The Ice Baby Cometh

The Ice Baby Cometh

by

Hillbilly Mom

She was born into a cold, heartless world. The Ice Baby. Never having known her own family, she was chunked unceremoniously into a bag, a bag which was immediately cinched shut. The Ice Baby, and countless other ice babies born that day, were abducted from their birthplace within minutes, and trucked across creation.

It was cold in the truck. OH SO COLD. The Ice Baby held her breath. If she ever had a breath of life to call her own. The back of the truck was pitch dark. The Ice Baby could not see, but sensed a plethora of ice babies allaround her. Crushing her, even, in their flummoxed, disoriented state. The Ice Baby did not think to panic.She endured. It was her nature.

The truck rumbled through the land, bumping, thumping, jouncing its precious cargo without remorse. Where it stopped, the Ice Baby did not know. The door was flung open. Intermittent flashes of light flooded the compartment.The calloused hands of hard-muscled men grabbed at her. She did not want to leave the cold, dark truck. Certainly she would perish, once removed from her safe haven. The men tossed her this way and that, in the rough manner of men, with little finesse. The Ice Baby would not have fought them if she could. It was not in her nature.

The Ice Baby was thrown onto a type of wheeled conveyance, and rolled through a sudden deluge into her new foster home. This cloudburst was surely an omen of the life that lay before her. Upon exiting the truck, a cacophony of epic proportions had greeted her. The Ice Baby knew not what the sounds were, but only that she longed to return to her peaceful existence in the cold,dark truck. But the Ice Baby did nothing. It was her nature.

The chapped, chilled hands of the men grabbed the Ice Baby again. She was tossed into her new room, a room shared with a great number of her ice baby companions from the truck. The Ice Baby didn't mind sharing. It was normal for her. In fact, she would have thought it odd if they were separated. If the Ice Baby was capable of thought. She had been at her new home for a mere week when the Boy came into her life. He was a medium-sized boy, with a bit of a monkey face. He chose the Ice Baby from the multitude lying about the room with her. His hands were smaller than those of the men, more gentle. The Boy slid the Ice Baby from her resting place. The Ice Baby did not resist. It was not in her nature.

The Boy had been sent on this mission by his Mother. She provided him the funds to purchase the Ice Baby. But with Mother's money came strict instructions: do not cradle this ice baby like the last one. Yes. The Boy understood. He knew he had held the last ice baby too tightly, and had overheated her little body. They had barely made it home with her. This time, he was careful. He did not cradle this Ice Baby. He grasped her by the tousled topknot, careful not to touch her precious body.

The Ice Baby dangled, and swung to and fro as the Boy carried her to the car. She felt no pain. No fear. She had never been cradled, anyway, this Ice Baby. The shiny silver barrette in her pale hank of hair did not even slip. This Boy was calm, careful. The Boy placed the Ice Baby on the back seat, beside his Brother. He laid her on his old coat, and covered her with his new coat. He didn't need the coats. The temperature had reached 81 degrees today. The boy wanted to protect the Ice Baby from the sun, which had emerged from the unexpected cloudburst, unscathed. It did not enter his mind to strap the Ice Baby into a car seat. His Mother grunted,"Get in the car. We've got to get her home." The Boy climbed in.

The Ice Baby could not see where she was going. She layon the softest thing that had ever touched her small body.This ride was smoother than the truck ride, though noisier.The family talked, but not to the Ice Baby. The Ice Babydidn't mind. It was her nature.

When the family arrived home, Mother parked the car inthe garage, and gathered her purse. The Boy and hisBrother jumped out of the car and ran up the steps to theporch. Three dogs and two cats greeted them, amidst muchgalloping and gamboling and whining and licking. Motherwent into the house to start supper. The Boy and his Brotherstraggled in to do what boys do after a long day of school.

The Ice Baby lay patiently on the seat of the car. She began to get quite warm. A bit of liquid seeped out of her. The IceBaby was not embarrassed. Nobody had ever fussed over her. She waited. She expected nothing. It was her nature.

By and by, the Mother had a feeling that something was amiss. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it lingered near the fringes of her consciousness. What was it? She screamed: "THE ICE BABY! We've forgotten theIce Baby in the car! Boy! Go get her! NOW!"

The Boy ran to the car. He saw the Ice Baby, prone in apuddle of her own secretions, and was ashamed. The IceBaby could not care for herself. He had left her alone inthe hot car for nearly 30 minutes. Mother would be angry.He picked up the Ice Baby by her tresses, and carried her gingerly to the kitchen door, drops of her essence leaving a trail across the sun-faded boards of the porch. Holding the Ice Baby at arm's length, the Boy poked his head into the kitchen. "Look at her, Mother. She's full up to her waist, and she's still leaking." He held her up for Mother to view, much the way a fisherman holds a prize catch for a photographer.

Mother grabbed a sharp, black-handled kitchen knife."Don't bring her in here! Hold her over the rail!" The Boy moved quickly across the deck, and dangled the Ice Baby over the 15-foot drop to the backyard. Mother rushed to his side, and quietly, deftly, stabbed the IceBaby's bottom with a flash of her kitchen knife. Two sharp jabs. "There. Hold her until she's done."

The Boy held the Ice Baby dutifully. When Mother was gone, he hugged the Ice Baby close to his chest. Her fluids drained quickly, splashing onto the barren ground below. The pets watched, heads tilted. A yellow cat ran down to lick the Ice Baby's juices from the soil.

"I think you're done now," the Boy said softly. Adjusting his grip on the Ice Baby's topknot, he carefully carried her through the kitchen. "Put her in the freezer," commanded Mother. "She's worse than the last one." The Boy placed the Ice Baby on the third shelf, next to a box of State Fair corn dogs.

"Don't worry about the Ice Baby anymore, Mother. She's in a better place now."