A/N: A few notes about this story if you were wondering. I am Canadian, so this story is very Canadian in its origins and takes place in Canada. Naturally there will be snow, and of course skating.

The song that was the inspiration for much of this fic is The Night by Morphine. There may be quotes before a few of the chapters if they seem relevant.

Finally, this story is actually already completed. I know there will be some concern why I haven't finished Blue Guitar, but this story took over my brain for the last few years. I'm hopeful with it done, I can finally get back to finishing that story. I will post these chapters one at a time, but don't worry about this story not finishing because it is already written.

Enjoy!

~HoneyBee

You're the night, Lilah
A little girl, lost in the woods
You're a folktale
The unexplainable

The world was cold and silent. White flakes swirled and danced in the frigid air, delighting Kagome from where she stood at the frozen river's edge and took in the unblemished winter scene that surrounded her. The steady snowfall had long since filled her small footprints in the snow, hiding her trail. Gone as well was the serpentine pattern left by the swish of her skirts as she had journeyed from her family's house down to the river to begin collecting water for the day.

Eying the metal pails that surrounded her, Kagome sighed with resignation at having to interrupt the peace to begin her chores. Collecting water was far from her favourite chore, as the weighty and cold water had her arms aching and numb by the time she managed to haul it home. And the amount of water needed to make it through a day had only gotten worse since her home had become the makeshift hospice during this latest outbreak of Consumption.

Her mother was the only person in the town with any medical training, as she had been trained as a nurse by Kagome's deceased father, who had been the town's doctor. Now her poor mother was up all hours of the night tending to the sick and scouring the few medical books they had for any options for a cure. With her mother fully occupied, it left Kagome to run the household and manage her younger brother.

Her busy home life was an ever present buzz in the back of her mind, and so Kagome took the time to savour the silence of the moment she was in, enjoying the light wisp of the wind against her face and the faint tickle of the hairs that had escaped her bun beneath her bonnet. Assessing the frozen river with a critical eye, Kagome judged that the ice was not yet thick enough that she would have to call her brother for help to break through it. It was indeed embarrassing that she, a healthy 17-year old girl, should have to call on her 12 year old brother for aid. Welding the bucket with practiced precision, she broke through the ice to reveal the steady stream moving beneath.

Dunking the bucket in, and being thankful she had thought to wear her rabbit skinned gloves when she felt the chill of the river, she nearly dropped it in surprise when a voice called out her name.

"Good morning, Kagome!" hollered a slim figure that Kagome recognized as her dearest friend Sango. She held her skirts at a modest height as she waded easily through the snow. "I thought I would find you out here. Can I give you a hand?"

Sango's family was the wealthiest in the small village due to her father's occupation as the town's blacksmith. Since her mother's death from Consumption, Sango's father had employed a small contingent of maids to take care of the household, which left Sango free from daily chores. Fortunately for Kagome, her friend seemed to enjoy hard work and would eagerly assist her with her ever growing pile of chores while providing friendly conversation.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate it." Kagome swiped the small amount of sweat that dotted her brow and watched with envy as her friend gracefully hefted two of the buckets. If only she could have Sango's strength. Kagome picked up the two remaining pails, staggered for a second under their combined weight, before falling into her friend's footsteps.

"You're over here...awfully early..." Kagome puffed as they made their way up the hill to her home.

Sango made an irritated sound. "My father was at it early this morning." She made a comical expression as she mimicked her father's deep voice, "What man would want to marry a woman with Smith's hands? Sango, I have been lenient enough. Put down that hammer because we're going to swaddle you in the nicest dress we can find and sell you to the highest bidder."

"Sango, I hardly think he said that." Kagome smiled both at her friend and when she saw the house was drawing near.

Sango laughed lightly before her countenance became depressed. "I know he wants what is best for me, but...can't he understand? I want to be a smith and carry on the family trade. If only he would listen and teach me instead of trying to force Kohaku to learn..."

"He's still on about that then?" Kagome inquired, looking concerned.

