It was a cold December afternoon, just a few days before Christmas. Dr. Agasa had taken Shinichi and ran on a mini vacation at a cabin in the mountains. Both Shinichi and Ran's parents had been too busy to spend time with them lately- Ran's parents were working and Shinichi's were traveling overseas as usual and wouldn't be back until Christmas Eve.
Christmas used to be a momentous holiday when they were kids. It was one of the few days a year that their parents would take off work and spend time with them. But now that Ran's parents were divorced and Shinichi's folks were traveling more than ever, thanks to the popularity of his father's book, even Christmas didn't seem that special anymore. Despite being in their first year of middle school, the two secretly longed for the days when their families were together and happy.
After learning that the children didn't have any other plans for winter break, Dr. Agasa had taken it upon himself to take the kids on a weeklong trip up into the mountains in hopes of giving them something fun to do over break.
They had been in the mountains for 4 days now, spending most of their days skiing and ice skating and their evenings reading by the fire or watching mystery dramas (whenever Dr. Agasa wasn't watching his Korean soap operas).
Today was no different they spent several hours on the slope earlier that day, but decided to call it a day by midafternoon because the wind kicked up and the temperature plummeted into the single digits.
They had been at the cabin for about an hour now. Ran was working on a puzzle at the kitchen table, Shinichi was sprawled out on the couch reading a mystery novel, and Dr. Agasa was sleeping in the bedroom. Ran had just finished putting the last puzzle piece into place then turned to Shinichi and said, "Hey I think I'm gonna go ice skating out by the pond. Want to come with?"
"No way,' Shinichi retorted, "It's freezing out there! Mr. Holmes and I are staying right here where it's warm."
"C'mon, please! I'll help you with that spin move that's been giving you so much trouble," Ran persuaded, then rotated on her stockings, reenacting the spin.
"Forget it. You couldn't pay me to go out on a day like this," he countered, then turned on his side and drew his attention back to his book.
"Fine! I'll just go without you then!" ran snapped, then proceeded to put on her boots, coat, gloves, and other winter gear.
"Just be careful," Shinichi warned. "The sun will be setting in just a couple hours and it's getting colder by the minute.
"Don't worry. I'll be back in an hour," Ran huffed before grabbing her skates and marching out the door.
The pond was only a 10 minute walk away, but felt much further in the bitter cold. She might have to go back sooner than she thought. Hopefully she'd warm up once she started skating.
Once she got to the small pond near the cabin, she untied her boots, attached her skates, and began thinking about her family and all the great Christmas they shared together. Back before his father's massive success with the Night Baron series, her family would often spend Christmas Day at Shinichi's house. Neither sets of parents had family in the area so Christmas used to be a simple affair, then one year Shinichi's parents invited Ran and her parents, as well as Dr. Agasa, over to their home for Christmas.
The Kudos had the meal catered with way more food than any of them could eat (although Kogoro sure tried) and his parents even bought gifts for Ran and her parents from their visits overseas. But her favorite gift always came from Dr. Agasa who created a special invention, just for them. Ran's favorite was a robot equipped with a high-tech motion sensor, giving it the ability to dodge and block her attacks, which she used to practice her karate moves with (although Dr. Agasa soon regretted giving it to her after having to make almost weekly repairs on it from all the damage it suffered from Ran's kicks). Shinichi's favorite was a wristwatch with a voice recorder built into it that could pick up on conversations from up to 50 yards away. He proclaimed it would be useful on a case someday, but really he just liked to use it to eavesdrop on his parents. It was a joyous tradition that continued every year since its inception. Until last year, that is…
Her father was extremely hungover from a Christmas party the night before and Shinichi was off with his parents doing a book tour in America. Her mom had taken her out for lunch, but spent most of her time on the phone with one of her clients while her father nursed his hangover back at the office. It was Ran's loneliest Christmas yet.
When Ran asked Shinichi about his break after coming back to school, he said it was ok, but would've been better if she was there. That comment had made her the happiest she felt in weeks! At least they'd be together this year, even if their parents couldn't be. Both her parents were dealing with particularly difficult cases that had been eating up all of their time. She'd be surprised if they even had time to go out to dinner this year. She was overjoyed when Dr. Agasa came up with the idea for this little trip. She thought about asking if they could stay through Christmas. At least that way she'd have some assemblance of family to spend the day with.
Ran was so preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't notice the thin patch of ice near the center of the pond. Her sharp blades cut right through the thin layer of ice, sending her plummeting into the freezing water.
She felt the stab of water penetrating every pore of her body. Without thinking,, she opened her mouth to scream and was met with a pool of water flooding into her lungs, so cold it sent of jolt of pain through the very core of her body. Shed choked back the water then tried to compose herself long enough to swim back to the surface.
She darted back up, mere inches from the surface, when she felt the laces of her right boot snag on something below. Panic surged through her like a bolt of lightning and she scrambled to undo her laces from whatever they were snagged on. The icy, black water made it nearly impossible to see, so she did her best to feel around to try to free herself. This task grew difficult with each passing second, the icy water making her fingers numb and lack of oxygen causing her to grow increasing dizzy.
Feeling desperate, Ran chose to simply to try to take off her skate. She forcefully wiggled the skate back and forth, doing her best to loosen her shackle. At last she managed to free her foot from its restraint and she swam to the surface as fast as she could.
At last, she emerged to the surface, gasping for breath. She propped her elbows up on these ice and use every ounce of strength in her body to push herself up. It took 3 tries before she finally managed to find the strength to push herself up and out of the water. She laid on her side, gasping for breath and flexing her fingers trying to get some blood flow back into them. She was so exhausted, but she knew if she didn't get moving soon, she knew she could pass out. She slowly crawled across the icy pond, being extra cautious of any thin looking patches of ice.
She finally made it off the frozen pond, then collapsed in the snow breathing heavily and rubbing her arms for warmth. C'mon Ran, you have to get moving! she told herself. She needed to get inside as soon as possible…she didn't… No, she could afford to think like that. she just had to keep moving.
Using the trunk of a nearby tree, she pulled herself and slowly began her assent up to the cabin. She rubbed and pinched her arms in an effort to stay warm and remain conscious. Black patches were invading her vision and she felt as though she had 50lb weights strapped to her legs, each step was becoming more difficult than the next.
She only traveled a dozen steps before collapsing back into the snow, she tried pushing herself up again, but just could. She tried again, and again, and again, but she was just couldn't. Despair gripped her entire being as she had come to realize how hopeless this all was. There's no way she would make it back to the cabin at this rate. Shinichi and Dr. Agasa wouldn't expect her back for another hour and by that time she would surely be dead. This time she let the tears flow freely and faces of her loved ones flashed into her head- her dad, her mom, Sonoko, Dr. Agasa…Shinichi…she was never going to see them ever again ever again. She would never celebrate another Christmas, New Year's, or birthday with her parents, never get to be a bridesmaid at Sonoko's wedding like they had promised to do ever since they were little girls, never see Shinichi grow up to be a great detective…this was the end.
Shinichi…forgive me… she was the last thing on her mind before the world went black.
