Dusting their faces with red, cool breezes danced across the children’s noses and brought them a sharp taste of freshly cleansed air. Lights glittered amongst the tree tops; they shed a colorful glow upon the clean, white snow. The store windows surrounding the children begged for their attention. Emotionless dolls waved their arms and trains whistled themselves silly behind the polished glass. Delicate frozen drops drifted lazily across the scene and finally settled themselves on the ground to take a winter nap.

“C’mon, Frank,” Arthur whined from his place on the frozen sidewalk. The group of children clustered behind him stomped their impatience into the dirty snow. He didn’t understand why Frank was taking so long. Arthur dragged his icy fingers through his snow-covered blonde hair, cold droplets scouring his fingertips.

“Coming!” Frank called, huffing out misty breath as he ran. Arthur gulped down his impatience at his slow friend, who had stopped to loiter near a store window.

“Why don’t we just leave him?” Jerry, one of the boys standing closest to Arthur, said loudly. “We don’t get to go downtown that often, and I don’t wanna waste my time waiting for him.”

“Aw, c’mon, Jerry. Don’t be like that,” Arthur’s insides churned at the thought of another fight.

“Yeah,” someone else mumbled in the back. Jerry twisted his hands into fists inside his pockets, but didn’t say anything.

“Sorry I’m late,” Frank announced his arrival as he shuffled to a stop. He scrubbed at his red face with his hands. “Boy, it’s cold.”

Arthur agreed quickly before Jerry or anyone else could say anything. “You’re right about that. Let’s get to the ice-skating rink.”

The children clambered down the sidewalk, talking and singing noisily. There were about eight of them, mostly boys, but a few pigtails bobbed throughout the group too. The sour mood from before cooled as excitement for the day to come set in. Arthur walked near the front with Jerry, whistling and shouting with everyone else. Near the back, Frank stopped often to crush ice with his boots or gawk at a store window.

The ice-skating rink was a favorite of the children. It was nothing more than a blue puddle, frozen by winter’s breath and smoothed down by hundreds of skates. Arthur and his friends, so deterred by the cold minutes before, sank right down into the blanket of snow to fumble into their skates. On the ice, the boys tottered around dangerously, threatening to tumble. Frank fumbled for Jerry’s arm as he started to lose balance, but Jerry snatched it away.
Arthur watched the girls as he wobbled. Unlike the boys, they soared across the blue with ease. The breeze lifted their hair off their shoulders and picked up the edges of their skirts in a rhythmic dance. Red-haired Jessica flew across the ice in a multi-colored blur, her mouth open in a frozen laugh. “Arthur!” She called as she twirled. “Bet you can’t catch me!”

Arthur laughed and shuffled his feet more diligently. Jessica glided across while he shook his arms wildly like a crazed animal in an attempt to keep his balance. Even with his best attempts, Jessica’s skates skidded over the finish line seconds before his. She tossed her hair over her shoulder like a cape and laughed her triumph into the sky.
“I told you!” She exclaimed, sticking her hands on her hips victoriously, while her blue eyes danced like little flames.

Cold bit at the children’s skin mercilessly, leaving behind tiny goose bumps as the only sign of its presence. Bruises from falling on the ice began to tender and then numbed with the outside temperature. The breeze brushed tired children off the rink until all were sorted neatly into a tight group, ready to move on. Arthur tried to still his thundering heartbeat, but it was fruitless. Giving in to his excitement, he clutched his fingers together eagerly at his side. Now came the best part of their day: tobogganing.

Though treasured by all the children, the toboggan technically belonged to Judy. Her popularity had increased dramatically the winter the toboggan was brought into the world. Crafted out of warm wood, it had already spent much of its short life crashing through ice and gravel. It was never a chore hauling the heavy toboggan; instead, it was presented with honor, escorted proudly by at least five or six children at once.

The sledding hill only further improved the experience. It was steep enough to present a challenge but smooth enough for even the youngest child. Spread at the bottom of the hill was thick gravel, which slowed the ride down to a jerky stop. Even the bravest secretly valued the eventual end to the thrill.

