Sweet Sugar: Part I: The Ice Storm

              The wind blew restlessly in the grey sky, knocking the frozen rain through the air. The ground lay under feet of snow and ice, waiting for the warm weather to uncover the treasures buried underneath the white blanket. The storm made seeing impossible and the air was so cold that my lungs burned with every breath I took. This place, covered in ice, sent chills down my spine as loneliness filled my heart. Everything in this place made my head throb. Every detail of this town gave me flash backs that replayed in my head, over and over again like a home movie. I can remember her as a happy little girl. A father can never forget how happy she was before life as we knew it ended without warning.

                The storm whispered a unfriendly breeze that shivered my body from head to toe. There was no way my body could stay in this weather for much longer. The town was completely boarded up hoping the ride out the hellish storm that had a hold upon us. A fog filled my vision as to keep me from escaping it's fate. The snow grabbed at my ankles as to hold me down so that I will die in the storm's sheet of frozen rain. Only thing I could see was a bright glow from behind the fog. I could not make out what was causing this neon glow, but I ran towards the light hoping it is a sign of help from God. Ice pounded my face on my way towards the mysterious sign that stand before me. I reached the source of light, a bright green sign reading "Green & Go Dinner" shined into my eyes. A sign rest against the glass door, a sign I was glad to see. This sign spelt the only relief I had since the doctor told me that my little girl would be okay.

                  I swung the door open and rushed inside gasping for some warmth. My feet cover up a faded blood red welcome mat that add comfort to the black and white tiled floor. The dinner hosted only six small booths and a small counter with four bar stools surrounding the southern-style kitchen. My eye remained stuck on the booths, light pink leather like material tightly wrapped over soft padding covering ice cold metal. The light pink leather locked my attention as my head begin to ache with unbearable pain. The color that was given to the leather was my daughter's favorite color. She loved the color pink, her bed-sheets, dresses, and bedroom were all a bright pink color. It always pleased her to see that color, it makes me realize its true beauty. a color as sweet as sugar.

                  A tender voice enters my head, but it's too soft for me to react to, almost like a beautiful whisper. A soft hand rests upon my shoulder from behind. The pale hand bears long graceful fingernails coated in a blazing red color. The gentle hand must belong to an angel since its beauty is so intense and charming. I turn to try to see the remarkable woman that must be resting her hand on my shoulder, but I come to find nothing expect a badly lit room. The comfort and joy I had was now gone and a feeling of depression set in as a replacement. This place was nothing like it was when I came in. The sweet sugar which had hypnotized me was gone and left me with dispair. A silent chill strikes me and I begin to dream.

                    "Daddy?" A voice full of innocence calls out from the air.

                    "Yes sweetie?" Replies a man with a voice similar to mine.

                    "Can I get strawberry flavored ice cream?"

                    "Of course you can, honey."

                    "After we get ice cream can we go to the pet store and look at the puppies?" The young girl asks in the sweetest and hopeful tone.

                      "A dog Harold? You bought a fucking dog. What the hell were you thinking, Harold?" An angry woman calls out. "What the hell are we going to do with a dog?"

                      "Honey, I just thought that Chelsea would like a dog to play with. We work a lot and she's an only child." The man responds.

                      "You know she's only going to play with it untill it gets big, then she's going to have nothing to do with it."

                      "So, what do you want me to do Rachel?"

                      "Take it back to the store."

                      "No, I'm not doing that. Chelsea seems to love the new puppy I bought her."

                      "Fine Harold. Go ahead and let it fuck up our lives. You're the one paying for it."

                        The room grows quiet. The voices finally stop. My eyes are tearing and blurring my vision. My heart races as I hit the floor. That was Chelsea's voice, the innocent voice that I haven't heard in ages, the voice I could never get enough of. Her voice is the sweet sugar that gently hides me. A massive headache stops my flowing tears. This headache is so much worse than the last few that have overcome me. I hold my head and moan in torturing pain. My eyes seal themselves shut due to the pain in my head. I open them to discover blood all over my jeans and the floor around me. I hear choking and see a girl with short brown hair lying in the corner, flopping around covered in blood. "Chelsea!" I cry as everything goes black.