"Come on, Emma. I'm leaving." Emma heard her mom call from upstairs. She put down her toys and ran up, grabbing her shoes as she went.
"Where are you going again?" She asked as she climbed into the car.
"I'm going to my book club, and you're going to the kids' reading time at the library." Her mom said as she backed out of the driveway. "I'm just going to be in the next room over."
"Oh. Okay." Emma stared out the window at the snow-covered street. She wasn't super excited about the library's reading time, but her mom wanted her to hang out with other kids her age. She'd been a bit reclusive lately, so her mom had taken it upon herself to take Emma to social gatherings.
When they entered the library, Emma went off to the kids' corner while her mom met some friends for her book club. Emma found Jamie and a few others she knew among the twenty or so children ready for the group story.
"We're reading about old legends today." Jamie said as Emma sat down beside him. "Should be interesting."
A girl turned around and shushed him as the librarian started speaking.
"Alright, kids, settle down." She said, "Today's book is Legends Through History." Emma leaned back against the bean bag she was in front of and relaxed. Usually the books the librarians read them weren't super fascinating, so sometimes she daydreamed or dozed off. She looked out the window at the snowstorm as the librarian began talking about age-old legends. Various tales from her childhood: the Man in the Moon, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman. She was vaguely interested, at least enough to register the abnormal origins of each character. She hadn't known that the Tooth Fairy came from India, or that she could split herself into thousands of little fairies.
"Next," the librarian said, "I'm going to tell you about Jack Frost, the Spirit of Winter."
Emma sat up. She'd never heard of Jack Frost before. She looked at Jamie questioningly, but he was listening intently to the story. She looked back at the book the librarian was holding up. The illustration showed a watercolor of a white-haired boy with blue skin and a brown cloak, sitting in front of the moon on top of a tree. She listened as the librarian told about the old legends of Jack Frost, who brought snow and winter to all the world.
"He's the North Wind, Old Man Winter, he's the bite that nips your nose in the cold." The librarian said poetically.
Emma raised her hand. "How old is this legend? I've never heard it before."
Jamie looked at her, surprised. "You've never heard of Jack Frost?"
The librarian answered, "As old as folklore itself."
"What exactly does he look like?" Emma asked.
"No one knows for sure." The librarian turned a few pages and showed them more pictures, but none of them were the same. Some showed a man made of ice, or a mere shadow in the wind, or a young ghostly boy.
"Can we get on with it?" The girl who had shushed Jamie asked.
"Sorry…" Emma said, looking down at her hands. That was so strange… Why hadn't she known this before?
Lost in thought, she didn't hear another word of the librarian's stories.
"You've really never heard of Jack Frost?" Jamie asked her as they were leaving.
"No," Emma said, looking at her feet. "It's funny, it seems like I should have, I just… didn't."
"Hmm." Said Jamie, looking a bit preoccupied as he scanned the books on the shelf next to them.
"Time to go, Emma." Her mom emerged from the side room by which she and Jamie had been waiting.
"Bye, Jamie." Emma said. He waved as she followed her mom out the door and back into the car. The snow had gotten deeper while they were inside, and she picked her way through the drifts, trying to keep it out of her boots.
On the way home, she stared out the window at the snowfall, thinking. Jack Frost, spirit of winter….
She laughed to herself. The story reminded her of her brother. In a good way.
She imagined a boy who looked like Jack, running through the snow in his bare feet. She imagined him building a snowman, making snow angels, and reveling in a blizzard he had created. She sighed happily. Imagination made everything better.
As they pulled into the driveway, Emma saw something move in her periphery. There was something in her backyard. She jumped out of the car and ran around back.
"Where are you going, Emma?" Her mom called after her.
"I'm just going to check something." She said.
"Alright, but come in soon. It's cold out."
Yes, it is. Unusually cold. Emma thought. She peeked around the side of the house. She saw nothing but a faint rustling of the tallest pine tree on the edge of the yard. Slightly disappointed, she walked through the yard, examining the tree. She had turned to go back inside when she heard it.
"Hi, Emma." The voice was familiar, slightly sad and wistful. It belonged to a boy.
Emma whipped around. The backyard was still empty.