THE FIRST 20 CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN REWRITTEN OR ARE IN THE WORKS OF BEING REWRITTEN!! I will keep the title the same on Wattpad and FanFiction.net but on ArchiveOfOurOwn it is under the name "Snowflakes Fall and So Did I". If you like that title better, please tell me and I will gladly change it.
The story plot is still the same, but there have been quite a few drastic changes. Everything after chapter 20 will be new material that will follow with the events that have taken place in the rewritten material, so I would advise you to read those if you don't mind.
Now on with the show...AGAIN!
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Things would have been different if I had only just said no. If I did, I would have had a relationship with my sister, cousin, and our friend Olaf. I would have never given up ice skating. I would have never had to go to therapy for a year. And most importantly...that man would still be alive. On Christmas Eve it will be exactly six years since the accident happened. Anna doesn't remember any of it, and I had to swear not to ever tell her. I sometimes envy her for having no knowledge of what really happened. She forgot, but me? I'll remember that day until the day I die.
I'll never let it go. Ever since that day, my life has been nothing but pure self torture. My parents told me it wasn't my fault, but I know it was. I was the one who said yes. I was the one who helped my sister, cousin, and friend sneak out. I was the one who spun Anna on the ice and accidentally let her go. She got hurt under my care. She lost her memories from the previous three days, and the man that saved her...died. All because of me.
We're lucky it wasn't her entire life she forgot, but the man's family...they weren't so lucky.
I had just turned 12 on the 21st of December, three days before the accident. My birthday party was the last thing Anna remembered. My aunt and uncle, Arianna and Frederick, were hosting their annual Christmas Eve party for everyone in town to attend. As usual, the party bored my sister, cousin, and I. For the majority of the night, I stayed by my parents' side, so they could introduce me to their business partners and their children.
It was my responsibility as the heir to my father's Architecture Industry. Rapunzel was supposed to do the same since she's also the heir to an industry, and she did stay by her parents' side for while, but that only lasted probably about 30 minutes before she snuck off to play with Anna and Olaf. Her parents let it slide though. Her family runs the Corona Beer Company. What child wants to listen to adults talk about improvements to beer?
Anyway, I remained glued to my parents for much longer than that, probably for about two or three hours. I had my reasons too. Reason one, I didn't have Rapunzel's courage to up and leave. Reason two, I wanted to make my parents proud. Reason three, I was genuinely curious at first before it became boring. Reason four, as I had said before, it was my responsibility and I knew that I needed the learn everything that I could before my father started teaching me himself.
Eventually though, I was sent to play with the other children, and I was happy to do so. Anna, Rapunzel, and Olaf didn't like the other kids due to them being snobby and begged me to take them outside to play in the snow. I said no the first few times, but then gave in. We snuck out and played in the backyard of the mansion. However, it didn't satisfy Anna. She wanted to explore the woods. I told her no again, but just as I had done before...I gave in.
The moon was our only source of light as we traveled deep into the snowy forest behind my aunt and uncle's mansion. Very, very deep. We eventually came across a frozen pond. Being the curious children that we were, we decided to play on it. Olaf, being the only boy, wanted to show off how brave he was and got on the ice first to test it. When it didn't crack, my sister and cousin were quick to get on it too. I was the only skeptical one. However, I soon gave in to my playful side.
Everything was going perfectly fine at first, but then I asked Anna something that I regret. I asked her if she'd like for me to spin her. She agreed, and I went slow and careful the first few rounds. Anna, however, wanted me to spin her faster. I gripped her wrists tighter and tried my best to keep my balance as she lifted off the ground. Unfortunately, I lost my balance and I accidentally let go of her, sending her flying. I fell hard on my rear, but Anna fell hard on her head a few feet away from me.
She fell so hard on the ice that she ended up bleeding from her head, and also cracking the ice. She wasn't moving or saying anything. She was unconscious. At the time, I thought she was dead. Seeing her laying in front of me unconscious and bleeding scared me so bad that I didn't even bother to think of the consequences of dashing toward her. Due to my extra weight when I ran toward her, the broken ice underneath her fell apart and my sister fell into the water.
