A Midwinter's Night Ski

I'm posting this a few weeks before midwinter's night because I figure that y'all will be too busy with the holidays by then to read it. It's a bit more Disney than my usual stories. I hope you like it.

Chuck

“This is going to be an amazing night to ski!” Dan exclaims into the night air and to Chelsea, his girlfriend, who is one step ahead of him. It is midwinter’s night; fresh snow fell all day and it’s now cold and clear with a brilliant full moon. They are at the base of the ski hill and stop to look up at the fresh snow glistening in the moonlight. Dan belts out a Yahoo! It’s quickly swallowed in the soft snow.

“I see eyes!” Chelsea points, but they disappear as quickly as they appeared. “Huh. Must’a been my imagination.”

Dan looks in the direction Chelsea is pointing but then pulls out his keys. He works in the rental center, and he stores their ski gear in the back of the shop. He opens the door and turns on the light. “What the hell?” There is ski gear everywhere.

“Is someone in here?” Dan yells. The shop isn’t that big, and Dan quickly searches it. No one is there, but gear is strewn about as though people were in the middle of trying on gear when they walked in. Dan starts taking a mental inventory. “How is this possible? The door was locked, but there’s gear missing.”

Chelsea looks out the window. “I see a skier coming down the hill. I mean, at least I sort of see them. They keep fading in and out. And there’s another, and another. Maybe these folks borrowed the hill’s gear.” Dan stands next to Chelsea. She asks, “Why can’t we see the skiers clearly?”

Dan strains to explain what they are seeing. “It must be the moonlight playing tricks on us.”

They stand mesmerized as they watch a dozen or more skiers descend the hill making beautiful turns. When the skiers get about 50 feet from where Dan and Chelsea are standing, they stop. Dan opens the door and is about to yell out to them, when the skiers turn around and start gliding back up the hill. “What the, how the?” a stunned Dan murmurs as he lets the door close.

Chelsea is equally stunned. “They didn’t stop to put on skins; how … how are they doing that?”

They continue to watch the skiers climb when a frustrated voice right next to them says, “I can help you understand if I turn off the light,” and with that Chelsea feels an arm reach across her. She jumps. “What the hell!” The light clicks off. She and Dan step back until they hit the wall behind them and stare at the person who is now standing in front of them. Like the skiers outside, this person is both there and not there, having the look of a hologram. “My name is Robert Wilson, I’ve been helping fit ski gear on the others still in the shop,” he motions behind him to the hologram people standing against the wall looking uncertain as to what would happen next.

Dan steps forward. “The Robert Wilson? The one who started this ski hill?”

“I’m remembered? I never thought anyone would remember me.”

“That can’t be. You … you died 20 years ago.”

“I know this seems strange, but I can explain.”

Chelsea is shaking, “You’re dead. How are you here?” She says both to Robert, and to the others still pressed tightly in the far corner of the room.

“It’s our moment of Brigadoon is how I think of it.” A theatrical flair in Robert’s voice.

“Brigadoon,” Chelsea searches her memories. “That’s the mythical town that only appears for one day in every 100 years.”

“Precisely, only our moment doesn’t come at specified intervals.”

“Our moment,” Chelsea mumbles. “Is everyone in here and out there … dead?”

Robert could see the fear in Chelsea’s eyes. “No one’s going to hurt you. We’re just here to ski.”

“But how?” Dan asks.

“Midwinter’s night; when the moon is full, is our moment.”

“You come back to life?” Chelsea asked.

“Not fully, but in the depths of midwinter darkness when the pull of the moon strong enough, we rise up and get a short break from our dirt naps.”

“And you ski?” An incredulousness in Dan’s voice.

“Those of us locals who once did assemble here, and we ski while the moon is visible in the sky.” Robert looks out the window. “We have about two hours left,” he adds with a sigh.

Chelsea takes a deep breath, “Then we should help you.” Dan stares at her, open mouthed. “It’s okay Dan, they only have two hours.” She looks at Robert, “How can we help?”

“We need to fit everyone in here with boots and skis,” Robert replies.

Dan now jumps in and waves to the group still standing in the corner. “Come on over, let’s get you fitted.” He sits on a stool across from the bench where the beings from the corner now moved to. “Do you know, I mean, do you remember your shoe size?” he asks the middle-aged woman in front of him.

“Size 7.” Chelsea turns on her headlamp and heads into the back to find boots. Dan sits uncomfortably while he waits. “You want to ask how I died, don’t you?”

“I didn’t dare ask, but I am curious.”                   

“Breast cancer. Twenty-two years ago already.” Dan starts saying ‘I’m s…,” but then the being cuts in, “I can’t wait to try the new gear. Others say it’s amazing.”

“Well, let’s get you out there.” Chelsea hands him boots. He opens them up, then gets up to grab a pair of skis and poles, while Chelsea looks to the next being on the bench. In a few minutes everyone except Robert is outfitted and out the door.

“You’re next Robert. Do you know that there’s a plaque commemorating your work on the wall?” Dan lights the plaque with his headlamp. Robert smiles. They finish outfitting him, then Dan says “Chelsea and I will get our skis and skins on and meet you outside.”

“You won’t need your skins tonight,” Robert says with a mischievous grin. A few minutes later they are all outside and a group of beings gets behind each Dan and Chelsea and pushes them up the hill while Robert slides up alongside them. “How is this possible?” Chelsea asks breathlessly.

“It is but a moment of magic in a world that for many of us here had much dreariness and pain. Some haunt those responsible. Tonight, they take a break from howling their heartbreak to remember one of their favorite activities from when they were alive.”

A group of skiers skis past them as they continue to glide uphill. “And you’re all such great skiers.”

“We float well,” Robert says with a hint of goulish laughter.

Chelsea cringes at the sound. “Your laugh, it’s a bit freaky.”

“Bu-wah-ha-ha,” Robert laughs again and a chorus of ‘Bu-wah-ha-ha’ rises from all around them.

“Sorry, we can’t change that aspect of our ghostliness.”

They reach the top, then carve turns to the bottom giving ghostly ‘Woohooooos’ and ‘Yahooooos’ the whole way down. Dan and Chelsea do their best to add to the chorus. At the bottom, they turn around, glide up and do it again.

They continue to carve turns and glide uphill until the moon sets. Moonlight still glows from behind the mountain, but the world is suddenly quiet. “Robert? Anyone?” There's no response. Dan and Chelsea ski down alone in the fading light, head into the rental shop and turn on the light. Everything is in place. They look around but can't find any sign that their ghostly friends had ever been there. “We can’t tell anyone about this,” Dan comments wide eyes still darting around.

“Why would we, no one will believe us. I was here and I’m not sure I believe it,” Chelsea says, a shiver catching in her voice.

They quickly put their gear away; Dan is about to turn off the light when he looks up at the plaque on the wall. He motions to Chelsea to look. There is writing in magic marker on Robert’s Picture. ‘Dan and Chelsea. Thank you for a magical night. Maybe we’ll meet again on a future midwinter’s night. Robert.’

“I guess it was real,” Chelsea smiles, calm easing back into her voice. Dan turns off the light; they head out into the cold.