Towering - By Alex Flinn Page 0,53

run fast, overtaking me. He reached the last tree. I hung back.

He pulled back the branch. “Come on, Rachel.” His voice was low, enticing.

“Sweet Rachel. I’ll hold it for you. I won’t throw snow in your face. I’m the bigger person.”

“I’ll bet.” He was holding the branch so a huge pile of snow was aimed at me.

“Okay, then. Take your punishment. Admit you lost.”

I sighed. “I suppose I have to. You’re more powerful than poor little me.” In a way, I wanted to feel it, all that snow against my face.

I stepped toward it, closing my eyes. But he didn’t release it. He let me in.

We had reached the clearing. The sun had risen, and the snow sparkled with a white glow that had every color of the rainbow. I jumped up and down and into his arms. “We made it! We’re here! Isn’t this the perfect place to make an angel?”

“Do you know how to make one?” he asked.

“You’ll show me.”

He smiled. “The trick is getting up and down without making footprints in the angel. You have to fall back flat. I’ll show you.” He broke away from me and walked a few steps to a clear area, away from the trees. He stood straight and just fell. Then, he flapped his arms and legs like scissors until an angel appeared.

“Now, help me up,” he said.

“How?”

“Careful. Just stay off to the side. Help me balance.”

I did what he said, and he was able to rise, only stepping in the tiny spot below the angel’s “skirt,” where her feet would be. Then, he backed away.

It really did look like a real angel, with full skirt and spreading wings. What a wondrous accomplishment! Suddenly, the cold in my feet, on my face, felt like a gift.

“I want to make one,” I said. I ran over to the other side of his, where the snow was white and unspoiled. I stood, smelling the air, the moment, so that I might never forget it, no matter what else happened. I knew that smells brought memories, but I’d had precious little to remember before now. How amazing, when you thought of it, that most of my life had been spent reading, waiting for Mama to come. Only now was I living.

“Go ahead,” Wyatt said. “It’s soft.”

“I know.” My voice was a whisper. I held my arms out, wavered, then fell. The snow caught me. I lay there a moment, letting it hug me. Then, I remembered what Wyatt had done and flapped my arms and legs as hard as I could.

“Did I do it right?” I asked.

“Absolutely.” He was beside me now, holding out his hand.

I reached up and took it, feeling the connection between us like a shock of electricity. Then, I rose slowly, careful only to step where the angels’ shoes would be. I stepped back.

My angel was enchanting, perfect in the morning light. I almost thought she would take flight. I couldn’t believe I was here, part of this strange, wonderful world I’d only read about in books. I stared at Wyatt. He was so beautiful.

“Thank you,” I said.

“For what?”

“For bringing me here.”

He shrugged. “You brought yourself.”

I made three more, barely noticing the cold, but finally, Wyatt said, “Let me make another.”

I stepped back, so he could do it. But this time, when I went to pull him up, he pulled down on my arm so I tumbled beside him. He took me in his arms, kissing me.

“I’ve never met a girl like you. You’re so brave. And when I see things through your eyes, they’re wonderful.”

“They are.” I kissed him back. I felt a warmth rising from within me. “I feel the same way. I think I’ve been waiting for you, always.”

“Then come with me,” he said. “Please. We can find help.”

I wanted to. I really wanted to. And yet, I couldn’t leave Mama. I imagined her finding me gone. But more than that, I knew there was a reason I had to stay.

“I can’t go,” I said.

“Because of Mama?”

“Yes, but more than that. Because of who I am. I know there is something I have to do.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

I wasn’t sure I should tell him. Yet my feet were frozen, his eyes were bright green in the snowy light, and I heard my voice saying, “Come to my tower, and I’ll show you.”

32

Wyatt

It was easier to reach her tower, having done it once before. We embraced once again when she reached the top, and I was