Snow Dust Parts 1-3

SPLASH!

“Ugh, why can’t I get it past three skips,” Sam said to himself, skipping another stone into the large pond in front of him. Today had been yet another bad day for him. His girlfriend broke up with him and his boss is allowing the new hire to take the position that he was promised months ago.

All of his life Sam has never had a thing such as a lucky day, only average days and unlucky days. Today as it can already be seen was an unlucky day. Though life wasn’t so bad. At least he still had this place. Ever since he was young this pond has always been his safe haven.

“Huh. Hey there little guy,” Sam said, seeing a cute white bunny rabbit at his feet. “This is my first time seeing you around here.” Sam didn’t know why, but for some reason, he felt at ease near this bunny.

“Did you come out here to relax as well?” Sam asked, sitting down next to the bunny. He knew that the bunny couldn’t talk, but there were just times when people needed someone or something to talk to. Sam thought that he was quite lucky to find such a calm and cute bunny to talk to. For the next hour, Sam began to talk about all of his troubles to the bunny, and it sat there listening to him.

“And then there was this… huh? I guess that it is time for you to leave,” Sam said, seeing the bunny start to get up. He had already used up too much of this bunny’s time and knew that he couldn’t waste any more of it. He was just happy that-

SPLASH!

Without warning the bunny jumped straight into the water!

“What are you doing!?” Sam yelled, jumping in right after it. He didn’t know if bunnies could swim or not, but he wasn’t going to wait to find out. The water was freezing when Sam entered! It felt like tiny sharp daggers were poking him over and over again, but he had to focus on the bunny.

As he searched his body started to feel strange and he started to get dizzy. He struggled to focus, but soon found the white furball he was looking for. Sam wasted no time to grab the bunny and then force his way up to the surface of the water, dragging himself back onto the ground. He had hoped that the ground would be warm compared to the water, but he was shocked to see that it was covered in snow!

“Ack-ack!” Sam coughed up some water, slowly rising to his feet, watching as the bunny ran away back into the forest. It would seem it was too scared to stick around. Huh? Nothing around Sam looked the same compared to before he fell into the water. Everything was covered in ice and snow. And thanks to his recent dip in the icy cold water, he couldn’t help but shiver feverously. The area around him was empty, and no one was around. He needed to find shelter before his hypothermia set in.

Same slowly made his way through the forest barely able to move or think, crossing his arms around his chest to try and find any form of warmth. Oddly enough his chest felt soft for some reason. Though he didn’t bother looking down, knowing that he was severely low on energy right now. He didn’t even bother to look down to see why there was a draft between his legs.

“F-finally,” Sam said to himself in a low tone, seeing that he had made his way to what looked like a main street. Though he had no idea where he was. None of the buildings looked the same, and they were oddly colorful. And there was something off with the people here as well. He couldn’t tell if it was the cold that was messing with his eyes, or something else. Sam had no idea what to make of it.

Deciding that this had to be in his head, Sam slowly made his way toward the first building he saw, a bookstore, not bothering to pay attention to the people looking at him. He could feel his consciousness start to fade, and he was barely able to stand at this point. His body was freezing, and shaking all over. He wanted pain to stop. He wanted to rest. He wanted to-

DING!

“Welcome to-”

THUD!

The moment that Sam opened up the door he could no longer maintain his consciousness, collapsing onto the ground.

“Oh my! Hang in there sweetie!” a woman’s voice yelled before he passed out.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“How is she doctor?” a woman asked as Sam started to wake up.

“She has a severe case of hypothermia,” a male voice said as Sam began to open his eyes. “It was lucky that you found her when you did. Unfortunately, she had no form of identification on her, so we’ll have to wait until she wakes up to figure out who she is. For now, just stay by her side and call us when she wakes.”

“Alright doctor, I will,” the woman said. Sam could see the blurry outline of the doctor leaving the room, leaving behind a woman with light skin and orange hair behind.

“Ugh, w-what happened?” Sam asked, not quite in the right mind to remember how he got here.

“Oh my! You’re awake already!” the woman said, shocked to see that they were awake already. “I should call the doctor! He… oh?” Sam managed to gather up enough strength to grab the sleeve of her shirt.

“P-please d-don’t go,” Sam said, worried that he would pass out again. He didn’t know what was happening here and was scared to be left alone in this unfamiliar place.

“Sweetie, it’s fine I’m just… fine, just for now,” she said realizing that they were going through a lot right now. She held Sam’s hand and looked at them with a warm gaze. She knew that she should call the hospital, but she couldn’t leave them alone right now.

“Do you remember what happened to you? You walked into my bookstore soaked from head to toe. I almost had a heart attack when you collapsed out of nowhere like that. What was a poor girl, like yourself doing in such a state?”

