(A/n: I'm glad you're liking the story, Malstygian. There's gonna be some action sooner or later. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!)

Chapter 3: Knowing The Truth, But At A Cost

August 9th- Kyle

A rustling sound stirs Kyle from his slumber, the evening long gone. The window in Stan's bedroom is partly opened, allowing in some unwanted night air, gently swaying the curtains in its wake. Little droplets of snow are fluttering down from the clouds that are concealing the night sky. This time, the full moon couldn't best the mass of grey clouds from showing itself tonight. Nonetheless, it is a very peaceful night, its repose nature a comfortable atmosphere to sleep in.

Kyle groans when he hears the sound of movement above him once more from his spot on the floor, lying on the Marsh's spare futon by Stan's nightstand. The earlier events left Kyle beyond exhausted. The redhead tosses onto his left side, trying to get comfortable, but the cool air from outside is preventing him from falling back to sleep. More than five snowdrops drift into the room thanks to the tender breeze. "Seriously...?" He groans again, rolling onto his back as he slowly opens his still weary eyes. He blinks a few times, first trying to clear his blurry vision. It proves ineffective, making his eyes heavier with sleep. "Why the heck is it so cold in here?" He wonders with a shiver, not recalling opening the window before heading to bed. Why would he? One would be a fool to even think about letting South Park's infamous weather into their home.

The tired boy sits up with the blanket accompanying him. He uses it to wipe at his eyes. Once he deems his vision clear, he stops and looks around Stan's room, frowning at how dark it is. "Wait," Kyle shifts his body to turn around. As he suspected, the nightlight he plugged in is off. "It's not dead, is it?" Kyle sighs softly in annoyance as he gets up from his makeshift bed, clutching the cover over his shoulders. He ambles over to the window, the innocent, gentle breeze almost negating the warmth of the cover. Shivering again, Kyle stands on his tiptoes to pull the windowpane shut, a few more snowdrops sneaking their way into the room.

He decides to gaze outside. He watches countless snowdrops steadily traveling downward, his frown never-changing. At first, he didn't mind the constant snowfall nearly every day, in fact, he enjoyed it. Snow was something he only got to see and play in during Winter back in New York. But now...he greatly misses the heat of both Spring and Summer, seasons he took for granted. Every time it snows, he's constantly reminded that neither Spring, Summer, nor Autumn exist here. It's already bad enough that whenever he leaves the house, white and grey are all he perceives. There have been seldom days where the blue sky and sun were visble, but Kyle really hates that those are a very rare sight in South Park.

His mood now ruined, Kyle lowers his attention from the sky, his eyes widening instantaneously. He spots a silhouette of a male standing directly across the street from the Marsh's house, his jagged cloak seen fluttering behind him. Kyle wouldn't have even noticed them had he not averted his gaze, plus the dim, white snow on the ground prevented the individual from perfectly blending in with the darkness all around. "Who is that?" The man is giving off all kinds of bad vibes. Kyle can't tell if the person is looking straight up at him or not, it feels as if the two have been locking eyes this entire time. The possibility makes Kyle shudder, not liking the goosebumps sprouting along his arms. He breaks eye contact with the man. "I-I'd better get back to bed." Kyle prepares to close the curtains, only halfway there when he looks back at the figure. He regrets it instantly. His grip on the curtains start to loosen as his eyes widen once again in absolute fear, his body trembling.

The ominous male's mouth is visibly expanding. Bit by bit, his white teeth reveal themselves, and they're abnormally sharp. He gives Kyle a Cheshire smile. No...that man is no human. Its mouth starts to move, slowly mouthing each syllable that makes the child fear for his life.

"I've. Found. You."

Kyle finds his strength, and quickly closes the curtains, his breathing rigid. "W-what..." His brain can't fathom what had just happened, he can't form coherent words in his frightened state. He drops to his knees, the cover hugging his unsteady body as if it's going to protect him from the monster outside the house. Sleep is no longer in his system, he's too afraid to even close his eyes for a second, scared that the uncanny smile will greet him behind his eyelids. He tugs the cover tightly around himself.

