The road that led from Gargamel's hovel to the Smurfs Village was well known to the Smurfs. It had taken the blue pixies about three hours to walk the whole distance at a moderate pace in snowless conditions. It was very difficult to estimate the time they would need to got to the village now, so nobody took on that task.
The forest looked just like Handy had imagined it, the glacier hadn't spared the smaller creatures it had encountered on its way, and the larger animals were more or less successfully breaking out of the thin layer of ice covering them.
The trio looked at the victims of the frost with sadness. Sassette stopped walking when she spotted two voles. Both rodents were facing each other, one was standing on all four legs with a slightly curved up spine, the other was on its hind legs, slightly leaning forward. Both animals were covered with a thick layer of ice, and their bodies were blueish and lifeless. The first vole had a broken off ear, and the second one was devoid of both ears and one of its front paws, all thanks to the strong wind.
"Let's go, we'll check out Mother's Nature house on the way," Farmer suggested.
"I don't know if I want to look inside her house again," Handy sighed sadly. "Come on, Sassette." The blond grabbed her arm.
The girl hastily looked away from the dead voles, fighting the tears that stubbornly pushed themselves into her eyes. She hung her head and sniffed, hiding her sad face from the older Smurfs.
It was getting colder with each passing moment. Farmer picked up some leaves from a few bushes that had been preserved, and the trio used them to wrap themselves with. On the way, their attention was caught by a sturdy male red deer. The king of the forest was just about to free itself from the thin layer of ice covering its limbs. The animal waved its head vigorously as if it wanted to fight the element, helping itself with huge antlers. Had it not for the grave mood, Farmer would have joked that this was the first time he was seeing a deer with the antlers in winter.
The battered walls of Mother Nature's house gave way more under the weight of the snow, as if they were bowing down to the arriving Smurfs. Handy and Sassette climbed the damaged branches to the windowsill. The glass in the window was broken. The redhead approached the glass.
"Sassette, no!" The boy grabbed her by the straps and yanked her back. "You're gonna hurt yourself."
The Smurfess folded her arms, but moved to make room for him. The blond carefully rested his hands on the less sharp edges and put his head close to the remains of the glass.
Inside, the floor was covered with ice and some snow. A long trail of great width and depth remained after the glacier. Mother Nature's house had turned out to be the biggest obstacle for it, which had caused the glacier to split into three smaller glacier and had massacred the tree in which the woman had lived. Some pieces of furniture were dented into the walls, some rubbed into dust, and larger pieces were broken in half.
In the middle of the apartment was what was left of Mother Nature. If the glacier hadn't passed directly through her, perhaps it would have been possible to unfreeze her, and then she would have certainly restored the order in a few seconds. Unfortunately, upon immediate freezing, Mother Nature's body had crumbled so drastically that it was hard to believe that the colored lumps of ice were her.
But that wasn't the worst thing for the Smurfs. Among those lumps, in a disturbed position, stood he, ready to react, to do whatever he could to keep his little Smurfs safe and sound. The harsh wind had broken off the top of his hat, as well as his nose and his right arm. Dark traces laid in places where parts of the body had been broken off, staining the ice red from inside.
"Papa..." Handy whispered, his voice trembling, unable to take his eyes off the deceased village leader. The tears that were running down his cheeks immediately froze and broke off his face. With a low grunt, incomprehensible for Sassette or Farmer, the blond carefully pushed his head deeper in between the shards of glass.
Below the windowsill, Farmer shifted from foot to foot, rubbing his arms, and waited. He didn't want to waste any time, jest wanted to see if Mother Nature and Papa Smurf had any chances. Every now and then he was staring at the windowsill, where Sassette looked as if she didn't quite know what to do. Handy's reaction had extinguished all hope in her.
The boy stuck his head between the sharp edges of the broken window with a blank or absent gaze. "Papa..."
"Let's smurf out of here," Farmer muttered.
"Is Papa...?" Sassette started, but the brown-haired didn't let her finish.
"Now!"
