Disclaimer: All characters in this story are copyright their respective owners.
Author's Note: This story's based on an idea by DuMont over at KryptonSite. Also the name of my lead character was suggested, entirely in jest, by Evil Lil' Katbird in a review of my story "Taller And Not So Fluffy" but, all things considered, it was a lot better than my idea of calling him Albert.
Snow
Prologue
Hi, my name's Alex. You won't know me, but you'll probably know my Dad, Pete. Anyway, he's the reason I'm back in Smallville. What? You haven't heard what happened to him? Well, I could tell you the truth or I could tell you Dad's version:
It was a cold December night and, somewhere in Smallville, the snow fell thick and fast around a small deserted house. As soon as the snow had stopped, the house was momentarily turned upside down and then the snow began once again. As Pete Ross looked at the snow falling in the glass globe he held in his wrinkled hand, he remembered a night long ago - the only night it had ever snowed in Smallville, and he wouldn't have even noticed it if she hadn't pointed it out. And then he felt something stir in his heart and then he felt the pain and fell to the ground, the snow globe dropping from his hand, and, with what he thought would be his last breath, he uttered one word:
Lana
Well, that's my Dad – turning a heart attack into Citizen Kane. He's always been that way, ever since I've known him. When I was young he used to tell me these ridiculous stories about how Superman came from Smallville and how he was his best friend. And I believed him, for years I did, and he made me swear never to tell anyone. And I didn't … not for the longest time … and the moment I did I regretted it.
For the next couple of weeks at school I was the object of ridicule, the butt of the jokes. Some kids sniggered behind my back, some straight to my face. Superman was from Smallville? Absurd.
But that wasn't the worst thing. The worst thing was that my Dad had lied to me. After that I could never trust him again, never believe anything he said. Also, ridiculous as it sounds, he treated me differently, as if I'd betrayed his trust by sharing his lies. At the risk of being melodramatic, and sounding a little bit like a line from one of my Dad's stories, a rift had opened between us and it would never heal.
But that was a long time ago and I'm back now, trying to make peace with my Dad in his final days, but it isn't easy. Until recently, there was just me and some girl from the hospital looking after him – she dresses all in pink, just like my late Mother, go figure. Then that changed, last night, when some old friend of my Dad, Clark, shows up. He must be about my age. Turns out he's from Metropolis, home of Superman, and somehow I got round to telling him about Dad's stories:
"He'd come into my room every night, and each night he'd have a different word – Hourglass, Shattered, Delete, Heat – whatever. And then he'd start one of his stories."
"One word titles – just like that TV series," Clark replies.
"Huh?"
"Lou Grant," he says, and, seeing my puzzled look, continues. "Way before your time. Perry, our editor, always used to mention it at The Planet whenever someone would dare to come up with a one word headline. Remember, he'd say, this is the greatest paper in the world, that was just a Tribune. Lois, my wife, told me it was an attempt at a Tenacious D pun - Perry loved his novelty rock acts. I can tell by your expression that I should shut up now."
It was as if the guy was trying to be nerdy, but I decided to be as diplomatic as I could:
"No, that was really insightful. Where was I? Yeah, he'd start with one word and then launch into a story. Each one must have gone on for nearly an hour."
"Do you remember any of them?"
"I remember them all.
"And what was your favorite?"
"Well, I guess it would have to be Dad's favorite. Want to hear it?"
Clark nods, and so I prepare to start the story.
"Well, before we start, I better tell you that Dad always refused to tell me Superman's real name. It was for my own safety, or so he said. Anyway, to drag me into the action, he'd give Superman my name, Alex. So I guess, now that I'm the narrator, it's only fair that I do the same, so for this story, and this story alone, Superman's name is Clark Kent. Doesn't sound quite right, but still, never mind. Also, I'll have to swap from first-person to third person – that'll take some doing, Dad always took center stage in these stories. Anyway, it's time to begin, the way Dad always did:"
Today's word is … Snow.