2. Ice Spirit

I took stock of my surroundings, beyond the snow. I seemed to be in a clearing, sort of like the one I had been in before, but it had been summer there. The wind felt nice, like a warm hug, but somehow I could also tell it was quite cold. It was also weird that I couldn't see my breath, which freaked me out a little at first but then I decided to focus on where I was, and what I had with me.

I was still wearing the jeans and t-shirt I had been wearing before, as well as my backpack. Since I'd been hiking and camping, I did have some supplies with me, but it was limited. I had my knife and small hatchet, waterproof matches, a compass, Swiss Army knife, some heavy duty cord on a spool, a spare jacket, a space blanket, a good size canteen and water purifying tablets, a flare gun, three or four freeze-dried meals, some apples and oranges, trail mix, a hand-crank/solar-powered fm radio/flashlight/weatherband radio, flint, steel and char cloth in an Altoids container. I had been planning to stay out in the woods for a few weeks, so I was glad I came prepared, but it seemed that I wouldn't have to stay warm...

Next I looked around me to see what I could see over the tree line. The snow was coming down, but it wasn't fast. It was just fat flakes slowly drifting down, so visibility was nice. I could see mountains in the distance, but there was something else that was more pressing. I saw smoke coming from the distance!

It wasn't like a forest fire, but a small fire in the distance, so I got my compass out and figured out which direction it was, in case I couldn't see it in the trees, and started heading that way. My first step would almost definitely be to find civilization, and then I'd have to figure out what the glowing light meant about helping them. I still wasn't sure what was going on, but I knew I wasn't in the woods back home anymore so I'd just have to go with it.

After walking for a little bit, I noticed that, looking at the way the snow was piled against the trees, I should have been trudging through some deep snow. However, I seemed to be easily walking on top of the snow without disturbing it much. I pushed the information out of my head and just continued on towards the smoke I had seen.

After about 15 minutes of walking, I came upon a small cottage in another clearing, and what looked like a decent path leading away into the woods. It wasn't fancy, almost something you'd find in a fairy tale, but it looked cozy. I walked up to the door, and took a deep breath before I knocked. I wasn't sure what I was going to find, but I knew I couldn't do anything without help. I had no clue where I was, so this was the best chance I was going to have.

After a minute or two, a smaller door, about the size of my fist, at the center of the wooden front door opened. A set of brown eyes peered at me, and a small voice came from within

"Who's there?" A woman asked, and I sighed in relief. Wherever I was, I could understand the people.

"My name is Liz, and I seem to be lost... Can I come in or can you point me to the nearest town?" I said, and the small door slammed shut, and I sighed. I went to turn away, but the door opened.

"Come inside, quickly! A short, plump woman wearing a simple and old fashioned dress said, waving me in impatiently. I hurried inside, and the warmth of the house hit me immediately. It felt nice, but I knew that it wasn't necessary. The woman closed the door, turning to me and looking me over.

"You must be famished. Come, come, let me get you something to eat." She said, bustling past me l, directing me to sit at a decent sized table, and moving over to the fireplace. "I live alone these days, but I never got out of the habit of cooking for the whole family. Always too much for myself, so I bring some over to Henry down the road. I decided to stay in tonight because of the snow, so you're in luck. You must be freezing in those clothes! They look rather odd as well, where are you from, dear?" She said, bustling about with a big iron cauldron hanging over the fire. She had a wooden bowl and was paddling some kind of stew into it. I took a closer look at her, and she seemed to be about my mothers age, late forties or early fifties.

"No, I'm not cold. I haven't been cold since that light.. I'm actually not quite sure where I am to be honest. Am I still in New Hampshire?" I asked, and the woman looked at me oddly, but then she seemed to focus on my hair.

"Did you say you weren't cold, dear? And where is this New Hamsheer?" She asked, and I frowned.

"Yeah, I'm not cold. Now that I say that, it's kind of odd, huh? And you know, the state? New Hampshire?" I said, and she stopped what she was doing, about to set the bowl in front of me.

"White hair..." She said, frowning, then she looked me in the eye. "Did you say a light? Was it a ball of light?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Yes, how did you know?" I asked, looking at her. All of a sudden she looked slightly afraid.

"Dear, do you know what you have done?" She asked, and I frowned, shaking my head. "You fused yourself with an elemental spirit. You're not human anymore."