The sky was alight with stars and the bright moon shone its silvery light over the cold winter world. The wide road, buried under snow, had recently been driven on, and there were many small footprints across it, atesting to the fact that the forests were alive with activity even in the dead of winter.
A white snowrabbit bounded across the road, adding yet another set of paw prints to the fresh snow on the road.
The boughs of the towering firs were weighed down by the thick burden of snow they carried, and occationaly, whether by thw wind of some small creature, they moved sending little flurries of snow showering to the ground. Everything was so still the babbling of the water underneath its roof of ice could be heard.
The lake, glossy in the moonlight lay still and quiet, covered by a thick layer of winter ice.
There was not a breath of wind anywhere, and the barren branches of the birch and maples stood silent. Snow covered every part of them, turning the trees into giant white schuplures. The houses that dotted the shores of the lake too were silent, their owners gone for the winter. They lay empty and cold until spring came once more the the mountains.
A few miles away, a small town lay nestled in the mountains. The street lamps shone brightly down onto the vacant streen and closed up shops. Many buildings were abandoned, their windows boarded up and doors locked. A lone truck sat parked across the street in front of a small café, which was one of the few building which was open on this cold night.
Down the street, there was an old firehouse, next to that the police station, and then a grocery. Beyond that, the road wound around a bend, over the brook and past a few farms before winding back up into the mountains.
The rest of the town was rather sprawled out, as it had once been a prosperous community. There was an abandoned lumber mill, and the railroad tracks running by it now sat covered in dead weeds and brambles. Abandoned houses lined the streets, with just a few still occupied. Several roads, some gravel and others badly disrepaired, wound out into the dense forests, off to who-knows-where.
In this part of town very few of the lamps still worked, and the ones that did shone dimly, as if they too were tired. The old houses, some beautiful old houes lay in ruined sagging decay, their shuttered windows hanging wearily off their hinges.
In another part of town, there was the post office, run-down but still operating. Next to it sat the old library a large brick building, beautiful in its day. Now it was locked to the outside world, leaving its books and charm inside to rot.
Then across the street there was a lovely park, with a gorgeous fountain in the center of it, now filled with dirt and leaves from the uncared for trees and bushes that surrounded it. The paved trails that had once brought pleasure to the residents of the town now were cracked and in terrible disrepair. The plants and bushes had grown wildly out of control, and even with a heavy blanket of snow, the place still looked like a jungle.
Across the street from this park lay the city hall, a statly colulmed building with a grand set of stone stairs leading up to the wide wooden doors. There were a few lights on around the city hall, as it was still in use.
On either side of the city hall, however, lay buildings long abandoned. It looked just os it life had gone on and forgotten this town, and slowly it too was forgetting what it used to be.
The laughter, busyness, and bustling streets that had once made this town home to so many. But now it was gone and who could remember when it had ever been like that? On this winter night it seemed impossible that it had ever been busy and full of life.
On the outskirts of town, there was one building that had resisted the decay that had enveloped the rest of the town. This was the small county hospital. It was old, but kept up nicely. It had been there for decades, and looked like it would survive decade more. Tonight the light tht flooded from its windows lit up the dark landscape around it like a beacon on a stormy night.
But even its light was not enough to awaken the town as it slowly fell asleep, never to awaken again as the forest slowly engulfed it.
Back at the café, the warmly lit building gave it a cozy homey feel. Light tantalizing aromas filled the air, and wafted out into the cold night air each time the door opened.
Tonight there was just one customer here. A young woman sat at the counter, her hands wrapped around a warm mug of hot chocolate. She wore a long wool coat with a scarf wrapped tightly about her neck. A cap was shoved down over her forehead, to sheild out the cold. Now she pushed it back, letting a loose stand of her wavy burnette hair fall into her eyes. She glanced appreciatively around the café, taking in all the sights and smells. She was slowly getting warm again, after her journey through the snowy night.
She looked across the counter to the man who was putting dishes away in the cupboards. “I didn’t see a sign outside town. What’s this place called?”
The man turned around. “Nothing. This town hasn’t had a name for years. I suppose it had one once, but it’s long been forgotten.”
She frowned. How does a town name get forgotten? “What happened here? It looks like this was once a very prosperous town.”
He shrugged. “No one really knows. It’s always been like this. Rotting, decaying. It’ll be forgotten eventually.”
She turned away from the man. He made her a little nervous. She drank the last gulp of chocolate and slid the mug across the counter. “Is there a hotel I could stay in for the night?” she asked.
Again he shrugged. “Sure. And they don’t even charge you to stay there.” He wrote down the address and gave it to her. “Have a good night.” He said as she headed out the door.
She followed the directions he’d written, and then sucked in her breath at where it had taken her. It had been a hotel, once. It now stood in ghostly solitude, gazing somberly down at her through the giant wrought iron gate that barred her way. She got out of her truck and went closer to the gate, gazing through it up at the hotel, thinking of how grand and lovely it must have been once. What a strange place this was. It was almost as if a magical spell had been cast over this little town.