I woke to the soft red glow of my alarm clock, which read 4:49. I was surprised I was able to wake up that early, since I was usually up only five minutes before the bus came. It was Friday, so I thought I might get a little dressed up. I put on some purple eyeshadow and lipstick and found a cute sweater from my closet. Maybe I'll get Cole's attention today, I thought as I went downstairs to feed my cat. My dad wasn't up yet so I thought I'd take care of it for him.

Once I was through my morning routine, my dad was finally awake.

"You look nice today," he said with a smile. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," I replied. "Just felt like actually trying today."

After I'd gotten some coffee in me, I grabbed my coat and backpack.

"Whoa!" There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, the first one of the year.

"Oh yeah, I forgot—school is closed because of ice on the roads. Sorry your outfit went to waste," my dad yelled from the kitchen.

"That's fine," I yelled back. "I'd rather not have school than have two people comment on my outfit."

I was excited now—I had so much free time. The snow wasn't as thrilling, though. I've been losing interest in a lot of stuff like that. It's just another sign of my depression. Every time I see something I used to enjoy, I feel worse, knowing I won't feel happy anymore when I see it.

I knew my brother would be excited though, and that I'd have to take him sledding since he can't go alone. So I waited downstairs, relaxing at the thought that I didn't have any papers to write.

About ten minutes later, I heard Alex jumping out of bed.

"SNOW!" he shouted in his squeaky little voice.

I smiled at his innocence, and envied that he was still young and happy. But since I couldn't do anything to change it, I figured I might as well just try to protect him from the world as long as I can.

"You want to go sledding or build a snowman first?" I called up to him.

"Sledding!" He giggled as he made his way downstairs.

I helped him put on his coat and gloves, then left to find mine. He had already found the sled in the garage and was pulling it down the driveway when I came outside.

"C'mon, Maddie! It's gonna melt!"

"Okay, I'm coming." I laughed.

Only minutes later, we had trudged through the snow to the hill by the front of our neighborhood.

"Go play with your friends, Alex. I'll be right over here."

"Okay!" He ran to another group of kids.

I decided to make myself comfortable since I'd be there for a while. There was a forest nearby, so I made my way over to one of the thick trees to lean on. As I got closer, I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye.

Next to one of the trees was a little person, a little boy to be precise, only a few inches tall. He looked up at me with fear in his eyes.

I had a million questions. Who was this boy? How did he get here? What was he?

But I knew all that could wait until I helped him get out of the snow. He looked freezing cold. I could see him shivering. His clothes weren't helping—they were closer to rags than clothing.

"Uh, hi," I said as I took a step closer. He immediately scrambled to get away, but slipped in the cold snow.

"Wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just want to help." I tried to talk as softly as I could. Being loud would not only make a scene, but scare him more as well.

He stopped struggling to escape, but that might have been because his body was too numb to keep trying.

I cautiously took another step, gauging his reaction. He flinched but stayed where he was. I could see that he wanted to trust me, but I was too big to trust completely. I could do anything to him, and he couldn't stop me. It was a horrible feeling, and it broke my heart to see that I scared him so much. I just wanted to help.

I took one slow step after another, so that if he wanted to run he could. I'd never want to trap him or do anything he didn't want me to do. But if he wanted help, he was going to have to trust me.

When I was only about two feet away, I knelt down on the ground, trying to get as low as possible. I pulled my gloves off slowly and laid my hands down flat like a platform.

He eyed me warily, glancing between my face and my hands. I could see him physically preparing himself. I let him take as much time as he wanted.

Slowly, he made his way over, hesitating when he got to my fingers. He took the first step onto my skin, then another and another. It was the weirdest sensation. I was awestruck as I realized what was happening. This person whom I'd just met was literally putting their life in my hands.

"Holy crap," I whispered.

The boy flinched away from my voice.

"Oh sorry. My name's Maddie, what's yours?"

He seemed surprised by the question, and it took a moment for him to respond.

"J-James," he squeaked.