“…Girl?”

“Sweetie, is there something wrong~?” The woman asked Sam, seeing that she looked confused.

“What… what is this?” Sam asked him or rather herself, looking down to see that underneath the hospital gown she was wearing were a pair of supple breasts. How? How was this possible? This had to be a dream, right? She must have passed out after leaving the water, right?

“Sweetie I’m going to call the doctor,” the woman said, quickly running out of the room to get her help. This poor girl was scared and confused, she had to make sure that she was alright.

“She’s awake there’s no way that she could have awoken this fast,” the doctor said, being dragged back into the room seconds later, only to see Sam in a daze, closely looking at her own body.

“Miss, my name is Dr. Kim. You’re in the hospital. Mrs. Dust brought you here after you collapsed. She saved your life. Do you remember what happened that led you to be in such a state?”

“I… I f-fell in… in a pond,” Sam said nervously. She didn’t feel comfortable talking with such a high-pitched voice. It felt unnatural to her.

“A pond! In this weather!” Mrs. Dust yelled, shocked. The only pond near her store was the one in the forest near the high school. That was at least a ten-minute walk! How on each did such a frail-looking girl make her way over to her store in such a condition?

“Did someone push you into the pond?” Dr. Kim asked, trying to get as much information without overwhelming the girl. “Did you jump in on purpose?” Hopefully, that wasn’t the case, but she had to be sure about this. If this girl was potentially suicidal then the hospital would need to take extra precautions to keep her safe.

“N-no… t-there was a... a bunny,” Sam said nervously. Did she make them mad somehow? Why were they looking at her in such a serious manner? “It f-fell in the water… I jump in to… save it.”

“Oh my! Sweetie, you had good intentions, but in this weather, you should have taken care of yourself,” Mrs. Dust said, holding Sam’s hands.

“She is right,” Dr. Kim said to her. “While what you did was noble, you put your life at risk by doing so. I will need to inform your parents or guardians of what happened. Could you please tell me what your name is and the best way to reach your family?”

“My name is… my name is…” Huh? Why could she say it her name was obviously S-Sam. “My name is…” She tried to say her name, but every time that she did she could feel her name becoming more and more distant from her mind.

“Sweetie? Do you not remember your name?” Mrs. Dust asked her, seeing the confused look on the girl's face. “Do you know where you are?”

“The hos-hospital?” she said, confused by the question. Her anxiety started to rise as she started to feel more confused by what was happening.

“No, sweetie, do you remember the name of this hospital? There is only one in this town,” Mrs. Dust said worried for the poor girl.

“It’s uh… uh… what is it?” she asked unable to answer her properly.

“Doctor, what’s going on? Why s she having a hard time remembering who she s and where she is?” Mrs. Dust asked, holding the girl's hand even tighter now.

“Hmm, it would seem that she has partial amnesia,” Dr. Kim said back to her. “In times of great stress and life-threatening ordeals, it is not uncommon for the victim to suffer partial memory loss. Recent events, name, and even their own location can be easily forgotten. Luckily it’s not life-threatening and can be easily cured by interacting with her family and loved ones. Miss, do you remember anything about your family or where to find them?”

“Family? I… I don’t have one,” she said back to the doctor. She remembered that she never had a family. She was raised in an orphanage and thrown out inti the world the moment she became 18. There was no family that she could rely on right now.

“Hmm, either she is telling the truth or can’t remember right now. I’ll have to post up bulletin on her. Her looks are quite unique so if her family is looking for her they will come for her,” Dr. Kim said, marking down some notes from his clipboard. “For now she’ll have to remain at the hospital for a least a week, before we can even think of discharging her.”

“Um doctor may I talk with you alone for a bit,” Mrs. Dust asked them. “Don’t worry sweetie I will be right back~.” Mrs. Dust slowly let go of the girls clinging hands and walked out into the hall with the doctor so that she couldn’t hear their conversation.

“A girl?” she said to herself, once again examining her body. How on Earth could this happen to her? She knew that she was a guy before this but why? Why was she a girl now? Did it have something to do with that pond? Or did it have something to do with that bunny? How was she even supposed to live in this body? She had no idea how to act or live as a girl. What was she going to do?

As the days passed she spent her time in the same hospital room that she had woken up in. She was constantly taken care of by the nurses and was undergoing treatment to improve her health. After about a week she was finally allowed to walk by herself, though it did take her some time to figure out the who bathroom thing. Everyone, there was kind to her and Mrs. Dust constantly visited her. Whenever she came by was the best. She always felt safe near Mrs. Dust.