*Yesterday Evening*

Kyle was doing his math homework on the floor in Stan's room, wearing some pajamas. The redhead was solving the problems well until he came across one that was difficult. He frowned sadly at the equation, usually whenever he was stumped doing a problem on any subject, his mother would always be there to assist him. Remembering the way she would calmly explain to him how to go about solving a tough question, adding in her whimsical sense of humor all the while, brought forth tears in Kyle's eyes. But he quickly wiped them away. He hoped that when he went home tomorrow, his mother would be back to normal. With that thought, he focused on his homework, skipping the hard equation to do at a later time.

By the time he's done - he'd just guessed on the equation he'd saved for last - his stomach took that opportunity to announce that he should eat something. Outside, the dark grey sky was gradually being replaced by nightfall. Kyle put his worksheet and pencil back into his orange folder, then into his red book bag. He stood up, but before he left the room, he turned around to look at Stan. He'd turned over on his back whilst in a deep sleep. The color of his skin was still pale, and his breathing was almost inaudible. Kyle placed a palm on Stan's forehead, the heat radiating from his body warming up his cold palm as if he was near a fireplace. As his hand rested on Stan's forehead, Kyle's mind wandered back to their first sleepover. He still wondered about that horror movie they had watched, things were normal up until that point. He then wondered how much Stan remembered of their sleepover. From the way he reacted when Kyle mentioned the movie's title earlier, he surely didn't forget watching that. Perhaps...he also remembered them being close together amidst watching the movie, practically clinging to each other in fear.

Stan squirmed a little under Kyle's touch, disrupting his thoughts. Kyle pulled his hand away, sensing his cheeks were a bright red thanks to his brief recollection of side hugging Stan. He looked down at his palm, still feeling the comforting heat on his skin. "Hurry up and get better, Stan. It's boring without you keeping me company," he said longingly. He left the room, and walked downstairs. Entering the living room, he spotted a piece of paper on a small wooden coffee table. "Mrs. Marsh must've left a note." He walked over to the paper, it was indeed a note. He took the sheet of paper in one hand, and read what Stan's mother wrote before she departed for work.

'We have leftover spaghetti and meatballs from yesterday in the fridge. I already made you a bowl without any meatballs, so just warm it up whenever you're hungry. Whenever Stan wakes up, please be sure to give him the soup that's in a brown bowl. Remember, we keep the extra mattress in the hall closet, and please give Stan some medicine before bed. Even if you have to wake him up. Randy should be home by midnight, and I'll return by morning. Also, Shelly should be home before it gets too dark from a friend's house.'

P.S- Please plug in Stan's nightlight before going to bed.

You boys stay safe,

Sharon

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot Stan has a nightlight," Kyle recalled with a chuckle. He put the paper back down on the table, next to the t.v remote. He walked into the kitchen, turning on the light overhead. He headed towards the refrigerator. Opening it, he saw on the top and middle shelves were a carton of eggs, milk, apple juice, bread, a pitcher of tea, a large metallic pot, and two bowls covered in plastic wrap. On the right side shelves were various condiments. Knowing that the brown bowl contained Stan's soup, the little redhead reached for the other bowl, which was black. Removing the plastic wrapping, Kyle threw it into the trashcan first, then ambled over to the microwave. He stood on his tiptoes to deposit the bowl into the microwave, setting the timer to three minutes. While his food was heating up, Kyle pulled the Marsh's dishwasher open, getting a fork and a cup. Closing the dishwasher, he went back to the refrigerator to pour himself some apple juice, filling the cup almost to the brim. He fastened the cap back over the carton, then finally closed the refrigerator door. He took a few sips of his juice while he continued to wait for his food.

When the microwave announced that his food was ready, he set his cup down on the countertop and took the bowl out with both hands, sticking the fork into the spaghetti. Grabbing his cup, he walked back into the living room, placed his cup down on the small table, then sat on the couch, setting his bowl over his lap. "Now let's see what's on t.v." He grabbed the remote, and turned the television on. Since it was a weekday, no shows piqued his interest as he flipped through channel after channel. He turned the t.v off. "Wish it was Friday, there's always something to watch when it's almost the weekend," he thought as he ate a forkful of his dinner. "Wait," he paused mid-chew. "I can watch a movie!"

