When the Snow Fell Read Free Page B

Joel’s home. Just as the glass showcase was the home of the
Celestine
.
    Joel’s showcase was the window seat. That was his house and his castle.
    It was also there that he had realized that something was happening to him. He really was growing bigger. The window seat was starting to feel cramped. There had always been plenty of room, but he had difficulty sitting there now with both his feet up. Especially when he had sore toes.
    He was growing up.
    The
Celestine
was a model of a ship that would never grow any bigger.
    Her master would never become too big to fit inside the case.
    Joel tried to work out if it was going to start snowing again. The sky was cloudy. And heavy. Like an awning sagging as a result of all the snow that had fallen on it. It was when the awning split that the snow started to fall down to the ground.
    Needless to say, Joel knew that there was no truth in any such thoughts. There was no awning up in the sky. Snow was rain that had frozen and turned into snowflakes.
    Warm rain fell in the summer. Cold rain in the winter.
    But the awning idea was better. Easier to understand.
    Then he saw Samuel approaching. A shadow on the other side of the street.
    A shadow with a hunched back.
    After dinner Joel went to his room and closed the door behind him. He could hear Samuel making coffee, then switching on the wireless to hear the news.
    There was a lot Joel needed to prepare. You couldn’t make your New Year’s resolutions any old way: it had to happen at dead-on midnight.
    As he was going to be up late, he lay down on top of his bed and covered himself with a blanket. It would be best if he could manage to sleep for a couple of hours. To be on the safe side, he set his alarm clock for eleven o’clock and put it underneath the blanket.
    He could hear a munching noise from inside the wall, right next to his ear. He pressed his cheek against the cold wallpaper. He could now hear the mouse very clearly. It was less than an inch away from him. But it had no idea that Joel’s cheek was so close.
    Joel tapped on the wall with the knuckle of his hand. The mouse fell silent. Then it started munching again.
    Joel continued listening. Before long he was fast asleep.
    When the alarm went off, it was some considerable time before Joel came to. When he woke up he remembered hisdream: he had been inside the wall, looking for the mouse in a complicated network of caves among the wooden beams and uprights.
    But it was all quiet now. The mouse couldn’t be heard any longer. The only sound penetrating the wall was Samuel’s snoring.
    Joel sat up. He still wasn’t wide awake. When he stood up he had to push hard with both arms. Then he started to doze off again. Just as his eyes closed he gave a start, as if he had burnt his fingers. He went to the window, opened it slightly and scraped up some snow from the windowsill. Then he took a deep breath and rubbed the snow into his face.
    Now he really was awake. He looked out into the night. The sky had become completely clear while he’d been asleep. The stars were twinkling.
    He closed the window carefully, got dressed and tip-toed into the kitchen with his rucksack in his hand. He put on his jacket, his scarf and his wooly hat. He had found his mittens while he was waiting for the potatoes to boil. He put on his rucksack, picked up his Wellingtons and slipped silently out the door.
    Samuel was asleep. His snores came and went in waves. Joel avoided treading on the steps that creaked, the fourth, fifth and twelfth. Then he opened the front door.
    It was cold outside.
    He stepped out and looked up at the starry sky.
    It really was a genuine New Year’s Eve.
    Then he opened the gate and set off for the place he had picked out for his ceremony.
    He would make his New Year’s resolutions in the churchyard.

— THREE —
    Before Joel went to the churchyard, he had another important task to complete.
    He had made a resolution the year before, but hadn’t carried it out. Now