"Wake up." Said a voice unusually close to Sandy's ear. "Wake up, you lazy little…!"
"…Huh…?" Sandy shifted one eye open. She was staring into the cold, heartless eyes of a gray hamster with a black stripe down the middle of his nose.
"Good, you've risen." He said, putting his paw, which was raised to slap her, down. "Now stand on your feet! We have business to be taken care of."
"Wha…business?" Sandy murmured, shaking off the last remnants of sleep. "What are you…?"
"Of course," said the hamster maliciously. "It's only natural that you would've forgotten a long time ago. Here," he pressed his paw to her forehead. A bright light shone from his fingers and Sandy fell to the floor, rubbing her head.
"No…!" she cried, screaming out in pain. "This…this can't be real! It's not…haaaaaaa…."
Sandy calmed down.
"It all makes sense to me now." Sandy said, somewhat gravely. "I…the feeling that I felt before…this is the answer."
"Yes, yes. I'm glad you've remembered." Spoke the hamster, rather irritated. "Now, I've come to take the payment you owe me."
"Wait…it sounds familiar. Payment?" Sandy asked, rubbing her head again.
"Maybe if I recited the first part you'll remember." Spoke the other hamster to Sandy. "When true love is found in one place…"
"It shall be lost again in another…" Sandy recited as though she was reading from a book. "Why do I know that?"
"It was a promise that we made a long time ago." Said the hamster, nodding his head. "I cursed you, and in return, I granted you life until you found your true love."
"I'm still confused…" Sandy grunted. "But I think I understand a lot more now. My true love…no! It can't mean Maxwell!"
"Oh come now." Said the hamster, his yellow eyes gleaming. "Don't you remember the words that came to your mind when he confessed his love for you?"
"You weren't supposed to love me back…" Sandy said.
"Correct!" said the hamster. "And I don't suppose you'd remember my name either."
"Fuzenko." Sandy spoke plainly. "Your name's Fuzenko."
Fuzenko nodded. "Now, I don't have much time until you wake up. I have to collect what I came here for."
And with that said, Fuzenko raised his paw to her forehead a second time. This time a blue light emanated from his paw, and she fell to the ground.
"I almost feel sorry for her." Fuzenko said. "Pity she doesn't know what's to come…"
-
-
"Hmmmmm…" Sandy cracked her eye open. "M…Maxwell?"
"Sandy!" Maxwell said in a weary voice as though he hadn't spoken for a while. "You're awake, I'm so glad. How do you feel?"
Sandy thought about it for a while. She remembered Fuzenko, and she remembered Maxwell confessing his love for her. But she didn't feel anger towards Fuzenko, or love towards Maxwell. Nor did she feel happy or sad. In fact, she couldn't feel anything at all.
"Sandy?" Maxwell asked after a while. "I know why you're not speaking. You're upset about everything right?"
"No." Sandy said flatly. "I'm not upset. But I'm not happy either. I just don't feel…that's it. Fuzenko. This is what he took from me."
"Fuzenko?" Maxwell repeated. "What are you talking about? Did you have a strange dream or something?"
"Sort of." Sandy sighed.
"Oh…" Maxwell gathered her in his arms. "I'm sorry Sandy. I didn't…Sandy?"
Maxwell broke away. Sandy had a tear dripping from her eye.
"Please don't cry Sandy." Maxwell said. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
That's odd… Sandy thought. I wasn't aware that I was crying.
"I don't know what this is about…" Maxwell said. "But maybe I can dig up some research on this Fuzenko guy. Please Sandy, stay here and rest."
Maxwell picked up his dictionary in his paws, and left the room with a troubled expression on his face.
I'm not sad at all… Sandy thought as she saw Maxwell shut the door. But these tears won't stop falling…
-
-
Maxwell walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
"Hey Maxwell." Pashmina asked. "Is Sandy okay? I heard she fainted."
"I'm not sure." Maxwell responded. "I'm going to try and find a way to help her."
"What happened to Sandy?" Stan asked, poking his head up from under the table.