At that thought, his mind backtracked to the short movie him and Stan watched during their first sleepover. Kyle finished chewing his food before gently placing his bowl down on the table. He made his way over to the numerous movies the Marsh's had stacked in the t.v stand. "I'll never understand how they have this many movies," he thought, amused. His best estimate as to how many movies his own family had were no less than ten, but definitely no more than fifty. He looked closely for only one movie in particular, all he had to do was locate the black, wordless case among the others. He narrowed down his search for the case to solely examining black ones, to ease his attempt at finding the movie called 'Darkness'. It was a smart method, however it turned out to have been a wasted effort after going through the few black cases that were there.

"That's weird..." Kyle scanned over the black cases that he'd laid out on the floor next to him, yet he still couldn't spot the wordless, black case. "No way," he murmured to himself in disbelief. "I know for a fact me and Stan watched that movie, so why isn't it-ouch!" A sudden sharp pain erupted in his temple, his brain beginning to throb. He clutched his head with both hands, his eyes and teeth clenching shut as the agonizing pain refused to diminish. It even pained him to think.

"Remember..."

Kyle froze, his eyes snapping open despite the unabating pain. That voice just now...it wasn't his. They sounded gentle and sweet, and a bit mature despite having a boyish tone of voice.

"Remember, Kyle Broflovski. Remember What Truly Happened That Night."

"R-remember?" Kyle repeated weakly, not understanding what the boy was telling him.

Kyle's lime-green eyes suddenly lost their shine, his pupils fading from his irises. His arms dropped down to his sides, laying limp beside his stiff figure. He sat slouched forward slightly, his lusterless eyes staring down at his lap.

He was forced to look back on what happened that night of their first sleepover.

What truly happened.

/

June 10th

"Aww, but mooom," Kyle heard Stan whine in protest.

"No buts, Stan," his mother objected sternly. "You two are way too young to be left here by yourselves the entire night."

"But it's our first sleepoveeeeer," Stan whined some more.

Kyle couldn't help but laugh from his position on Stan's bed, his ushanka right beside him. Kyle figured Mrs. Marsh wouldn't let them have their first sleepover without a guardian watching over them, but it didn't bother him like it did to Stan.

Kyle was clad in a navy-blue two-piece pajama set, the designs on his shirt were the blue initials of Terrance and Phillip. On his feet were a pair of orange socks. He sat in silence as he waited for Stan to stop complaining. The little noirette was very stubborn, and a few minutes later, he came into his room looking grumpy. Stan's pajamas were a turquoise two-piece, in the center of his shirt were small cartoon versions of Terrance and Phillip. His socks were white. He closed his door with an annoyed huff and crossed his arms.

"Cheer up, dude," Kyle said with a small smile. "We can still have fun with your family here."

Stan huffed once again as he directed his disgruntled glare at Kyle. "I get that, but this is our first sleepover. I thought they'd leave the house to us for just one night. It's not like someone's gonna try to rob us or anything." Just the thought alone made Kyle frown. Stan was probably right, but Mrs. Marsh wasn't willing to take that risk.

"Look, your mom is just looking out for us," Kyle reasoned. "But that shouldn't stop us from still having fun, should it?"

Stan pouted for a moment, then sighed in defeat, lowering his arms and losing his look of displeasure, although not completely. "No, but what can we do? We can't watch anything since I don't have a t.v in here, and all I have are books and toys." He walked over to his toy box and opened it, inside were various amounts of toys. Quite a few were broken, but they were still usable to some extent.

Kyle hopped down from the bed to join Stan by the big brown box. Kyle looked inside, and something caught his eye almost immediately. "Dude?" He snickered. He reached down inside the box, pulling out a pink-haired doll among the race cars, dinosaurs, and other toys made for boys. "Why do you have a doll?" He inspected the figurine with puffed cheeks. The plastic toy was wearing a pink cheerleaders outfit, around its waist were matching colored pompoms with bits of silver in it.

Stan looked at the doll and blushed in embarrassment. He took the girly item from Kyle's hand, and the redhead released his laughter. "S-shut up, butthole, this isn't mine! I don't know how this got in here." Stan glared at the smiling doll, then threw it offhandedly.

Kyle sighed after his laughing fit, his throat and stomach a bit sore from the constant strain. "You think it's Shelly's? Cuz I don't," he teased making himself snicker again. Stan briefly glared at him before rummaging within his toy box for something. A second or two later, the noirette pulled out a mini basketball, and threw it at the red-haired jokester, laughing in return at Kyle's stunned face. "Oh, so that's how you wanna play, huh?" Kyle glared playfully at Stan as he grabbed the small basketball, and threw it back at the laughing child, hitting him on the nose. "Hah!" Kyle cheered triumphantly.

