The falling snow was a blinding curtain, restricting vision to less than the length of Howard's arm. He'd been warned not to travel by the locals who knew a storm had been approaching, but after dealing with many snowstorms over his twenty-five years, Howard had been certain he could've handled it. Only now was he understanding how wrong he'd been and that his error in judgment might cost him his life.

His thick parka was closed securely, but the cold seemed to be able to pry its skeletal fingers through the very fabric in order to chill him to the bone. His layers of thermal gear didn't do anything to keep him warm, and he was shivering intensely to the point of near convulsions. His previous experiences told him he was on the edge of hypothermia and if he didn't find some place to warm up fast, he was going to die.

Because he'd been unable to see very far ahead through the descending waves of snow, he was understandably startled when he suddenly noticed a woman standing in front of him. Howard stopped so quickly to avoid running into her, he almost fell over.

The woman was hard to see, even with her close proximity because everything about her was lacking any distinguishing color. Her hair was flawlessly straight, waist long, and as white as the snow falling upon it. The kimono wrapped around her might as well have been made from the snow, and Howard couldn't tell where the garment ended and the drifts on the ground began. The woman's skin was just as pale and colorless as her hair and clothing. Raising a slender arm, she pointed to her right with a single, long finger. Saying nothing, she turned away from Howard and began walking slowly in the direction she'd indicated.

Howard was out of options and was willing to take any assistance he could get. He followed without question or hesitation. He had to concentrate to keep moving through the ankle deep snow as he couldn't actually feel his legs and feet. His fingers and face were in a similar numb state. Focusing all his energy on following the woman in front of him, he pushed forward through the blinding curtains of white.

Something dark caught his attention further ahead, and it took Howard a moment to realize it was the opening of a small cave. His strength gave out and his legs slipped from under him. Before he could fall face first into the snow, the woman was suddenly at his side, holding him up. He hadn't noticed her turn around or move back toward him, but since his brain was half frozen and not working at full capability, he ignored the strange occurrence and let her help him forward.

Had he been thinking clearly, he might've noticed her surprising amount of strength as she held him up with only a slender arm wrapped around his waist. Also, she didn't have any trouble finding her footing in the loose snow, even when carrying a nearly unconscious man twice her mass while he stumbled and slipped. She was never pulled off balance or off course, but Howard didn't discern anything as he could only think of the cold and the cave entrance promising shelter from it.

Howard didn't know what happened when they entered the cave as he lost consciousness and everything went black. When he woke up, he realized a considerable amount of time had passed as the snow previously covering him had melted and the puddle it had formed on the cave floor had evaporated. The snow outside had stopped, but he couldn't feel the cold because a small fire was crackling brightly in front of him, its gentle warmth washing over him in revitalizing waves. Two small fish were speared through by a stick and suspended over the flames. He thought the aroma was the best thing he'd ever smelled. A small kettle sat near the fire, a ribbon of steam curling up from its spout.

Unzipping his parka, Howard looked around the cave. The surface of the rock composing the cave was dark and smoothly polished similar to a stone at the bottom of a river. The cave vanished off into the darkness beyond the light given off by the fire, so he couldn't see where it ended. When he noticed the woman, she was kneeling on the opposite side of the fire. She watched him without expression, firelight shown in her eyes similar to the way light reflected off ice.

Standing up and carefully straightening her kimono, she moved to the fire and took down the two fish, using a fork to slide them off the stick skewer and onto a plate she'd picked up from the ground behind the fire where Howard had been unable to see it. Kneeling down next to him, she offered him the plate of food.

"Thank you," Howard accepted, taking the provided meal. When he took the plate from her hands, he inadvertently touched her fingers, and her skin felt as cold as ice. He ignored the sensation as it was easily explainable. She had prepared him a pair of fish and no water was visible in the cave, so she might've gone back out into the cold to catch them. Howard gave the matter no further consideration and sampled the food. "It's delicious."

She smiled slightly and bowed her head in acknowledgment of his praise.

"What's your name?" Howard asked. "You saved my life, and I'd like to know the name of my rescuer."

"Yuki," she answered. Her voice was as soft as the falling snow, and Howard thought he'd never heard anything more beautiful.

"Thank you for saving me and for this food," Howard told her.

