Patrick's Season

The storm was a bad one, the worst in Maine's history. Everyone was either indoors or away at a relitaves house waiting for all of this to blow over. Except one man; let me tell you his story, I think you will find it very interesting. 1

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Jake was holding himself and trying to stay on top of the thick snow. He had frost in his eyelashes and everywhere else on his body that he had failed to cover up. His hiking trip in the forest during the snowy season hadnt turned out to be what he had planned. Roughing it in the woods was supposed to be a time to get away from society and prove to everyone who the real man was when you sat down at a dining table for Christmas. Well, if he lived through this he would have a hell of a story to tell everyone; ONE HELL OF A STORY!!! 3

He thought about all of this, and it kept his mind away from the though of death, but not away from survival. It was going to get dark soon... real soon. He had always heard on survival shows about how people built snow caves in storms like this so that they didnt get blown away. So he thought he might give it a try.4

He dropped to his knees and started to dig under the snow. It was soft snow, so he shoveled it away fast and smoothly, like a well oiled piston alaways moving in the same patter.5

The cave was about two feet deep and Jake's gloves were soaked from the snow making his hands pierce with pain every time he moved his fingers or wrist. He kept digging, but then took one false shovel in the snow and made all his progress colapse.6

"What!!! No no no no noooooo!"7

Jake screamed up into the air at no one and started digging with everything he had, and now instead of moving with a piston, he unsteadily dug like a record that kept on skipping in ranodom places. He kept digging and digging, but every time he would take out a couple of scoops of snow and then the whole thing would collapse making him work harder and faster than he had before.8

The digging had drove him crazy, so he stood and stomped about frantically screaming and waving his arms for help in every direction as if he were drowning and couldnt find the surface of the water. 9

He screamed and jumped up and down over and over again trying to get anyones attention, but he didnt realize what he was standing on. He jumped once more, but did'nt land were he had been once before. Instead he felt himself fall, and his body go numb as he plunged into the icy lake that had set beneath him. He was in deep water, very deep and he was a great swimmer, but for now he was frozen, shock and cold had set in and made him immobile as soon as he had hit the water. 10

He kept trying to move, but could'nt. So he watched as the surface of the lake once again froze, and left him no escape point. He slowly fell unconcious, and felt a deep pain in his lungs. The last thing he remembered was a tightening sensation around his wrist. 11

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Jake's vision was blurry, and he couldnt feel his hands, nor his feet. Although he did feel warm, the last thing he excpected to feel. 13

His vision started to improve as colors started to form; red, brown, and white... definatley white. Soon after his vision not only spotted colors, but started to also form shapes. 14

He saw snow, a fire, a wall, and something he had not seen in all his years of life, he saw a savior. A man sat across the room in a small wooden rocking chair with a battered pillow under his bottom. 15

"Ugggghhhhh... what happened...nggghhhhhh"16

"Ya fell into my pond over yander, good thing that i was there otherwise ya would've been a goner. Grabbed your wrist right before you sank to far under lad. Next time ya might consider being a wee bit more careful?"17

The mans voice was stern, but you could also here a slight bit of humor in it. He had a very identifying accent. It was Scottish. He sounded old, but not a frail old, more of a wise old that you would find in someone like Mark Twain. He had eyes that were a very soft sea color, and his grizzly beard and mustache were of a dark grey color. He had very little hair on top of his head and was balding the way you see a monk loose their hair. 18

"I'd think that a man be hungry after a spill like that, and I would also think that squirrel soup, not being the regular dish, would taste outright delicious. So, what do ya think lad?" 19

Jake was to tired to speak, but he wasnt limp. He nodded his head and then rested against his right shoulder. The man got up and walked to a room behind Jake out of his sight. He had a chance to look around and did'nt find much. It was a cabin and it was built pretty sturdy, but it was bare, very bare. The only thing that caught his eye was a small photo of an old man and a very young woman in Victorian style clothing. 20

"So whats your name?"21

"With all do respect lad, I saved you so I might just like to know ya name first."22

The Scottish man came back into Jake's sight holding a bowl of steaming hot soup. He sat up the best he could and took the bowl contending with it the best that he could despite its strong aroma.23

"It's Jake"24

"It's a pleasure Jake, my name is Patrick by the way."25

"Nice to meet you, thanks for the soup by the way."26

Patrick had sat back down into his rocking chair and was string transfixed on the picture that had before caught his eye. He was eating the soup and it went through him nice and warm. Then he started to gain feeling into his body again. Slowly feeling the blanket on his body and then the heat radiating from the fireplace. It was rejuvenating; he enjoyed the feeling with intensity and then tried to stand. His legs would'nt move at all, not an inch. He wanted to scream, and to panick like he did when he was out in the snow, but he did what every person does when their scared. He started a conversation.27

"So, is that picture your parents?"28

"Aye, that it is lad."29

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why do you live all the way out here?"30

"Why do ya ask lad?"31

"Just curious."32

"Well, then. you might just want to get comfortable in that chair of yours, this is going to be a long story, a long, long story." 33

END OF PART 1