Stan lightly rubbed his nose as he glared lightheartedly at the redhead. He looked back inside his toy box, later taking out a mini soccer ball. He tossed it to Kyle, who caught it with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's have a contest," Stan declared. "Whoever catches their own ball without dropping it even once, wins."

Kyle smirked at the challenge. "You're on, but what does the winner get?"

Stan tapped his chin as he thought. "How abooout...the winner gets to order the loser around for a week?" Kyle nodded his head in acceptance, thus the two commenced their ball catching competition.

The two boys didn't play fair, thanks to Stan since he started it. He would tell a joke every now and then to get Kyle to laugh and lose his focus on his soccer ball, but Kyle didn't give in. The redhead himself tried to distract Stan by getting the noirette to look elsewhere but at his basketball, Kyle almost got him with the spider one. The two continued their unjust contest until Stan's mother called them down for dinner five minutes later. They both failed to catch their sports balls, and they landed on their faces before hitting the floor.

"Aww, why mom?" Stan whined, eyeing his basketball in defeat.

"I dropped mine too, so I guess we're even," Kyle said with a shrug. They stood up, leaving their toys on the floor.

"Wanna continue after we finish eating?" Stan asked.

"Sure, but this time, let's see who can catch their ball ten times before the other," Kyle proposed.

Stan smiled at his idea. "Okay."

Before leaving the room, Kyle went to get his ushanka, putting it over his head. They joined the rest of the Marsh's at the dining room table for pizza and wings.

*After Dinner*

Once everyone was done eating, Mrs. Marsh suggested they watched a movie.

The group of five gathered in the living room: Kyle, Stan, and Shelly sat on the couch whereas Mrs. Marsh and Mr. Marsh sat in the armchairs. The television was on, displayed on the black screen was a small box bouncing off of each corner.

"Can I pick out the movie?" Stan asked eagerly. Not waiting for a response, he was about to get up and select a movie anyway, but his mother stopped him.

"Let Kyle pick, he is a guest after all," she said. Stan sat back with a pout, and Kyle got up from his spot on the sofa, going over to the t.v.

"Don't pick out a kids movie, turd," he heard Shelly say, but he ignored her. He wasn't going to do that anyway.

He stood in front of the DVDs. His eyes scanned all of the cases, unsure of which movie he wanted them all to watch. "Might as well pick at random," he thought. He closed his eyes and stuck out his hand, his fingertips grazing each case for a moment, as if they were his eyes. He stopped on one soon after, then pulled it out with his eyes still closed.

"The heck's taking you so long?" Shelly complained.

"Now, now, Shelly. Give him time," Mrs. Marsh chided her. Rolling her eyes, Shelly crossed her arms and leaned back against the cushion.

Kyle opened his eyes to look at the DVD he'd picked out, happy at his choice. "I got one." He took the disc out of the case, put it inside the DVD player, and pressed the play button. He set the case down on the floor, and walked back to his spot on the sofa beside Stan as the movie began to play.

"What movie did you put in?" Stan asked him. Mr. Marsh got up to turn the living room lights off.

"You'll see," Kyle answered with a sly grin. The group watched an action film in comfortable silence with the occasional chatter here and there.

About fifty minutes into the movie, Stan's family decided to call it a night. "Are you two going to stay up?" Mrs. Marsh yawned out. Her husband and daughter bid them goodnight as they went upstairs for bed.

Kyle and Stan said it back to them, then Stan responded to his mother. "Yeah, it's still our sleepover." His eyes remained intently focused on the television.

Mrs. Marsh shook her head with a small smile, she knew he would say that. "Okay, but don't stay up too late. Go straight to bed once the movie ends. Goodnight, boys."

Stan nodded. "Goodnight, mom."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Marsh."

Satisfied with their responses, she ruffled Stan's hair and Kyle's ushanka before going to bed herself. Kyle was glad that his hat remained on his head as he straightened it with a chuckle, Stan grumbling a little, although not in anger while he fixed his hair.

Roughly around an additional ten minutes later, the two boys found themselves becoming sleepy. Kyle fought to keep his eyes open, struggling to still his head from drooping to the side. Stan, however, lost the battle. His head slumped against the arm of the couch while closing his eyes.

