To all of you who actually believe in ghosts and spirits and such, I truly apologize if I offend you with my explanation of them in this. I don't believe in ghosts, so I just came up with something. It made sense to me, but it's probably not the actual description of them. So again, I'm sorry if any of you don't like how I described them. Just please try to enjoy Jack's Tale.
Jack's Tale
"Jack! Jack! Tell us a story!" a sudden hoard of children demanded, surrounding the seventeen year old boy instantly.
"Alright," he smirked, sitting down on a log in front of them. The kids dropped to the ground, waiting to hear what Jackson Overland came up with this time.
"What kind of story do you want?" he asked. "Maybe you guys would like a story about an evil wizard and a pirate?"
"No," they chorused, shaking their little heads.
"Okay . . . how about one with a brave knight and a fierce dragon?" Jack tried. Again, the children said no. Jack tossed around a few more ideas until the perfect one came to him.
"Let me tell you a tale about winter," Jack started. "Not the season, but the spirit."
"Like a ghost?" a little girl asked, clearly frightened by the idea of a ghostly figure.
"Not exactly," Jack smiled. "See, ghosts are just the souls of people who are still here, but spirits have a purpose. This is the tale of the spirit of winter."
"What do they look like?" a small boy asked quickly before Jack could begin the story.
"Well, he's not much older than I am, in appearances at least. His hair is the color of moonlight, his eyes bluer than the summer sky, and his skin is paler than death," Jack decided.
"He sounds scary," Emma Overland, Jack's little sister, whispered. Jack smiled at her.
"He's not scary at all. In fact, he's the most fun spirit out there! He can create snow just by thinking about it, and with one touch of his hand, frost can cover anything he wants it to. His best friend is the wind, who lets him fly as high up as he wants to go, any time of the day."
"What's his name?" one boy asked.
"Frost," Jack said after a second's thought. "His name is Frost, because that's what he creates the most. Wherever he steps, frost forms. He can also make ice, but he doesn't do that very often."
"Why not?"
"Because people might get hurt if there's too much ice," Jack explained. "Ice can be fun to skate on, but when there's too much people could slip and they might break something. Frost is a trickster, not a monster."
"Are you sure Frost isn't just you?" Emma giggled.
"I'm offended you think that," he joked. "No, Frost isn't me. I'm human; Frost is a spirit that can control the force of winter! It would be cool to be Frost though."
"Has Frost ever gone on an adventure?" one of the children asked.
"He has, actually. Once, long ago, Frost met the Easter Bunny . . ." Jack began, launching into a tale about how Frost and the Easter Bunny managed to save a whole country from an evil spirit, the Boogeyman. After Jack finished the story, one of the children asked him a question.
"Is the Boogeyman real?"
"Yes," Jack answered automatically. "But you know how to get rid of him? Have fun. Fun is the opposite of fear. As long as you're having fun, the Boogeyman can't get you. I'd tell you another story, but your parents are waiting over there, so I think it's time for you to go home."
As the children rushed over to their respective parents, chattering all about Frost and the Easter Bunny, Jack started to walk home with Emma in tow. The eight year old started shivering a bit, so Jack wrapped one arm around her shoulder to warm her up.
Along the way, Emma looked up at her older brother. "Are you sure Frost isn't you?"
"I'm sure kiddo," Jack grinned. "In fact, I know so. I've met Frost before."
"You have?!" Emma exclaimed in surprise. "When? What happened? Did he tell you the story about him and the Easter Bunny?!"
As they walked home, Emma pestering her brother with question after question, neither sibling noticed the single ray of moonlight that fell across their path. Everything would change drastically in just a few short months, but in that moment, nothing could hurt the Overland children.
Not even the Boogeyman.
There was the first part! Again, sorry if you didn't like the ghost/spirit explanation, but it's what I thought up. Thanks for reading!
~C