"You shouldn't travel when the weather is bad," she cautioned.

"The locals in the village had warned me of the coming storm, but I thought I could handle it," Howard admitted.

He braced himself for criticism. She could've berated him for his foolishness or told him what an idiot he'd been for failing to heed the warning so clearly given, but Yuki merely nodded her understanding and said nothing. Her merciful compassion toward him in not making Howard feel any worse than he already did about his mistake raised his opinion of her.

"Do you live around here?" Howard asked.

"The mountain is home," Yuki answered without giving him specifics. Picking up the small kettle beside the fire, she poured him a cup of steaming tea.

Taking the cup of tea, he carefully sipped the hot liquid and found it as equally wonderful as the fish.

"Finish your meal, and I will take you to the village," she told him.

Although the fish and tea were excellent, he was hesitant to finish as it meant his time with his rescuer would draw closer to its end. However, he didn't want to be rude and ignore the meal prepared for him, so he ate and drank, slowly.

The walk back to the village was long. The snow muffled every sound, and it felt as if the whole world was silent and still. Howard wanted to strike up a conversation with Yuki, but he didn't really know what to say.

"Will I see you again?" he asked finally when he saw the rooftops of the village in the distance and realized he was out of time.

"I don't often come to the village," Yuki told him. "You will be fine."

Howard wondered what she'd meant by that comment, and when he looked toward her, he discovered she was no longer there. He spun around, trying to find out where she'd gone, but he couldn't even find her footprints in the snow.

***

Howard entered the village and stopped at a small inn. He'd been there overnight prior to the snowstorm, and he wanted to collect his things prior to leaving. Wandering the world from place to place had been his habit for years, but this was the first time he regretted leaving. Howard didn't want to go anywhere else because he knew he wouldn't find Yuki anywhere else.

"You're alive," the innkeeper remarked when Howard walked through the door. "I guess you were right about being able to handle yourself."

"Actually, I was rescued," Howard admitted. He didn't want to tell of his mistake, but he did want to talk about Yuki. "There was a woman who saved me, pulled me into a cave with a small fire until the storm passed."

"What woman?" the innkeeper asked, his face and voice gravely serious.

"She said her name was Yuki," Howard replied.

"You saw her," the man breathed in reverence.

"Who her?" Howard asked.

"She is called the Yuki-Onna or snow woman," the innkeeper explained. "She's a spirit that lives on the mountain and occasionally warns of the coming snows. You are very fortunate to have met her."

"Excuse me," Howard said before he bolted out the door.

Finding his way back to the cave wasn't difficult as he followed the trail he'd left behind when returning to the village. During the journey, he found only his own footprints and none left by Yuki.

The cave was cold and dark when he arrived. The fire he'd felt and enjoyed earlier was gone without a trace of it ever having been there, not even a scorch mark was on the stone floor.

"Yuki!" Howard called out, but only his own voice answered him as the echo returned from the depths of the cave. He called her name again and again, waiting desperately to hear something besides the reflection of his own voice from the walls but nothing came. Howard felt as if he'd found the most wonderful thing in the world only to let it slip from his grasp. Dejected and miserable, he turned to leave.

"Why did you come back?" Yuki asked from behind him.

Howard spun around. Yuki stood beside the crackling warmth of a small fire, looking at him expectantly.

"The innkeeper said you were a spirit of the mountain," he explained. "It was your warning that told of the coming storm."

"It is as you say," she answered. "But, why did you come back?"

"I've traveled all over," he told her. "I've never found any place where I didn't want to leave, until now. I don't want to leave you."

"You do not know me," she pointed out.

"I know I would like to know you better," Howard countered. He pointed outside the cave. "There's a nice spot over there for a house, and there are plenty of trees for building materials. This seems like a good place to live, wouldn't you say? And, I'm looking forward to spending some time getting to know my new neighbor."

"There is another storm coming," Yuki cautioned. "This calm will not last."

"Then I shall wait," Howard declared. He sat down cross-legged in front of the fire. "It may have nearly cost me my life, but I've learned patience."

"Would you like some tea?" Yuki offered.

Howard smiled. "Yes, I would love some."

Yuki's lips turned up ever so slightly at the edges as she took the kettle and poured a cup of steaming tea for the both of them.