Though despite their kindness, she feared that it would only last for so long. She had no family so no one would bother to look for her, and if this new body of hers had a family then they would have come for her by now, but there was no one. Just like always she would end up being alone.

POP!

Hearing the sound of a bubble being popped she looked over to the door of her hospital room to see a young girl, no older than 17 with amber and gold hair looking at her.

“So you’re the one that she’s been talking about for the past few days,” the girl said t her. “Hmm, I have to say, I’m not impressed.”

“Hi… who are you?” she asked the girl, curious about who she was and why she seemed oddly familiar.

“Hmm, quite the docile one aren’t ya?” the girl said to her. “I can see why she likes you. The name’s Lighting Dust.”

Dust? Wasn’t that the last name of the woman that brought her here? Was she somehow related to Mrs. Dust? What was with her name though? Lightning?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you~,” she said back to Lightning. If she was related to Mr. Dust then she had to be a kind person despite her outward demeanor. “I’m… uh… I’m…”

“It’s fine you don’t have to say a word,” Lightning said back to her, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. “She said that you didn’t remember your name. Don’t sweat it.”

“Oh my, it would seem that I’m a bit behind,” Mrs. Dust said, entering the room. “Lily I told you to wait didn’t I?”

“Mom~! Don’t use my real name~!” Lightning or rather Lily said, complaining to her mother. Wait, mother? Though now that she thought about it did make sense that they were related. “I told you to call me Lightning~!”

“Lily I don’t care what your friends at school call you, but to me, you will always be my sweet little angel. Now spit that gun out, young lady. This is a hospital; show some respect.”

“…Yes ma’am,” Lily said, doing as she was told, completely ruining that bad/cool girl vibe that she was trying to show the girl her mother had taken interest in.

“I am sorry about that sweetie~,” Mrs. Dust said to her. “Lily’s friends come up with the oddest-sounding nicknames. I believe that one of them is called Lemon? Oh no matter, kids will be kids~. Before I get ahead of myself I have some news to share with the two of you.”

“Unfortunately, the doctor says that they weren’t able to figure out your identity. Dr. Kim says that it’s almost as if you appeared out of thin air. On the bright side, he says that you can be discharged from the hospital in about a week.” Mrs. Dust grabbed her hand gently knowing that this girl deserved happiness. “I know that it might be odd of me to ask, but would you like to come live with us~?”

“Live with you?” She was stunned by what she just heard. She barely knew Mrs. Dust, but now she was being offered the chance to live with her. There was no way that someone could be this kind.

“Mom, what the heck are you talking about!” Lily yelled at her mother in disbelief. Why on Earth would she offer to take in a girl that she met only a week ago?

“Fufufu~.” Mrs. Dust couldn’t help but let out a small laugh from seeing the girl's reactions. Of course, it made no sense for her to offer her home to a stranger, but this girl was different. She wasn’t rude, whiny or cunning, she was just a lost girl with nowhere to go. How could she possibly leave a give like this on her own. The world was a scary place, and she feared that if left alone this poor girl could be harmed. She refused to turn away someone in need. It’s something that her husband would o if he was still alive.

“I’m sorry, I should have been a bit more careful with my words~,” she said to them. “After you’re discharged from the hospital you don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”

“I… I…” she wanted to say that she would try and enter the pond again to see if she could go back to her old self, but was that even possible? What if this new form of hers was permanent? Where would she go? What would she do? She didn’t know how to answer this.

“Sweetie, I’m not trying to force you to do something that you don’t want to do,” Mrs. Dust said, gently looking at her. “Please allow me, no allow us to help you~.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Lily asked. She felt sorry for the girl, but there was no way that she could let a stranger live in her home. But if she didn’t then this girl would have to survive off the streets. Ugh! There was no way that she could force a girl this frail to look out on her own. Despite her reluctance, it was clear that Lily had a kind heart just like her mother.

“Lily, please don’t say that you don’t want to help her,” her mother asked, knowing exactly how her daughter thought.

“Fine, but she better not touch any of my clothes,” Lily said, turning away so that they couldn’t see her start to blush. “You have to buy her clothes of her own.”

“Fufufu~. I like that can be arranged,” Mrs. Dust said, happy to see that her daughter was kind enough to insist on buying this girl new clothes over herself. “As I said this is a decision that you don’t have to force yourself to answer. If you want I could even recommend a nice shelter for young girls. It’s a bit strict with rules, but the girls there are well-fed, clothed, and taken care of. I just want to make sure that you’re safe~”

Safe? Never before had anyone in her life had ever asked her what she wanted before or cared for her like this. People usually expected her to do as they asked her without question. There was no amount of care or worry in any of the requests (demands) they asked of her. What should she do? Should she go with them? Could she actually be happy if she did?