2. Unheard
It wasn't Jack's idea to travel so far but the Wind had insisted until he gave in. Even though he couldn't understand a word the children in this new place spoke Jack still managed to have fun with them without much trouble. It helped that none of them could see or speak to him, too.
Jack wasn't the best reader but even he could see that the letters there weren't the same as back home.
Some were similar to one's from his native language with the exception that they were upside down.
It didn't sound anything like what he was used to hearing either. At least no one could point out that Jack was not from there since they couldn't even see him. It seemed like his invisibility did have its perks.
Every adult that got anywhere near the area were Jack was at the time suffered through slick patches of ice that suddenly appeared under their feet or their hats were blown off their heads without warning. While the adult's day was more problematic the children were all laughing and having a good time until well into the night.
The darker it got the more children left to go back to their homes. Soon Jack was alone again. Left behind like a toy that wasn't wanted anymore. It would be a lie if he'd say it didn't hurt but he couldn't change anything about it so he did his best not to dwell on it.
Just as he was about to fly off to find new playmates something caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. Jack almost missed the shape hidden in all the shadows that surrounded it but as he took a closer look he saw that it was a young child. It sat on the ground in an alley despite the snow that covered it.
After he overcame his confusion Jack took a step closer his curiosity growing. He wondered were the child's parents were. The other kids had left already and he couldn't see any adults around. Even though he couldn't feel the cold as much as everyone else did he still realized that it was far too cold outside at this time of the day.
From what he could make out the child in front of him was a girl not much younger than him, probably around ten years old. Her clothes looked old and too small on her body since they didn't cover her wrists and ankles. She appeared as dirty as if she hadn't been clean for at least a couple of days but he couldn't be sure with all the clean white snow around her and the light wasn't too bright either. She made a pitiful picture all in all.
At first he hadn't noticed it but as the girl began to shiver harder he noticed and concern grew inside of him. This was the first time Jack had seen a child outside so late without any adults around. Something about it didn't seem right to him. To be honest it worried him.
After a few moments where he thought about what to do still no one had come up to the girl to take her home. As his concern grew so did his helplessness. There had to be something he could do! For crying out loud he could fly and control snow and ice so why couldn't he help a single child?! That couldn't be too hard right? Grown-ups did it all the time. Why couldn't he even think of something to do?
But standing around doing nothing didn't help the situation any.
Trying his best to lighten the mood Jack kicked some snow from the ground into the air with his staff which caused the girl to get covered in snow. "What…?" Surprise and confusion were mixed into her voice but then she just shrugged and went back to staring at the ground.
Not one to give up easily Jack spread frost over the ground and up the wall the child leant against. In response a soft smile bloomed on her face. Delicate hands followed the spreading frost her fingers lightly touching it.
In the meantime the sun's last rays had disappeared leaving the small town in almost complete darkness. Weren't it for the stars that shone in the sky it wouldn't have been possible to see more than a few meters ahead. No light came from the moon since it didn't appear to be anywhere Jack could see.
In consequence of his growing agitation clouds began to fill the sky blocking the stars from view.
Soon thick snowflakes fell down and the air cooled noticeable.
Jack crouched on the ground a smile on his face when he that she had looked up to watch the snow that fell. The previous frown that had marred her face disappeared and her hands that were again curled around her bent knees relaxed.
Jack settled a few feet away from her sitting cross legged on the ground his staff laid over his knees.
"I wonder what your name is little girl," he wondered aloud. It wasn't a surprise when he didn't receive a response. Nonetheless he dropped his shoulders, sighed and lifted his gaze heavenward.
Both children gasped in surprise when they saw tendrils of sand come down from above to spread around town. The glow from them reflected off of the snow that covered every surface.
Grins spread on their faces at the same time unnoticed.
Such a small occurrence managed to lift the heavy heart of Jack and settled the girl more at ease.
"That's it!" Jack burst out followed by him springing up, "This has to be from this 'Sandman' the kids back home talked about! And if his sand is here…," he trailed of searched with his gaze across the sky, "than surely he must be near!" He was certain that the other spirit could help.
With one last look behind Jack nodded to himself and took off into the air his staff raised in in front of him. When he took flight the sand began to dissolve already which caused him to fly faster in the direction from where the sand came from.
On a cloud of sand sat a small but round man who waved his arms around obviously to direct his sand where it was supposed to go. Jack chuckled at the comical sight the Sandman made while he waved his short arms around wildly and a look of concentration set on his face.
The image he made reminded Jack of young children playing around in dirt spraying it around.
"Hey Sandman! I need to speak with you for a sec," Jack shouted to get the other's attention.
A frown appeared on his face when he got no reaction. Maybe he just didn't hear him? With a shrug he shortened the distance between them until they were just a few meters apart. After a second shout still didn't get a reaction Jack smirked and conjured snow and ice in his left hand. He chuckled softly before he threw the snowball that had formed right in the Sandman's face. That finally got him a response.
Golden eyebrows were drawn together in an irritated expression. His hands had stopped their motion when he turned around to see who had interrupted him in his work. Jack couldn't imagine that the Sandman was often thrown at with snowballs. And the way the snow and ice melted into his body which seemed to consist out of sand didn't look pleasant. The sand of his shoulders had darkened because of the wetness and reminded Jack of how dirt looked after rain.
"Sorry little man but you weren't reacting and I really need your help," Jack began but stopped when he saw the image that had formed above the other's head. An hourglass out of sand indicated that the other didn't have time for him.
"Yeah, I know you have to do your job and all but it's urgent and I really-", before he could finish his sentence the Sandman had shot him an apologetic look just to fly away too fast for Jack to follow. Apparently he was done in this area. Great. Just great. What was he supposed to do now?
After his attempt of getting help he went back hoping the girl had gotten home while he was away.
But when he arrived his hopes vanished. At the same place as before the youngster sat on the ground. His chest ached when he saw how much paler she had gotten. Her shivering had gotten worse too.
Since Jack couldn't do anything useful to help her situation he sank to the ground far enough away from her so he won't get her any colder than she already was. The grip on his staff tightened whilst he watched her helplessly. Even though it was freezing she had fallen asleep while he was away.
"She should be lying in a bed not outside on the freezing cold ground…" he muttered and his mouth twisted down into an unhappy frown. He would love to have some fun but there was nothing funny about this and he couldn't just leave her all alone. It didn't matter that she couldn't see him.
The snowfall hadn't stopped even one moment throughout the night rather the amount of snowflakes had increased with time. In the dawn of the next morning they were almost an inch big and still steadily falling down. Not one citizen of the town could get even a glimpse of the sun on that day. The whole time until night started again the sun was blocked from sight by thick, dark clouds.
In the afternoon a young couple spotted a body in a deserted alley. Screams sounded when they realized it was the corpse of a young girl. Unbeknown to them next to the dead girl was the spirit of winter who had helplessly watched her die from the cold he usually found so much fun in.
His thin arms were wrapped tightly around himself, his head bowed, dull blue eyes never leaving the form that lay next to him.