"No, just a few...more...minutes," Kyle willed himself, but alas, sleep overpowered him, and his eyes slid closed.

But in that instant, an ear-splitting scream erupted from the television, startling both boys awake. They looked at the t.v through half-lidded eyes. What they saw caused them to open their eyes all the way, knocking the sleepiness out of them.

The screen was black with dark red liquid trailing down like rain in the background, covering the living room in complete darkness with a faint red hue. This...couldn't be a scene from the action movie they were watching. A low hum began to emit from the t.v speakers.

"K-Kyle, what's going on?" Stan asked anxiously.

"I-I don't know! It's your movie," Kyle answered just as nervously.

Before either boy could ponder any further on the strange development, the humming from the t.v began to get louder, its deep vibrations going throughout the house. Kyle and Stan covered their ears while clenching their eyes shut. The droning lasted a few more seconds until it stopped completely. Kyle was the first to notice the silence. He hesitantly lowered his arms while opening his eyes, seeing that the screen hadn't changed.

"What the heck's going on?!" He whispered in a panic. He looked over at Stan, the boy still had his hands over his ears, but his eyes were wide open. "Stan, the sound stopped, so you can...Wait...what's that smell?" A metallic scent filled the air around them. It was faint at first, so Kyle didn't notice it, but the smell began to get stronger the longer he tried to decipher what it could be. When he finally located the source, his eyes widened in absolute horror. Thin streams of blood were leaking out from in between Stan's fingers, the red fluid either trailing down to his sleeves or dripping onto the couch. "S-Stan!" Kyle tried to come to his aid, but he found himself unable to move. "What?! Why can't I move?!" He thought in shock. He couldn't move any of his limbs, save for his head. He felt as if he was constricted by rope.

"K...Kyle..." Stan whimpered, sounding as if he was in pain as the blood continued to flow from his ears. Kyle tried once again to regain control of either of his limbs...but got the same failed result. "Kyle...the ringing...won't stop. It...really hurts..." Kyle desperately yearned to help Stan, he's an arms length away, yet he couldn't do anything except stare helplessly at him. "Please...m-make it stop..."

Tears began to well up in Kyle's eyes. "Why hasn't anyone come down here yet?!" He thought, both in fear and anger. "Did no one hear the scream or the humming sound?" "Help!" He shouted, really glad that he could use his voice, at least. "Mrs. Marsh, Mr. Marsh!" The tears spilled from his eyes when he was met with silence.

A brief red glow caught his attention, momentarily brightening the living room. He saw some of the raining blood on the television screen forming into words. He watched the process through blurry vision, unable to fully see what the words were since he couldn't move his arms to wipe the tears away. But it was for the best.

THE DARK HUNGERS

Was what it said in the middle of the screen.

Kyle began to wonder why their very first sleepover turned out this way. Would this had happened if Stan's family weren't here? Or if they didn't watch a movie? What's going to happen to them? Kyle then wondered. To Stan? Would he lose his ability to hear? Would they still be alive after tonight? Question after question ran through Kyle's numbing mind, not even the three words that suddenly started swirling on the screen made him feel any different.

After a few seconds, a sentence appeared, and a voice sounded in Kyle's head, saying what's exactly on the t.v screen.

"Stay Strong, Kyle Broflovski. Do Not Let The Darkness Win."

"..." Kyle gazed blankly at the bleary looking sentence. Was that...a ghost that just spoke to him? The sentence began to distort and change in color, as did the shower of blood. The eerie red became a soothing green.

Kyle blinked, wanting desperately to dry his eyes. Just what was going on?

"You Have The Power To Free Yourself And Save Stanley. Use It Before It's Too Late."

"...I...have the power?" Kyle felt a light tingle in his eyes all of a sudden. It wasn't painful nor uncomfortable, rather it felt...strangely relaxing. A bead of white light appeared in his pupils, growing until it's the exact size of his pupils. His lime-green eyes began to change color, highlighting into a neon green. A burst of power flowed through the boy's body, a mystical power that would not only end Stan's suffering, but the evil that dared to threaten both him and his super best friend.