His scream echoed through the area, scaring off a hare that had managed to survive the glacier. The sudden scream scared the other two, Sassette visibly jumped and twisted her head toward Farmer at a dizzying pace. Handy also jumped up and quickly pulled his head out, not thinking about the dangerous edges of the glass. As a result of the sudden movement, the blond cut both his palms and his right cheek. The Smurf hissed in pain as he clenched his left hand and pressed his right one to the torn skin on his face.
For a moment, Farmer felt a twinge of guilt, but he couldn't allow himself to feel sorry for himself and the other two. He motioned for them to get off the windowsill. Looking at their wet eyes, he hoped his face didn't show the same pain and despair.
"I'm sorry," Handy said quietly. "You didn't see what happened there!" he groaned miserably, wringing his hands. "Mother Nature... smashed into pieces, and Papa... Papa Smurf...!" The shorter Smurf couldn't even finish his thoughts in fear that he would completely fall apart.
Sassette was shaking her head stubbornly, squeezing her eyes shut. The drying tears on her face irritated her skin, but the slight discomfort was nothing like the pain of losing Papa Smurf. The girl cuddled up to Handy who was staring at Farmer, resigned.
The tallest of the three put a trembling hand on the blond's shoulder, sniffing. "Put some snow on your face and hands," he muttered. "We have nothing to dress the wounds now." That said, he grabbed Sassette by the shoulders and gently pulled her away from the boy.
The redhead immediately shifted her embrace to the dark-haired Smurf, sobbing softly. Not knowing what to say, Farmer just wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes.
It was quiet in the forest, the wind was light but frosty. There was no living spirit in the area, or at least nothing made its presence known. The Smurf could only hear Sassette's crying and the soft hissing of Handy as he treated his wounds with snow.
Freezing, hungry and tired, they reached the village a moment after sunset, so it wasn't dark yet. When they came across the familiar path, an invisible weight fell from their backs. They hoped the village was safe and sound. The boys were making a plan in their heads how to explain to their brothers and sister that Papa Smurf wouldn't come back. Sassette only dreamed of hugging the other Smurflings, Grandpa, Puppy and her doll Smurfy Lou, crying her soul out, and then falling asleep for a long time.
Somewhere in the back of his head, Farmer was preparing himself for the sight they were about to see, but until he lifted away the leaves blocking out his view of the village, he had hoped he would have sighed in relief. "Oh no..."
All their fears were confirmed. The village was covered in snow like never before. Not a single house had survived, some had been completely demolished by the glacier, only some walls parts had made it. There was no sign of Puppy anywhere. The stone part of the well had survived, while the wooden elements had gone useless. The wind dragged many objects out of the destroyed houses, such as scarves and clothes, linen and canvas, wipers, smaller items such as silverware, chairs, cupboard doors, flew or rolled among the ruins.
The trio split up, walking sadly between the houses and observing the surroundings. Sassette stood in front of the demolished house she shared with the other Smurflings. Only a small part of the front wall still stood firmly, the remaining parts of the building had been crumbled by the ruthless glacier and slid off the cut trunk the Smurflings' house had stood on.
The Smurfess swallowed and used the debris to climb onto the trunk. She really wanted to believe that they would find someone not frozen. Unfortunately, she wasn't mentally prepared for what she found among the rubble of the house.
Nat, Snappy and Slouchy had apparently been in the house when the glacier had passed through the village. Their bodies stood motionless, covered with a thick layer of ice, just like the voles they had encountered before. With her legs trembling like jelly, the girl walked up to the closest Smurfling, Snappy. She looked him straight in the eyes, trying to catch anything in them, but she had never been good at recognizing emotions.
The boys looked unaware of the danger, even in their last moment. They had probably been discussing what game they had wanted to play. Snappy was standing in the center of the room with his hands on his hips and a heroic expression. Nat was sitting on a stool with his head resting on his hands, looking curious about what the brunette had had to say. Slouchy, on the other hand, was leaning with his back against the part of the wall that had survived the catastrophe, with his hands in his pockets, looking bored.
