lets hug it out!” which was not a good idea now that I think off snow and hay don’t go well. I just hope they didn’t break his straw ribs. But the important thing was we didn’t have to fight and lived happily ever after 

Wait!! Don’t flip the page just now, we haven’t reached the real end of the story, you really thought that I would leave you all hanging like this no way!! Shaking hands and making peace was just the beginning the best was yet to come …. 

Now there is a term we use called the shocked and the opposite of shocked is surprised but have you ever seen someone carrying a mixture of shocked and surprised that you aren’t sure that whether this person is glad or just disappointed that was the exact expression my mom’s face when she saw me all up and hopping on my happy feet early in the morning, “Emily what are you doing so early and what is this? Is this something you ordered online? “She inquired about my new found Christmas decoration. 

“mom this is-“ 

“This is a Christmas crow” interrupted zika instead she completed. 

“Hmmm…” uh-oh that hmmm is never good coming from my mom there was something that she didn’t quite like about the new décor, “…this seems a little… I don’t know …something seems…missing” 

My mind was running in all directions, “here you go.” But thank God for Zika she hung a wreath with fairy lights around his neck. 

A big smile and shining eyes meant mom’s approval. She announced, “looks like you all have been working hard come on who wants my hot cocoa?” 

A swarming “mes” rushed inside. I took one last look before going, the Christmas crow and snow man were winking! And this my dear readers is the end of the story.