Author's note: I'm so sorry this birthday story is late, Anika! I wrote this with you in mind, so I hope you like it!

DECEMBER 1905

Although it was only December, it felt as if snow had been falling for years. Cold had set in miserably in the city, and in the outlying villages, families huddled by their hearths and stoves, wrapped in quilts

[] and what little they had for warmth.

In the heart of the city, the wealthy lounged freely, enjoying the warmth provided by new furnaces, and on a day like this, Niles was ever thankful.

Snow whirled outside as a servant brought him coffee, freshly brewed. "Thank you, Marta," Niles chimed. "How are you faring in this weather?"

"I doing fine," she replied. "Is cold, but we fine."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said, sipping his coffee. Just as he leaned back in his leather chair, he heard his father's voice, breaking peaceful silence.

"Son, I need you to go to the store for me," Martin said.

"Why? Can't it wait?"

"No, it can't, and you know how I can't go, the cold is doing terrible things to my hip as it is…" There was no denying this. Martin was already moving down the stairs slow as molasses, struggling with his cane.

"We'll send one of the servants."

"That's it," he said, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs. "Send the help to do it. When I was your age, I had to do everything myself…"

"I know, Father." Niles restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

"All I'm saying is, if you had any sort of work ethic, you'd go yourself."

"I have plenty of work ethic! Fine, Father, as you wish, I will go! What do you need?"

"A new hot water bottle."

"We have one."

"It broke."

Niles began bundling up. "Where would I get you one?"

"Feldman's Grocery," he said. "The closest path is through the woods."

"I'd much rather go through the city."

"What are you, a woman?"

"Fine, I will also go through the woods!" Niles stormed out the door, cold wind embracing him with contempt. He was tired of his father's accusations. Things like this had been going on for years. Although he loved his father…it was almost too much.

He had been lonely lately, his heart yearning for a companion that was not his father or brother. Frasier had his wife, Lilith, and now it was his turn, so why hadn't he found anyone? His house felt vast and empty, although crawling with servants…and his father.

Taking a deep breath, Niles entered the Chamber Wood. He never came here, but he knew the way. Martin had always made a habit of traveling through it with his sons when they were children.

The snow was eerily beautiful. Everything was too quiet, even for words. The only thing Niles could hear was his own footsteps, and suddenly, the footsteps of another.

His heart began to beat. No one was ever in this woods, who could it be now? He froze, when out of the trees stepped a woman.

She was tall and thin, her hair long and deep brown. Her dark eyes shown in the bitter air as she pulled her shawl tight on her shoulders with one hand. She then saw him, her face lifting into a smile stronger than the moon.

In one hand was a tin bucket, the other she used to brush her hair away from her face. Niles was speechless. "Hello," she said. "I hope this isn't your property. Is it?"

He still didn't speak. What he saw was too beautiful. "Uh…no, this…isn't."

"That's good." She smiled. "I work for a family…I swear, running water is the only thing they don't have! It's my job to get the water from the well at the bottom of the hill. It's the most lovely walk in spring, but it's hell in winter."

"I-I can imagine."

"If I may ask, what are you doing out here? It's a horrid day to be outdoors."

"My father, he…wanted me to get something from the store."

"I didn't know any of the better off knew about the shortcut. Funny thing." She paused. "I may hate the cold, but I love this snow." Closing her eyes, the woman took a deep breath. Niles couldn't take his eyes off her. "I best be going," she said.

He was going to ask her something. He forgot what it was, but as she walked past him, Niles tried to get a word out. Any word. Anything, but she was going, going, going. Breathless, he stared as her shawl disappeared from view.

Niles could no longer move. His legs had seemingly atrophied. Finally, as if an alarm clock had sounded, he began to walk, his mind shrouded in thoughts of the woman. He arrived at the store, purchased the hot water bottle, and then went back through the woods, slowly, longing to see her again. He didn't.

That night, he didn't sleep. It was just her, every time he closed his eyes, just her. He had to find her, he had to take her back to his home, keep her warm. She wouldn't have to work, not ever again. It was her, it had to be her, he'd have to marry her.

So the next day, he told his father he was going to town, to run an errand. He fled to the woods, hoping he'd catch her getting water at the same time and place he'd been yesterday. She never came.

He went every day, every day for a month, but she never came. Niles cried at night, and he cried while waiting for her. There was no way he could ever be with anyone else.

Meanwhile, the woman's employers promoted her from kitchen helper to the lady of the house's personal maid, and she was no longer required to fetch water. Instead, one of the other maids went to a well near town.

Niles' family members noticed his erratic behavior, and the way he never spoke at gatherings anymore. He never slept. He never ate.

And one day, he never returned home.

He went to the wood, as always, and sat down. Niles sat for hours as the winds picked up around him and the snow became blinding. Freezing, he didn't move. And there he sat; he sat for a long time.

After a while, he thought he saw something. In the distance, through the snow, stood her, wearing nothing but her weak shawl and carrying her water bucket. She was lost, he understood. He had to get to her.

Niles got up, weak and fragile, and began to run as fast as his numb legs would carry him. He ran for as long as he could, screaming at her, telling her to come to him. With every step he took, she seemed to get farther and farther away, until finally, with a small sound, Niles fell the ground and was gone.

The body of Niles Crane was not found for months, after the melting of the snow. He had died on a swift slope, and when spring came, his body dropped into Basket Creek, where, surrounded by the pink petals of the trees surrounding the creek, it was recovered by a woodcarver.

Years later, a young woman was hiking through Chamber Woods when she heard crying. She flipped around to find no one. Suddenly feeling chilly, she pulled a jacket over her head and kept moving. Later, she heard crying again, softer, but it was still there. Pausing, she heard a footstep, and finally, she felt a tapping on her shoulder.

Turning around, she saw a man, his eyes sunken, his lips blue, his skin white as a wall. The woman froze in fear.

He said nothing.

It's told to this day by eager teenagers and frightened children that Chamber Woods is haunted by an insane man who once lived in one of the many old mansions in the surrounding towns. Some say that when you walk through the woods, you'll often hear crying and feel chilly, even on the warmest of days. Since 1905, sixteen young women have come foreword, reporting have seen an ailing man in a coat, kneeling before them, crying, yet still remaining silent.