The most powerful wind didn't reach the ruins of the Smurflings' house, therefore their bodies hadn't broken, all protruding parts were in right places.
Nevertheless, Sassette remained inconsolable. "Moody Moose, it can't be true," the redhead squealed, bringing her hand uncertainly to Snappy's face. Her index finger touched his frozen nose gently, and she jumped back as if burnt despite the distinct chill. "Are you really frozen? Can't you hear me? Can't you see me? It's me, Sassette! At least try to do something! I'm sure we can do something about it, Cursing Curlews!"
Her desperate cries had no effect. Frost attacked her from all directions, even the sense of warmth from within her left her, and a painful chill entered her heart.
There was a loud bang somewhere in the village, and then Sassette screamed her guts out, mourning her friends.
Meanwhile, Farmer walked along the edge of the village, taking his steps slowly. When the emotions subsided and the adrenaline stopped working, the pain in his back returned, so the brown-haired tried to stiffen his body and move his spine as little as possible.
Out of the corner of his eye, he was judging the devastation the glacier had done to the village, not feeling ready to search for the Smurfs who had had to be here during the catastrophe. He was afraid that if he looked, he would see frozen Smurfette or Greedy or Tailor or Grandpa and he wouldn't be able to think. He already could barely look at his feet, his gaze seemed very distant, the fierce wind blew straight in his face, as if it wanted to force him to stay in the village and face his fears.
However, Farmer didn't think about giving up. He stubbornly made his steps toward his house and field. He was well aware that there was no idyllic landscape awaiting him, but even a sight of his beloved field massacred would be better than seeing even one dead Smurf.
"I don't care about what I'll see in the field," he sighed to himself, wrapping his arms around himself. "The condition of my house doesn't matter either. I only ask for my family being safe and sound."
His voice cracked at the last words, and the Smurf swallowed his tears as he approached his backyard. As he had expected, the glacier had not only dared to invade the village, but also had passed through his house, demolishing it completely. Nothing remained of his mushroom, all parts of the house had been crushed by a heavy ice block, the source of all their misfortunes.
The brown-haired stood in front of the rubble half covered with fresh snow, rubbing his arms. There was no living spirit around, no birds, no insects, nothing. Some of Farmer's furniture had been crushed and shredded. The boy shifted his gaze to the right, where his little shed once had stood. Nothing was left of it as well, only a few metal parts of some tools were still in one piece, if that's what one could call a rake or a hoe, smashed into scrap metal.
Farmer turned his back to the ruin so he could see what was left of their life-giving field. Not much could be said about the place. It was a nothing covered with snow, a wasteland, a white plain beneath which a fallen and unsuccessful harvest must have laid.
The boy stepped into the thick snow, and after a few steps he plunged his hands into it, trying to brush away some of it. He didn't know what he wanted to achieve, maybe he was already losing his mind and needed to perform some desperate act. "Our cabbages," he muttered lowly, his fingers catching on a withered and dry leaf. The vegetable had lost its rich green color and juicy appearance. It was cold and lifeless, rough to the touch, dry and gray. "Oh, my crops..."
There was a loud bang somewhere in the village, and then Sassette's desperate scream could be heard from another part of the village. Farmer sniffed, stopping himself from covering his ears. He should have allowed himself to get rid of all his grief, but he was afraid.
Between the ruins that remained of the village that had been not so long ago full of life, Handy was dragging his feet, assessing the destruction with his eyes. As a Smurf with one of the most responsible jobs, building and repairing everything he could, he had a hard time looking at the dilapidated houses. His works, his job, everything he had put so much heart and disinterested kindness in was smashed to a fine dust by the element in mere seconds.
The blond was a Smurf who loved what he did, especially if his work pleased others. Now there was nothing left of the houses, and there was no point in rebuilding them, because there was no one to do it for.
The boy approached the collapsed house of Tailor. In fact, it was one of the mushrooms that had taken the catastrophe better, and still it was hard to say that the house was suitable to living in it. Like Farmer, the blond was afraid that he would see even a small piece of a dead Smurf, so he tried not to focus on any blue spot as he swung his legs over the most damaged wall.