"He'll never let up. Kohaku is...a delicate boy. Very intelligent though. He would do well at school. I was trying to convince father to send him away, but he doesn't think there's a better smith than he for Kohaku to learn from, and what else would he need to know from school?" Sango's sarcastic expression told of what she thought of that. "But what can I do, he's my father. "

Sango's eyes shifted to the side as she softly admitted, "I'm a burden to him enough as it is. I can't help but be concerned sometimes because...well... I am not getting any younger..."

Kagome set her buckets down on the stone pathway and placed a comforting hand on her friend's arm. "Sango, you're only 19. There is still much time left before you become an old maid. Besides, you already have a suitor who has more than expressed his affection for you."

Sango pulled a face at the mention of her would-be suitor. "Kuranoske, you mean that snotty worm?" Sango turned back towards the house and ascended the wooden steps to the door. She held open the door and allowed Kagome to pass before responding, "you know how I feel about him. Imagine ending up like his poor mother, practically locked inside her house just to keep her skin pale as snow. That is not the life for me."

"I'm just saying you're fortunate to have a wealthy gentleman interested in you. Many of the other girls in town are concerned there won't be enough men to go around and some will have to travel elsewhere to marry." Kagome reminded as she shook the snow off the hems of her skirts.

"Well what of you, Kagome?" Sango's smile was coy as she removed her bonnet and hung it on the rack at the door. "I heard the youngest Hojo son has been spending time helping around your home."

"He is interested in taking over as the town's doctor, but his family cannot afford to send him away to school so he comes here to read father's books." Kagome reasoned, fooling neither Sango nor herself. She sighed at her friend's perceptive look, "but he has been showing some interest in me. I know I should be more pleased, but...I just...am not."

The two shared an understanding look for a moment before it was interrupted by Souta's loud descent down the wooden stairs. He attempted to race between them before Kagome grabbed a hold of his shoulders to halt his escape.

"And just where are you off to, young man?" She questioned warmly, affection blooming as she took in the excited glimmer to his eye.

"It's been cold for so long the river has to be solid enough to skate on by now!" He exclaimed. "I'm going to grab Kohaku and we are going to be the first ones out this year!"

"Have you done your morning chores?" Kagome reminded, trying to look stern and not yield when her brother's whole body slumped in disappointment. "I'll take that as a no."

Just as her brother reached up to remove the hat he had plunked on in expectation for heading outdoors, Kagome's mother appeared from the hallway that led to the Sick Room. "Oh, go on now you two." She smiled kindly, picking up one of the buckets that Sango had carried in. "Chores will still be here when you get back. After all, you don't want anyone else getting to be first on that ice."

Souta whooped and nabbed his skates off their peg by the door before racing outside, forgetting to shut the door behind him. Sango and Kagome shared a laugh at his abrupt departure. "He's probably gone to get Kohaku." Sango turned an inquisitive gaze to Kagome, "What do you think, should we join them?"

Kagome sent an uneasy look over at her mother, who nodded her encouragement, but Kagome was reluctant. "I don't know. Mama, the water still needs to be taken up and the dishes..."

"Kagome," her mother interrupted gently, "you are only young once. While I appreciate all the help you've been giving me, you need to take some time for yourself." She laid a maternal hand on Kagome's shoulder before affecting a stern expression and turning to Sango.

"Now Sango, I charge you to keep Kagome out of doors for the remainder of the day and make sure that she remembers that she is 17 and not 71." The teasing glint to her mother's eye drew a warm smile to Kagome's face.

"As you command, Mrs. Higurashi," Sango responded with a smile.

Picking up her skates from the peg, she gave her mother a final glance over her shoulder. When her mother responded with nothing more than a smile, Kagome smiled in return and followed her friend out the door. The two friends fell in step as they strolled to Sango's house to pick up her skates.

"Did you hear that we are to get a new preacher? The old Reverend has decided to retire and I heard his replacement has volunteered to come over from England." Sango relayed as the two cut across the busier portion of town to her home behind her father's shop. "My father has offered to keep him at our house until the rectory can be modified for a new owner."

