Dangerous step

It was late December when the first snowfall of the year happened. It was getting extremely dark outside. The lights started to flicker. It was pelting snow a couple of seconds later. It was coming down very heavy. 

Dinner was cooking away in the pot. It was bacon and Cabbage. 

About 20 minutes later the whole house was in darkness as the snowfall had triggered a power cut. 

The alarm was constantly buzzing because the battery was low and wouldn’t turn off until the code was put incorrectly. The code wasn’t been accepted because of the low battery. 

Normally when we get a power cut it would last a few minutes and then it would come back on. 

The house was getting colder and colder every couple of minutes. 

The only bit of heating we had in the house was from a tiny little candle that was lit in the middle of the table. 

My brother and sister were so excited to go out into the garden to play in the snow. They ran up the stairs and grabbed their hats, scarf, gloves, coats and boots and headed into the garden.

The snow was about 3 feet deep already.

My siblings nearly disappeared in the snow.

They couldn’t wait to get into the garden and build a snowman and make snow angels in the ground.

There were in the garden when the snowman was forgotten all about and they had a massive snowball fight.

Eventually, they made the snowman. But by the time it was time to put on the coal and the carrot. Maria and Tony couldn’t feel their hands.

The power still hadn’t come back on in the house and the cold was getting unbearable. 

The snow was getting heavier the whole time now.

You couldn’t even see the garden now it was a blanket of white.

My brother and sister were itching to go back out and play some more in the cold. They were trying to get me to go with them and that was never going to happen.  

Finally, my mum let my brother and sister back into the garden because they were doing everyone’s heads in.

The snow was so thick that you could barely move in it.

My mum looked into the garden a while later and couldn’t see my brother and sister and she began to panic. I told her to calm down and that made everything worse.

My mum didn’t seem to care that the snow was affecting me badly. I could barely look into the garden without getting a massive headache and feeling sick. I could hardly breathe.

My brother and sister had created tunnels in the snow and they were having great fun in them apparently. 

My mum thought I was faking the way I was feeling. “Go out and join your brother and sister in the snow. You don’t know what you are missing” I look at my mother in frustration “I can barely breathe, and you know what snow does to me. I will stay here and try and keep what little heat I have left.”                      “I don’t know why you pretend you have this problem in snow. It is all your head. You really need to get over it and grow up.”

My mum never believed how much the snow scared me and made me feel sick. She only cared about my brother and sister. “Kimberly be a good girl and go out and tell your brother and sister that we will need to get a takeaway as the dinner is ruined.”                                                                                                         “Mum I can’t go out in the snow. It is too deep. I am too scared.” “Kimberley for goodness sake I can’t do everything. I need you to get your brother and sister now do it without arguing with me please.”

There is no point arguing with my mother she doesn’t care about me.

I walked into the garden the fresh crunch of the snow was really getting to me.

The further I walk to try and find my brother and sister the move difficult it is to move. My leg muscles have completely tightened and my breathing is through the roof.  

I can’t walk any further in the snow and feel like I need to be sick. I am heaving to be sick, but nothing is coming up. I have felt roasting hot in the last few minutes. But now I am so cold.

My sister came up and was happy to see me in the garden until she saw me and then she screamed and ran into the house to get my mum. 

I collapsed into the snow a couple of seconds later.

“Mum Kimberly is not doing well out in the garden. Her weird thing about snow is back.”

“Not now Maria. I am sure Kimberly is just attention seeking again.”

Tony walked into the house a couple of seconds later “Mum Kimberly is asleep in the snow and won’t wake up.”

The mother and father jumped up and rushed into the garden and got Kimberly in from the snow.

Kimberly was so cold and had no life in her at all.

Kimberly father called the emergency service and got the ambulance to rush his daughter into the hospital.

Kimberly was rushed into the hospital and a lot of tests were done on her. It was strange all the results of the test came back normal. Doctors were very puzzled what was wrong with Kimberly?

He approached the family a little later that evening “I am afraid I don’t have any further updates. Did Kimberly eat something bad by any chance?” the father was a little annoyed at the mother at this stage “No from a young age Kimberly showed difficult around snow. My wife thought that she was only showing off for attention and would never believe a word Kimberly was telling her.”           “Okay so if Kimberly had difficulty around snow why was she in it?” “My wife pushed her to go out in it to get my other two children in for their dinner.” The doctor wasn’t too impressed “Next time if someone has difficulty in doing something don’t over push them because you can cause this type of pain. Lucky I can tell you Kimberly will be fine. She got too cold and the shock from all the snow made her faint.”

Kimberly was discharged from hospital a few days later.

All the snow was gone, and the power was back on in the house.

Kimberly wondered was it all a bad dream as no one would talk about what happened.