"Uh…" Maxwell stuttered. "She sort of passed out."
Stan appeared in front of Maxwell with a livid look on his face. "What did you do to my sister?!?"
"Well I…we were walking and…I sort of told her…I told her that I liked her." Maxwell said slowly.
Stan raised his paw and punched Maxwell right by his mouth. He tumbled to the ground, and tasted the blood in his mouth.
"Maxwell I…" Stan cringed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"It's okay Stan." Maxwell said, rubbing his face. "I probably deserved that. I don't know why, but something that I did, did something funny to Sandy. It's my fault, and I'm going out to set things right."
Stan beamed at Maxwell and put a paw on his shoulder. "You know, if there was anyone right for my sister, it's you Maxwell. Placing the blame on yourself like that proves it to me. I want you to know that I'm like, behind you 100 percent!"
Maxwell smiled, left the kitchen, and headed towards the front door of Sandy's house.
-
-
Madame Helen. She was the only one he could think of going to for this type of thing.
Maxwell stepped inside the tent. It was lavishly hot in the warm spring air, but he pretended to not notice the uncomfortable atmosphere as he stepped up to the small table in the center of the room.
"Ah, Maxwell!" the gypsy hamster said, today wrapped in an enormous purple shawl. "Here for a reading?"
"Actually no." he stated. "I needed some information."
"Alright." Said Madame Helen. "I'll see what I can do."
"Do you know anything about a hamster called Fuzenko?" Maxwell asked.
She thought about it before answering. "I know a little."
"Please tell me all you know!" Maxwell asked, sounding a little desperate.
"Of course," Madame Helen started. "He was a great demon taking many forms. He stayed alive by taking what he needed from others by trading them what they wanted. It was normally things like a few years off their life, their eyesight, even their emotions. He would feed off of these things and thrive."
Maxwell nodded. "Where would I find him?"
"Find him?" Madame Helen laughed. "You silly boy, he was around two hundred years ago!"
Maxwell was taken aback. "Two hundred years ago?"
"Well…" she whispered. "There is one place that has seen weird happenings lately."
And she whispered the name into his ear.
"That's it!" Maxwell said. "Thank you so much for your help."
And with that, he stepped out of the tent and into the sunshine.
-
-
Sandy couldn't fall asleep.
It was no use, she tried to close her eyes, but strange thoughts kept haunting her.
No…It's not true…
Maxwell can't be…
But didn't he…
Yes, he did say…
He loved me…
Maybe I loved him at one point…
Yes, I think I did…
I always felt so safe around him…
But now I can't feel anything at all.
Anything at all…But why?
Why did I love him?
I think it was…
Because he reminded me of…
Someone.
But who? Who was it?
I think…
The past…
Fuzenko gave me my memories back.
But it's still so blurry…
Maybe…
Maybe I don't want to remember.
These tears, they're not real.
But I know if I just lay here…
I'll never shed another tear again…
-
-
Maxwell panted steadily. He's been walking for a long time, and he was tired. Taking a seat on a bench, he caught his breath.
He'd been walking forever, it seemed. It was almost dark. Sweat clung to his forehead. But as he wiped the beads of sweat off, he felt a cooling breeze.
No, not cooling.
Chilling.
Maxwell pulled his jacket on around him. "Wait, this means I'm getting close!"
He grabbed his backpack and ran as fast as he could.
Ten minutes later, the weather changed. It was no longer playfully sunny, but frigid. Gusts of wind blew hard and fast, nipping at his uncovered nose. He wished he had a scarf and a heavier jacket.
He couldn't run anymore, the wind was too strong. But he plunged on. His eyes were blasted with wind, and he walked with his eyes almost shut.
Suddenly, the wind stopped. He opened his eyes, and instantly shut them again, for surrounding his was a mass of white.
White?
Maxwell opened his eyes again, this time adjusting to the light. It was true, everything around him was white. Before he understood, his foot sunk into the landscape.
"Snow!" Maxwell said. "I've made it. This is it…the Village of Eternal Snow…"
-
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