Title: Star
Author: bardsmaid
Author Email: bardsmaid@imagesmithstudio.com
Status: NEW - Standalone
Size: 0k
Rating: PG
Archive at Gossamer: Yes to Gossamer/Ephemeral
Category: Vignette
Spoilers: Herrenvolk
Summary: Christmas. She can feel more than see it: a warm place, a
tree brought in from the outdoors, a boy.
Part 1
Please see part 0 (template) for warnings and summary.
TITLE: Star
AUTHOR: bardsmaid
E-Mail: bardsmaid@imagesmithstudio.com
DISTRIBUTION: Yes, but please let me know where
SPOILERS: Herrenvolk
RATING: PG
CLASSIFICATION: Christmas vignette
DISCLAIMER: The X-Files characters are the
creations of Chris Carter and 1013 Productions;
no infringement is intended.
SUMMARY: She can feel more than see it: a warm
place, a tree brought in from the outdoors, a
boy.
..
STAR
She stirs and, rolling over, sees the star
suspended in the blue-blackness of Alberta's
night. It is larger than the rest, brighter,
and somehow it reminds her of...
Of something.
Her eyes close momentarily. She squeezes
against her thick mind, seeking focus, but no
clear image comes. One hand slips from the
warmth of the blankets as if drawn; she places
the pad of a finger against the icy glass.
Small, soft puffs of breath cloud the space in
front of her.
Finally it comes, like a shadowed form just out
of view that will evaporate if faced. She can
feel more than see it: a warm place, red and
silver and green ribbons, a tree brought in from
the outdoors. The heat of a fireplace warms the
memory of cheeks and fingers; she hears muffled,
smiling voices. Sees a boy.
A different boy, not like the ones she knows:
the boy who bunks below her, the one in the next
house, the many who work in the fields.
For a moment he stares at her, this curious boy
with the brown hair. Her finger starts to move
against the cold glass, tracing small, automatic
patterns.
Eventually her hand slips back into the blanket.
She shivers, crosses her arms and tucks her
frozen fingers into the warmth of her armpits.
When the light-haired boy shakes her at dawn,
she wakes immediately and gets up as she always
does, automatically, pulling on her clothes
quickly, braiding her hair and then reaching for
her bucket. As she follows the boy out the
door, she pauses for a moment. Looks back.
Her eye lights on the windowpane and she scowls
momentarily at the strange glyphs traced there
until, drawn by instinct, she hurries out to
start the day.
Months later, a drifter passing through the now-
empty complex happens upon the little cabin. As
he looks around the bedroom, the sunset's glow
highlights two smudged words on the glass.
'MERRI' reads one that stair-steps its way up
the cool pane. The other, at some little
distance, reads 'FoX'.
(end)
### The End ###
(
geocities.com/xmas_files)