It was immediately obvious that the house belonged to Tailor, as evidenced not only by a plate with engraved scissors, a needle and a thread, left in the snow. Most of the materials hadn't got outside, various pieces of fabric and rags were caught on cracked wooden elements that either used to support the roof, or were part of the closet or other furniture.
Among the rubble, Handy was looking for something clean and strong, preferably waterproof, to wrap the burning wounds on his hands and cheek. Of course, it wasn't even close to the reliable disinfection and treatment of cut wounds, but none of the living Smurfs wanted to think about it at the moment.
Despite all efforts, the boy's gaze went to the piece of blue something protruding from under the fragments of the wall and the closet. After a few seconds of staring, he realized that it was an ice-bound hand of a Smurf.
Handy swallowed loudly and looked away, crouching by the broken chest of drawers in the opposite part of the room. He found some waterproof pieces of cloth, scissors and tape in one of the less damaged drawers. As he pulled these items out, he couldn't help looking at that hand out of the corner of his eye. He felt like a thief, taking other Smurfs' things, despite the awareness that the host could do nothing about it, because he was dead. With trembling hands, he tied the cloth around them and taped a piece of cloth to his face. He left Tailor's house on equally trembling legs.
Once again walking around the village, the blond paid attention to one of the houses. That mushroom belonged to his best friend, Hefty. The house hadn't been completely destroyed yet, but just in front of Handy it started to fall apart. The roof collapsed first, pushing the rest of the structure down with it. Everything was accompanied by an eerie bang, followed by Sassette's terrible scream spreading throughout the village.
Staring at the decaying house, Handy didn't notice an obstacle on his way. The Smurf tripped and hit the snow face-first. With a soft groan, he propped himself up with his hands and lifted his upper body, spitting the white fluff for a moment. It would have been very funny if not for the circumstances.
Curious about what he had tripped over, the blond turned his head. At first, he focused his sight on the ice-bound books, some of them intact, but two or three had broken in at least one place. The boy immediately recognized Brainy's collection of quotes by the colorful and new-looking covers.
As for Brainy himself, he had suffered the same fate as most small creatures. The poor Smurf had probably tried to save himself and his collection of quotes, but the glacier not only had made him an ice statue. His body had had to lean forward at some point and broken into several elements. His leg had fallen off, as well as his hands carrying the books, and almost his entire head.
Handy turned on his back at a dizzying pace and moved away from the broken Smurf, as if he wanted to escape from Azrael. Panting like a runner after a marathon, the blond stared straight into the bespectacled Smurf's eyes.
His despair might have lasted longer had it not been for Sassette's louder and louder screams. The girl ran crying, yelling as if someone was hitting her with a whip. The redhead was approaching him, motivating him to get up as quickly as possible and cover the macabre view.
"Nat, Snappy and Slouchy are frozen too, I think they... they are..." Unfortunately, the Smurfess managed to glance at the fragments of Brainy lying in the snow. "Is that Brainy?!" she hollered.
"Don't look!" The blond grabbed her shoulders and pressed her against himself, partially blocking her access to oxygen. "Don't look!" he repeated, holding her face close to his chest. With his head resting on her red hair, the hardworking Smurf burst into tears himself.
Somewhere from the opposite direction of where Sassette had come, Farmer appeared. The brown-haired wanted to ask about what had happened, but the sight of the books and the Smurf's broken body lying at the others' feet explained everything to him.
When the boys managed to make eye contact, Handy only shook his head briefly, wincing his face full of tears, then turned his head and placed his healthy cheek on top of Sassette's head. His shoulders were shaking and Farmer knew the Smurf was crying.
Not sure about what to do in this situation, Farmer walked over to them and wrapped his arms about them, resting his forehead against Handy's head. Pressing himself tightly against Sassette's back, the tallest of the three ran a gentle hand through the blond hair, breathing loudly and slowly, letting the bitter tears see the last minutes of the day.
