I Can't Go Back...

Okay. That's it. I don't care what happens to me. It seems that it's being around the theater or being around Aaron that makes me warmer. But I can't go back. Not after what happened. It's hard to explain. Aaron stopped by to pick me up again. Thankfully, my dad's at work and my mom's commuting in Boston. They're not around much. I don't care. It means I have the house to myself.

But when I got there and saw the sets, I froze in place, and everything got cold again. The backdrops were replaced with snowy fields and huge, icy monolith things that towered in the air. In the center, at the end of a large road of slick, blue ice, was the Emerald City, glowing a brilliant blue. Then I saw that the director had finally gotten my costume in. I looked and saw it- a whitish, almost icy blue dress, with silvery white shoes and white face makeup. I almost threw up. Aaron didn't seem to notice. Neither did my director. The other actors-- I don't know about the other actors. I don't notice them at all anymore. And then I saw my wand... my witch's wand was a sharp, blue icicle, down to the sharp murderous point. I was shocked. I mean... oh God, I remember it so vividly, but...

I asked the director about this.

"What's the matter, Kelly?"

I told him.

"But, Kelly, I don't know what you're talking about. The set and the costumes are as they always were."

I was going to reply to him, tell him 'No. It couldn't be. My costume is ice blue and the wand...' I was going to pull out the wand when I saw it was a black, slightly tapered stick. Just like it was supposed to be. I blinked a couple times. Then I was going to talk to the director.

Then everything went black.

I heard the pitter patter of little feet.

The giggling.

I saw the fog pooling around me.

The snow accumulating somehow.

Then the face of the cold child smacked into the box above the audience seats, staring down at me.

I ran. I ran all the way home.

My mom isn't coming back for another hour.

I can't go back.

And it's only getting colder.