By the time all the children, even the sluggish Frank, arrived at the hill, Arthur’s stomach tumbled with anticipation. They clambered onto the toboggan messily, but no one dared to move the sled before everyone was on safely. Arthur had been given the same speech by his mother many times, as he was sure all the other children had too. “No sticking arms or legs out.” She had said stubbornly, punching every word with her tongue. “You could die on that thing!”

He stealthily stole a glance down the hillside. His heart rose until it wedged itself in his throat at the sight of the steep ride. Arthur choked on the sudden fear in his chest, but gulped it down before any of the other children could see. “Everyone ready?” Arthur asked one last time, tucking his arms into his sides tightly.

“Yeah!” Someone behind him shouted, and that was all the affirmation he needed. He leaned forward with everyone else, and the wooden sled plunged down the drop violently.

Time sped up as speed increased. Sight and sound blurred, and all Arthur could feel was the sharp iciness spreading through his face.

“Right!” Someone bellowed into the wind. Arthur threw his weight to his right and the toboggan was tossed sideways. This odd system was the only way of controlling the direction of the speeding sled.

The toboggan still refused to slow. Time crawled slowly as Arthur’s face numbed and the toboggan continued tumbling over the ground.

“Right!” Someone yelled. Arthur tilted to his right, but it didn’t satisfy the speaker. “Right!” They yelled again. He flung himself even farther, but he wasn’t the only one. The weight of the children overwhelmed the sled, and they were all thrown off the speeding toboggan in a matter of seconds. Arthur was freefalling for a few terrifying moments, then crashed straight into the hard ground. Groaning, he sat up slowly, massaging his screaming head. Otherwise, he appeared unharmed.

Unfortunately, the relief he felt almost immediately evaporated. A sharp cry broke through the quiet shock. Uncoiling his aching neck, Arthur could barely see Jessica, whose face was quickly becoming as red as her hair. Her freckled arm, cradled in her hands, was twisted like a corkscrew.

The children gravitated towards the sobbing Jessica. Many voices all broke out at once, the sound blending together in a muffled roar. Even Frank reluctantly stepped towards the crowded chaos, but remained silent.

“Jessica, you need to go home,” Arthur told her. He met her gaze and couldn’t look away from her blue eyes, which had dulled and frozen over in pain.

“Arthur’s right,” Jerry’s voice broke through the noise. “If you leave now, you can probably make it home before dark.”

“Aren’t we going with her?” Arthur asked Jerry, genuinely surprised by his choice of wording. He glanced at the sobbing Jessica.

“Why should we?” Jerry asked. “It’s not like we get to go sledding that often, and we only got to go down the hill once.” He didn’t even look at Jessica as he spoke. “It’s not my fault she broke her arm.”

“But…” Arthur hesitated. Everything Jerry said was true.

“C’mon, Arthur.” Jerry said stubbornly. By now he had gathered some of the others’ attention too. “We’re wasting time. I thought you liked sledding.”

Some of the other kids murmured their agreement. “Yeah, c’mon Arthur! Jessica’s fine.” Judy said from behind Jerry.

“Well…” Arthur considered. “Okay.” He looked back towards Jessica, curled up on the snowy ground. “You can make it home okay, right Jessica?” Before she could say anything, he gestured towards the other children and added quickly, “You wouldn’t want us to miss out on sledding, would you?”

Tears continued to rain down her red face, and wordlessly she scooped herself up, cradling her injured arm. Jessica stumbled across the frozen ground, slipping gracelessly several times. Her cries could be heard long after she rounded the corner.

The drama of the situation faded away with Jessica’s exit, and children began heaving themselves back up the ice. Some children even whistled a few off-key notes as they marched. Arthur began to follow the other children back up the hill, but turned when he saw one figure standing in the snow. It was Frank, loitering as usual. He groaned. “Frank, c’mon!” He said. “You’re so slow.” He complained.

Frank remained frozen in his spot. His eyes stared in the direction that Jessica had gone. He took one step forward—

“Frank!” Arthur snapped impatiently. The cry broke through to Frank, who melted and turned back towards the group.

“Coming,” He said.