A new life

             Its early spring, as the snow melts, so does the memory of a frosty winter night. The 3^rd of January 1997, was the coldest night; this I knew only the next day ...

The snowstorm caused me a state of panic... It was late, so I decided to close the door. It seemed that I heard voices... A faint voice asking to open the door... It was my father's voice... He came home drunk again, as he was in a continuous party. I knew what would follow if I opened the door... I sat in bed, taking my little puppy Tommy in my arms and I pulled the blanket covering my head... With every minute, the voice I heard became fainter…

I managed to fall asleep, but not for long. Late in the night I suddenly woke up and I could hear the wind beating very hard. I somehow felt a small guilt for what I had done... I quickly came into my senses and I told my father that he can return to the party or to go sleep at a friend ... I managed to fall asleep again.

During that night I had a weird dream. I was in the courtyard, making a snowman and that took me more than half the day. My hands were completely frozen but the joy and noise that I was doing around it, along with Tommy, made me forget that. The joy was interrupted by the appearance of my father; I felt fear...

"Why are you so happy?” said my father.

With a sarcastic laugh he pushed the snowman and in a second it turned into pieces of snow...

"Now, go cut some wood for the fire. Let’s see when you’ll have time to build another” he said.

I started to cry; I was looking at what reminded me of the snowman. I waited more than two years to create another one...

"Go now, if you don’t want to be in his place!” he told me screaming.
"I wish you were in his place!" I answered without thinking of the consequences.

At that moment I felt a strong palm across my face. I fell down in the snow and I stayed there crying.
     Suddenly I woke up, it was already morning. I quickly went to the window... Everything was covered in white, and the sun made them shine. It was still snowing slightly; I dressed in a rush, shouting of joy:

           "Tommy, we are going to make a snowman!"
And suddenly I remembered the dream... My father used to beat me and my mother for reasons that only he understood. I said it had been only a dream...
I opened the door and Tommy went out quickly. I made a few steps in the snow. Tommy started digging into the snow, it didn’t seem like playing. I approached him trying to understand what he was doing, then I saw my father’s hand… he was frozen dead.

"Let's go inside the house, Tommy, is too cold for you. We shall make a snowman tomorrow.” I said.
I walked into the house and went to the kitchen thinking of making a cup of tea. I still felt the last night’s cold...