I screamed out her name, and out of nowhere an older man came sprinting toward us and dove into the water. I remained frozen in fear on the unbroken ice, staring at the hole my sister fell through with wide, scared eyes. Rapunzel was crying from a nearby tree, and Olaf was calling out to me, but I ignored him. I couldn't focus on anything but the ice my sister fell through and...and the blood.
I was only able to snap out of it when I felt someone grab my hand and drag me away toward land. He was a boy around my age. He had white hair like me, and blue eyes that sparkled like snowflakes. When we were both on land, he kept calling out for his father. I was confused when his father didn't arrive, but I then realized it was his father that dove into the water. It was the boy's father that dove in for my sister. And it was the boy's father who died saving my sister's life.
The boy's father resurfaced with my sister in his arms. He performed CPR on her, and she coughed up a lot of water. I was so happy, but she was still unconscious. She was breathing though, and that's all that mattered. The boy's father wasn't doing too good though. He was shivering worse than my sister was due to him taking his coat off and putting it over her and his fingers began to turn blue.
I told Rapunzel and Olaf to follow the tracks we made and get help. They ran faster than lightning, leaving me with my sister, her savior, and his son. I held Anna in my arms so tightly that I'm sure I gave her bruises. The boy didn't say anything to me at all. He just kept watching his dad with sad eyes, telling him that everything was going to be okay. It was the most awkward and most terrifying situation I have ever been in.
Rapunzel and Olaf soon came back with help, but the man was barely awake. They were then taken to the hospital. Anna suffered from a minor concussion and slight memory loss. The doctor, Dr. Stone, said that there was a chance she wouldn't remember what happened to her and he was right. We figured that out the following day when she woke up and had no clue what was going on. My family agreed to not tell her what had happened. We didn't want to overwhelm her so we made up a lie. We told her that she fell down the stairs during my birthday party.
The man though...he died of hypothermia and frostbite.
His death still haunts me to this day. It's my fault my sister got hurt, it's my fault that man is dead. It's all my fault!
Being the oldest, I should have been more responsible. Anna got hurt under my watch. She could've died!
Anna will never know the truth of what happened, and for six years the secret has brought me nothing but mixed feelings. By not knowing, she won't have to feel the guilt that I've been feeling these last few years, but at the same time...it's killing me that she doesn't know the truth. That she thinks I shut her out for no reason at all. I shut her out because my guilt was so strong. I shut her out because I was afraid that I'd accidentally tell her the truth. I also wanted time for myself. The accident was very traumatic for me.
After a year and a half of isolating myself and therapy, I realized that I was being ridiculous. However, I was 13 at the time and felt that it was too late to rekindle my relationship with her and my cousin. This caused me more grief and guilt. I didn't know how to handle my problems at such a young age. I still don't. Therapy never helped either.
And going back to Burgess after 6 years is certainly not going to do me any good as well. Burgess, Pennsylvania...where the accident took place. What's worse is that, after being homeschooled all my life, my parents have enrolled my sister and I in a public high school. Burgess High, home of the Rowdy Reindeers. I've never had a mascot before, just the family crest. Everything is going to be so strange. The new environment, the classes, the people...just...everything! I'm trying so hard not to be nervous, but I'm failing miserably.
And to be honest, when I say people, I only mean one person: the dead man's son.
His cries for his father haunt me just as badly as my own cries for my sister. I can't get them or his sad eyes out of my head. I can't get the whole night out of my head. No matter how hard I try, I just can't forget.
I sometimes lay awake and wonder what he's doing now, six years later. I wonder if we will attend the same high school together now that I'm moving to Burgess. There's a possibility that he doesn't go to Burgess High, that he moved to a different town, school, or state after the death of his father. However, there's also a possibility that he's still there. I hope he's not. If he is, I don't know what I'll do. What will he do? What if we have classes together? Does he even remember me? I hope not. If he does, it would be for the best if he didn't say anything about it. Actually, it would be best if he didn't say anything to me at all.
Oh god, just thinking about seeing him again after 6 years makes me want to throw up. I'm more nervous about seeing him than I am about attending a public school for the first time in my entire life.
One thing is for certain though. I'm leaving for Burgess tomorrow, and I know that once I start school things are going to change. I just don't know if it's for the good or bad.
And it genuinely scares me to death.