Winter has always had an eerie atmosphere. Seeing everyone full of bliss made me sick to my stomach. How can you be so ignorant to the real problems in the world? How can you ignore those who has committed crimes and deserve justice just to put up a tree that you will eventually take down? I glared at those who were laughing happily with their families, clearly feeling the Christmas spirit. Scoffing at the thought, I got up to leave the festive mall.  

The air was cold, although it did not bother me much. I was always cold nowadays. People were giggling as they put up lights around their homes, their cherry laughs stirring the anger in my heart. I stopped in front of a home that had cozy decorations, feeling the bittersweet memories emerge. The front door opened, revealing an older woman and a young man. My heart twisted in disgust. The woman wiped away her tears as she hugged the man, sending him off. She sent him a tearful smile before shutting herself from the world again. My eyes burned, the desire to cry was intense but no tears came out. That was a common trend lately.  

Stopping myself from entering the home, I began walking to the nearby park. The sun began setting, leaving the sky a beautiful Ombre of oranges and yellows. I smiled to myself; at least enjoying nature was not robbed from me. Sadness entered my bloodstream as I neared the park. Despite the chilly weather, there were still children playing in the few inches of snow, making tiny snowmen or snow angels. My footsteps slowed down as I neared the forest behind the park, feeling cold for the first time that evening. While debating if I should go back into the forest or continue walking around aimlessly, I didn’t notice a dog run pass me. I frowned as I watched the dog’s owner, a teenage girl, chase it into the sea of trees. Shrugging to myself, I decided to follow them. At least I won’t be alone now.  

My thoughts consumed my mind, reliving my nightmares as we walked deeper into the forest. It was only when I heard a high-pitched scream when I started paying attention to my surroundings. My heart leapt with guilty hope as I followed the scream. When I arrived at the scene, the girl was holding back her whining dog in horror as she dialed 911. I sat on a nearby stump that had droplets of blood on it, feeling guilty at the tears falling down the girl’s eyes. Her body shook in both fear and cold. Her dog was whining loudly as he tried to step in front of his owner, blocking her from the graphic scene.  

She panicked as she spoke on the phone, her voice shaking as she let out quiet sobs. My eyes slowly glanced at the spot she was staring at. There laid a body, covered in dry blood and snow. I laughed internally, at least the freezing weather slowed the decomposition rate. Now mother wouldn’t be too scared to look at me. I smiled sadly as the girl hugged her dog, shielding herself from the view. It wouldn’t take too long for the police to arrive now. I let out a breath of relief, finally I was found after a week of being missing.  

When the police arrived, they got the unfortunate girl out of the area to ask her questions. They began investigating the crime scene, quickly finding the murder weapon which was a large rock. I glared at the object as they put it in a plastic bag. After an hour of them investigating I heard a voice cry out,  

“My son! Where is my son?”  

My heart clenched in pain as I walked to the familiar older women. Her eyes wide in distraught as she clenched onto a familiar jacket. My eyes burned as she was brought to my body. She gasped in horror before falling onto her knees, sobbing at the sight before her. I knelt next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder despite knowing she won’t be able to feel it. A police officer quietly comforted her as she cried into my jacket. I sighed softly as one of the detectives found a piece of evidence. He held up an ID from our local college that was covered in snow. My eyes lit up when I saw the familiar face on it. Finally, I can get some peace.  

My mother cried out in anger and grief when she recognized the face on the ID. She sniffled as she grabbed onto the plastic bag that was holding the ID. She shook her head rapidly. 

“No. It can’t be him! I just had him in my house earlier! That’s my sons’ best friend, he wouldn’t do this… right?”  

A frown stretched over my lips as I nodded to myself, he definitely would do this. Despite the depressing atmosphere I couldn’t help but feel relieved to finally get some justice. Yet, for the first time in twenty years, I will not be spending the holidays with my mother.