In the ice is who I once was. He stares at me from through time, wishing the years never went away. Wasted as the memories melted from the pit of my mind as the cold set into my blood, bones, and flesh, fusing to my soul. When I fell, I fell into darkness and torment. I was so scared; I didn't want to be there. My mind was plagued by nightmares that I couldn't even comprehend, just formless pieces of blackness that brought fear to me. And now, I know who I am and why I am here as a Guardian. I've found fun in my center and it's what I am meant to protect in children. And they're my family, the others, fighting right beside me against evil and darkness.

However, now as I stare into the ice that was once my grave, I can only think that I don't truly know who I was. I know that I saved my sister, I know she lived a full life, I knew I was always fun, but who was I? What was my last name? Who were my parents? How did I live? Is there someone I was in love with? Did someone love me? I saw a few memories, but what was life like for the boy who stares back? He's unfamiliar to me with brown hair and eyes that match. His face is still twisted in agony as he struggles for breath.

Years that I missed, my family's achievements, additions to the family. I missed it all without even realizing it. I watch my former self, staring at me. I gaze back, wondering what it would be like if I'd never died. Who would I have married? How many kids would I have? Would I retain my fun as I grew up?

I hear whispers, speaking to me all the time. Speaking of love, speaking of hate, of past memories that I still can't recall. I often hear of childhood friends, of toys that I made myself out of boredom, of how I made everyone smile on a rainy day. I can't see the memories, though I wish I could. I try to break through the ice, try and reach for the memories my old form contained in his deadened mind.

I hear them. The voices scream to me from the past. Everyone who knew me cries, crying because my young life ended so soon, too soon. My mother, my father...my sister Jilly...she screams for me...any friends I had, our neighbors. And all I can do is listen and wonder...what if? What if we hadn't gone ice skating that day? What if I hadn't been so careless? What if Jilly and I both died? I can't even imagine it all. It seems unreal, but I know deep down it happened. I saw it in the memories of my teeth.

And I have to accept it. The past is the past, best left behind. Nowhere to look, but forward in the spectrum of my eternal life. Wasting my time contemplating such ridiculous thoughts as my past life is worthless and inefficient. I'm a Guardian and I have a duty to put my efforts toward protecting fun in children. I have a new family, my fellows. They're there for me and I must repay the favor by being there for them.

I stared, watching my former self sink down, down toward the bottom of the lake. Tears leaked from his eyes as he reach for me, feeling a thick sheet of ice in his way and soon he disappeared into the darkness to be forever consumed by agonizing nightmares of his death, unaccomplished life, and the fact that he's trapped in the cold and dark.

I felt an icy tear run down my cheek. "Goodbye," I whispered, standing from where I crouched. "Rest in peace, Jack." I balanced the staff gracefully on my left shoulder, turned, and flew into the bright blue sky, following the Northern Lights. It was just a sign I was needed. Whether Pitch threatened the joy of children or another villain threatened their lives, then I, along with North, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy, would be there to combat the terror and darkness and protect all who believe in us. Although this is my life, I am forever plagued by the distant voices that scream through time for me.