"That is exciting news. Do you suppose he will be as old as Reverend Whittaker?" Kagome queried as they ascended the steps to Sango's home. Stepping through the door the warmth was immediate, as was Kagome's embarrassed acknowledgement that Sango's house was much better smelling than her own, which perpetually smelled of illness and lye.

"I couldn't say. He is to arrive shortly though, father was keeping it a bit of a secret until all the arrangements were final to avoid any upset. After the original replacement backed out only a few days before the voyage, I think he wanted to wait until the Reverend was on this side of the ocean before making any announcements." Sango commented wryly as she scooped up her skates and muff left neatly by the door.

"I wonder who would choose to come over here when they have a more comfortable life in one of the cities in Europe. To hear Madam Langlais tell of it, it sounds like a wonderful place." Kagome commented as they returned to the cobblestone roadway. The entire small village was built around this single roadway that led to the river's edge. As they neared where the river began, the girls noticed that a crowd had begun to form around the edge of the river.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked her friend, but when her voice was heard, an older woman practically shrieked her name.

"Kagome! It's Souta! He's fallen through the ice!" She screamed, her face flushed with excitement at the emergency.

"Souta?!" Kagome practically screamed as she broke into a run, shoving through the crowd to get to the edge. "Souta!" She yelled from the river's edge, though she knew he would be unable to hear.

Hojo, who had been hustling along the river's edge to reach her as soon as he saw her, drew up close to her side. "Miss Higurashi," he was breathing strenuously from the rush, "The men have already organized a rescue strategy. I guess the ice was a bit thin in one spot and Souta went right through." He pointed to a spot in the center of the ice where the river was visible.

Kagome let out a low moan of terror and tried to run out onto the ice to grab him herself. Hojo grabbed her arms and held her on the bank as she stared out in despair. Distantly she noted Sango collecting a shaking Kohaku to her side, running her hands through his hair to reassure herself that he was alright. How Kagome wished she could do the same for her own little brother!

This was not the first time a child had fallen into the river, but there was a mix of outcomes when they were fished out of the river. Some had done fine and recovered fully. Others had fallen ill and not fared as well. Most were not found at all.

The men had organized themselves so each would lay flat on the ice and shimmy out to form a chain, with the strongest of the men remaining on the bank to pull the others backwards if they found the boy under the ice. With the sturdiness of the ice now compromised with the hole, laying down was the best way to lessen the weight on the ice and prevent it from breaking further and taking would-be rescuers with it.

Kagome stood unmoving at the riverbank, even when she felt her mother join her at her side and wrap a firm arm around her. Her eyes refused to move from the hole, as if she could will her little brother to pop up from the ice and laugh at her for worrying.

Her heart felt like it only began to beat again when there was a call of victory from the man reaching into the water. A small body surfaced from the hole and immediately the men began pulling the others back to eventually get the final link of the chain back on shore. The crowd parted to allow Kagome's family to rush over to the rescuer.

Souta lay still in his rescuers arms...too still. Kagome felt her breath lock in her throat and felt her mother gasp. "No..." she whispered, but it was written all over the rescuer's face. Her little brother was... "No. No. No. NO. NO!" Kagome didn't care that she was screaming as she grabbed his body from the man. She set him down on the frozen ground, placed two hands on his rib cage and began to push.

"Kagome..." Sango approached her from behind, "I'm sorry but there's nothing you can do..."

"No. I'll force the river water from his lungs and manually pump his heart until it beats on its own. They showed a diagram like this in father's textbook. It has worked before." Kagome pleaded. Her friend stepped back to allow her to try, and Kagome resumed her pumping with more force. There was no pulse beneath her fingers, and no warmth left in his small body, but she had to try.

"You. Have. To. Live." She punctuated each statement with a thrust. His body remained unresponsive, shifting only due to the force of her thrusts. "Please Souta. Liiiiiive." As she screamed her plea, she felt a warm heat fill her body and rush down her arms. For an instant all she saw was a thin film of pink and her skin felt as if it were aflame before her vision became black and she knew no more.