The frozen lake cracked beneath his feet, limiting his movement. He cannot focus on that, however. His eyes are glued to her. She is only standing a step away. Just one more step. One more...and they can be together again.


-----------------------------------------


Andy has not seen his mother for years. His father refuses to tell him her whereabouts. He has been more restless and depressed every since her disappearance, as well as more protective over his son. He forbids the boy from leaving the house on his own, especially anywhere near the lake nearby their cabin. Every winter, the lake freezes over and used to be the spot for people to visit. Ever since his mother vanished, however, no one has been there at all. Nobody even seems to go during the warmer seasons. It's completely desolate compared to what it used to be.


Andy misses the trips to the lake with his mother and father. Andy misses his mother. Andy misses when his father was happy. How could all of this have happened? Where could his mother have gone?


The snow begins to pepper the already white-blanketed ground outside of Andy's bedroom window as the moon shines brightly in the starless sky. The boy rests his chin and arms on his windowsill as he stares out of it. He finds himself unable to sleep, like other nights, and finds solace in watching the snow fall. His father is long since asleep, leaving Andy the only one awake. He recounts the memories of his lost mother, how happy she made the boy and his father...and her warm comforting hugs. What the boy would give to see her again. Embrace her once again. Hear her voice once more. The boy fights back tears the longer he thinks about his missing mother, his throat tightening and his chest aching. The loneliness. The isolation. It's all he as felt all this time. His eyes become heavy the more he stares out the window, the urge to stay awake becoming more difficult for him.


That is until...he hears a familiar voice.


"Andy..."


His eyes shoot open and he lifts his chin from the windowsill, gazing out of it in confusion. He ceases his breathing in an attempt to silence his surroundings to get a clearer grasp of the noise. Had he just heard someone? Someone calling his name?


"Andy...my darling..."


It's unmistakable. He glances around his room, hearing the voice right in his ear. The voice of his lost mother. Had she finally returned to him? He cannot see anyone in his room and turns his attention back outside the window, spotting someone in the distance. A tall woman with pale blonde hair and a long flowing white dress. Andy's heart skips a beat at the sight of the woman. It really is her. She's back. Wasting no time, Andy slips on his boots and grabs his cloak, tying it around his shoulders and rushing outside.


He sprints out of his cabin and rushes to the woman that resembles his mother. She seems to wait for him to come outside before walking off in the distance. He tries calling out to her. "Mommy! Come back!"


He pursues her, the chill of the winter's night surrounding him with each step he takes in the snow. Eventually, he finds himself at the lake, frozen over from the cold weather. In the middle of the frozen lake...she stands with open arms.


"Come to me, my dear."


Andy looks down at the frozen lake, uncertain of what his mother is asking of him. His father would never have allowed him to come outside on his own, especially by the lake. Is this really what he has to do? Something about this feels dreadfully wrong.


But it's his mother. She's returned. She's telling him to come to her. Surely, his father will be pleased to know that she's back. Surely, he'll understand just this once. He cannot let her disappear again. All he wants...is her comforting embrace after all these years of nothingness.


Hesitantly, he takes one step onto the frozen lake, carefully making his way toward her. With each step, he keeps his eyes glued to his mother, her arms still outstretched and awaiting his arrival. No matter how afraid he may feel, he also feels solace in knowing his mother will be in his life again. Their family can be complete. Whole. Happy. Thus, he keeps going.


One by one, step by step, his mother grows nearer. He gently makes his way across the ice, smiling to himself the closer she gets to him. She gives him a warm beaming smile the whole time he approaches her. All Andy can think about with each step are the happiest times he and his mother had shared before. It doesn't have to be the end. She can finally come home. Things can be as they used o be. He doesn't have to be lonely anymore. They can finally-


"...!"


The boy pauses suddenly, hearing a distinct sound from beneath his feet. Slowly looking down, he witnesses a crack within the ice beneath his boot. The crack only spreads further the longer he puts his weight upon it, but he is too afraid to move. He looks back up at his mother, who is only standing a step away. "Mommy...what do I do?"


"Come to me, darling. You will be okay,"


Her reassurance gives him a warm feeling, calming his nerves as he takes a deep breath, exhaling the chilled air. He reaches out his hand to his mother, preparing to lift his foot and take one more step toward her...and as he does...


"ANDY!!!"


The boy hears his father's voice from behind him, shouting from across the lake with horror. But the boy has to time to look behind him. All he sees is the face of his mother as the takes one more step, feeling the ice break from beneath him and he falls below it, letting out a loud cry as he falls.


Then...silence. Darkness. Cold. His senses gone. His body numb. His world and existence fading away as he sinks below. All he can hear as the dark abyss of the lake consumes him...is the angelic voice of his mother.


"Now we are together, my dear child."