I Waited on the Melting Snow While They Sang Her Birthday Song Chapter 05

Graham answered my video call.

It was noisy on his end. Lily was saying the whipped cream on the cake was starting to melt, while

Elliot told her to make a wish first.

“Look at me,” I said into the phone,

“I am,” Graham replied.

His camera shifted toward the cake on the table and stayed there.

I couldn’t see his face. All I heard was him asking Lily, “Want me to turn off the lights?”

“Could you all just look at me for a second? Please?”

“Nora.” Graham lowered his voice. “We’ll talk later. Lily’s about to cut the cake. Don’t make a scene

right now.”

I reached for my phone with my left hand, trying to pull it closer.

But I couldn’t grip anything anymore. My fingertips brushed the screen, leaving a few drops of

water behind.

Lily smiled into the camera. “Don’t hang up yet! Let Nora make a wish, too.”

So the call stayed connected.

They sang for Lily. Elliot got the lyrics wrong, and Miles burst out laughing. Graham warned her not to burn herself, sounding just as he used to when he told me not to touch his thermos on our trips

up the mountain.

At 4:57, only a small patch of snow remained beside the pine tree’s roots.

I lost the feeling in my knees. My coat sagged and fell onto the stone steps. My phone was still

propped against my backpack, its camera capturing both me and the snowy trail behind me.

“Graham,” I called.

He didn’t answer.

On the other end, Lily asked, “Nora, what did you wish for?”

I stared at the forgotten cake on my screen.

“That you’ll all be safe,” I said.

I’d made that same wish to the Snow Realm when I led the three boys out of the mountains as a child. Back then, I hadn’t even known I could ask anyone for something myself.

exactly five, the last patch of snow beneath the pine tree melted.

My shoulders and hair melted into the water on the stone steps, taking the goodbye I’d never gotten to say with them.

The video call was still connected.

A long time passed before Graham finally picked up his phone.

All he could see on the screen was my empty coat and backpack, with droplets of water clinging to the camera lens.

“Nora?”

He frowned and called out again. “Stop playing games. Where are you?”

Elliot leaned over to look. “Maybe she went back down? But why would she leave her bag?”

“She probably set all that up on purpose,” Graham said. “She’s giving me the silent treatment until

I get worried enough, then she’ll show up again.”

Miles said nothing. He pushed aside the cake Lily hadn’t finished and studied the screen for a few

seconds.

“Wasn’t she calling your name the whole time?”

Graham froze.

Lily quickly spoke up. “I heard her, too. Should we try calling her again?”

Graham was about to dial when the screen went black. My phone had finally run out of battery up on the mountain, ending the call.

“We’ll deal with it when we get back,” he said. “She knows her way home.”

I stood at the threshold of the Snow Realm and heard those last words.

A shallow pool at my feet reflected the restaurant back in the human world. The people of the Snow Realm had told me that, for a little while after my return, I would still be able to see the things I couldn’t let go of.

I looked down.

There they were, the three people I couldn’t let go of, still sitting in that restaurant..

Graham answered my video call.

It was noisy on his end. Lily was saying the whipped cream on the cake was starting to melt, while

Elliot told her to make a wish first.

“Look at me,” I said into the phone,

“I am,” Graham replied.

His camera shifted toward the cake on the table and stayed there.

I couldn’t see his face. All I heard was him asking Lily, “Want me to turn off the lights?”

“Could you all just look at me for a second? Please?”

“Nora.” Graham lowered his voice. “We’ll talk later. Lily’s about to cut the cake. Don’t make a scene

right now.”

I reached for my phone with my left hand, trying to pull it closer.

But I couldn’t grip anything anymore. My fingertips brushed the screen, leaving a few drops of

water behind.

Lily smiled into the camera. “Don’t hang up yet! Let Nora make a wish, too.”

So the call stayed connected.

They sang for Lily. Elliot got the lyrics wrong, and Miles burst out laughing. Graham warned her not to burn herself, sounding just as he used to when he told me not to touch his thermos on our trips

up the mountain.

At 4:57, only a small patch of snow remained beside the pine tree’s roots.

I lost the feeling in my knees. My coat sagged and fell onto the stone steps. My phone was still

propped against my backpack, its camera capturing both me and the snowy trail behind me.

“Graham,” I called.

He didn’t answer.

On the other end, Lily asked, “Nora, what did you wish for?”

I stared at the forgotten cake on my screen.

“That you’ll all be safe,” I said.

I’d made that same wish to the Snow Realm when I led the three boys out of the mountains as a child. Back then, I hadn’t even known I could ask anyone for something myself.

exactly five, the last patch of snow beneath the pine tree melted.

My shoulders and hair melted into the water on the stone steps, taking the goodbye I’d never gotten to say with them.

The video call was still connected.

A long time passed before Graham finally picked up his phone.

All he could see on the screen was my empty coat and backpack, with droplets of water clinging to the camera lens.

“Nora?”

He frowned and called out again. “Stop playing games. Where are you?”

Elliot leaned over to look. “Maybe she went back down? But why would she leave her bag?”

“She probably set all that up on purpose,” Graham said. “She’s giving me the silent treatment until

I get worried enough, then she’ll show up again.”

Miles said nothing. He pushed aside the cake Lily hadn’t finished and studied the screen for a few

seconds.

“Wasn’t she calling your name the whole time?”

Graham froze.

Lily quickly spoke up. “I heard her, too. Should we try calling her again?”

Graham was about to dial when the screen went black. My phone had finally run out of battery up on the mountain, ending the call.

“We’ll deal with it when we get back,” he said. “She knows her way home.”

I stood at the threshold of the Snow Realm and heard those last words.

A shallow pool at my feet reflected the restaurant back in the human world. The people of the Snow Realm had told me that, for a little while after my return, I would still be able to see the things I couldn’t let go of.

I looked down.

There they were, the three people I couldn’t let go of, still sitting in that restaurant..