/

Vitality swiftly returned to Kyle's eyes along with his consciousness. He blinked rapidly a few times. "W-what...was that? Do I...really have some kind of power within me?" He winced, feeling a dull ache in the back of his neck. He slowly lifted an arm to soothe the cramp he'd gotten from having his head down for too long.

Keeping his hand on his neck, he slowly raised his head. He's still in the living room, and it was now very dark out. The few black DVD cases were still next to him on the floor from his failed search of the supposed horror movie he and Stan had watched during their first sleepover. "If...we didn't watch that movie, then how come I dreamt about it before?" He wasn't sure what to believe at this moment, one dream could be the truth, and the other could be a fabricated lie. The voice he heard before blacking out didn't sound like they were trying to deceive him, rather the mysterious child wanted to help Kyle. "Just who was that? Could he have been a ghost...?" Although Kyle was skeptical, deep down he felt like he could trust the other boy. This wasn't the first time he'd heard him, and even then, he sounded innocent and caring.

Lowering his arm, Kyle heaved an exhausted sigh, the pain in his neck now nothing more than a faint ache. He wondered if he would ever hear the voice again for a third time or if Kyle himself could communicate with the boy with his power. "I have so many questions, but...I'm so tired." Both physically, but mostly mentally. Mustering up some strength, Kyle picked up the scattered DVDs, and put them on top of the other cases. Once he's done, he got up, turning around and frowning wearily at his bowl of spaghetti and spilt apple juice. Mrs. Marsh's note was soaked. Kyle groaned, aware that he would get in big trouble if his mess was found left there, although he was perplexed as to how his juice got knocked over. He trudged over to the table, grabbing both dishes, then went into the kitchen. He dumped the cold pasta into the trash can, then the little remaining juice into the sink as well as the cup and bowl. He looked around for something he could use to wipe up the big stain on the table in the living room, spotting a roll of paper towels at the far end of the countertop. He went over to it, got as many sheets he thought would be necessary, then hurried back into the living room to clean up. It took him two minutes to make the wooden surface appear almost spotless, though the scent of the apple juice lingered. Grimacing, he used both hands to scoop up the bundle of brown and soggy paper towels as well as the note, and hurried to throw them into the kitchen trash can. He walked out turning off the light, making sure to do the same for the ceiling light in the living room before going up the stairs. He yawned, but was too lazy to cover his mouth.

He entered Stan's bedroom, heading towards the noirette's bathroom to wash his sticky hands. With a bit of help from the lamp in the room, he stepped up a small step ladder that was placed in front of the sink. He washed his hands under cold water, shivering at its temperature. He turned the faucet off, shaking his hands to rid some of the water over the sink before stepping down, going back into Stan's room. Remembering that the spare mattress was in the hall closet, Kyle tried not to groan again as he went to go get it. Luckily, it was on the floor and was easy to bring into Stan's room since it was already rolled up, making it a little less heavy to carry. He gently rolled out the quilted mattress down on the floor by the nightstand, switched off the lamp, then plugged in the football nightlight, almost forgetting that was a task Mrs. Marsh told him to do...as well as something else, but his brain wasn't in the mood to remember what it was. He went to go get a pillow and a blanket. Retrieving those items with ease as well from the hall closet, the jaded boy closed the bedroom door with his foot before nearing his temporary bed. He set the pillow down on it first, followed by him laying down with the cover accompanying him. In a matter of seconds, he fell asleep.

*?*

Stood atop of a cliff that overlooked South Park was a lone being, their identity concealed by the dark, cloudy sky. Not a single white speck stuck to his black clothes.

"You told me he was in this town, and that he would awaken soon," the figure recalled. He knew never to doubt his Master's prophecies for they were always correct, however over many moons had passed since his Master last predicted that a boy would awaken with powers akin to their own in a small town within Colorado this year. For months now, the male came to this very spot every night to sense the Darkness from within the town, but he felt no disturbances there as months went by, growing iffy of his Master's sense of prediction telling.

Abruptly, a blast of air blew the snowdrops in one direction as well as the man's jagged cloak. An invisible smile graced his unseen lips as he looked to where the wind sprung out from. Shortly after, a brief green glow erupted within the town. "Sorry, I doubted you, Master," the individual thought with a shake of his head, then he's gone in an instant. Not a trace of his bootprints were embedded into the snow where he once stood seconds ago.

The wind and the descending snow returned to their original calm.