The Snow Child Quotes
"All her life she had believed in something more, in the mystery that shape-shifted at the edge of her senses."
"The only sound not of her making was a sudden ‘caw, cawww’ from outside."
"It was beautiful, Mabel knew, but it was a beauty that ripped you open and scoured you clean so that you were left helpless and exposed, if you lived at all."
"The days diminished. Light lasted just six hours, and it was a feeble light."
"When she reached for his boots, through the window she saw a flicker."
"Her heart thudded in her throat. Her legs were unsteady."
"The scent of straw and spruce boughs in his hair and beard, the weight of him on the creaky bed, the sound of his slow, tired breaths."
"A warm, secure home – he couldn’t even give her that much."
"He wanted to celebrate, but he was alone. The woods had a solemn air, and beneath the thrill in his own chest, there was something else."
"He was up to his elbows in blood and bowels when he heard something approaching through the forest."
"This is the first bull I’ve seen up close."
"I have to say, I wasn’t expecting this."
"I was riding the river, looking for places to put out traps, when I heard your rifle."
"The boy was quiet, reverent as he ran a hand down the antler bone."
"It’s a lot. But with two of us, it’ll go all right."
"I figured you had something down. But boy howdy, I sure didn’t think it would be something like this."
"Maybe you can just give me a few pointers, walk me through some of it. The truth is, I’m in over my head."
"Looks like you’re starting fine, pulling those guts out."
"The sun slithered through the trees, the air cooled, the dead animal stiffened, but they kept at it."
"They joked some and talked some, but mostly just worked, and it was comfortable."
"That’s a good horse you got there. Doesn’t balk at meat being strapped on."
"Jack shot the biggest damn moose you ever saw!"
"I thought you could use some onions. We ended up with more than we need."
"It’s no good being a woman in this country, is it? Too many men, in my opinion."
"Looks like you’ve got a sturdy woodstove. That makes all the difference."
"There’s been a lot to get used to here."
"This isn’t an easy place to get along. The winters are long."
"It’s just so good to have a woman to visit with."
"I don’t even care too much what we talk about."
"They’ll snatch your chickens as soon as they get a chance. You ought to shoot him next time you see him."
"It’s her.’ She turned, her hand at her throat. ‘Her little face, right there in our window."
"It was a little snow girl actually – and it was knocked over and the scarf and mittens were gone."
"I did mean to ask – do you know if there’s a little girl living anywhere near our place? A little blonde girl?"
"Imagine, a little girl out in the woods in winter like that."
"I don’t know if you ever get used to it really. It just gets in your blood so that you can’t stand to be anywhere else."
"I guess we’ll have an old-fashioned Alaskan winter – moose and potatoes until we can stand them no more."
"How can you eat your breakfast and go into the day as if none of this has happened?"
"A child, wandering around in the middle of winter?"
"I think she’s warm. And she must know how to get food."
"I tried to follow her, but they just went around and around in the woods."
"I feared those were going to freeze on the way over."
"We saw her. And we both saw the tracks, and the mittens and scarf are gone."
"It was as if he was speaking to a ghost."
"She had some spirit these days and a brightness in her eyes that eased Jack’s heart."
"She’s a child, Jack. You might not be able to admit it to the neighbors, but you’ve seen her, too. You know she’s out there."
"You start seeing things that you’re afraid of … or things you’ve always wished for."
"I don’t mean to speak out of turn, Mabel, but this isn’t an easy place to get along."
"It’s true. Isn’t it, Jack? We saw her. In her little blue coat."
"I swear it’s the truth. Orange as a piece of fruit."
"What in the Sam Hill he was doing in Alaska is beyond me."
"Darn it if you haven’t become my very best friend."
"You’re different. True to yourself, even if it means people will say you’re crazy."
"I’ve never been any good at symmetrical drawings. I’m too impatient. Too imprecise."
"We’re snow angels, Jack called out, and the girl giggled."
"If she hadn’t doubted, she could have born the baby wailing to life, ready to nurse at her breast."
"It wasn’t until Sunday morning that the wind began to blow down from the glacier."
"Leave it be, he was fond of saying, and so she did."
"You should have seen my father’s library. A room nearly the size of this whole cabin, lined with shelves and shelves of books."
"She’s our little girl, and I don’t know how exactly, but she’s made from this place, from this snow, from this cold."
"I squeezed its heart until it couldn’t beat any more."
"I guess maybe I don’t want to be warm and safe. I want to live."
"Snow devils. That’s what they had called them as children. Wind-churned funnels of snow, almost like white tornados."
"Sometimes I could hear you calling my name."
"I prayed for God to take our tiny babe into his arms and cradle him as we would have."
"We never know what is going to happen, do we? Life is always throwing us this way and that."
"It’s the story of an old couple who desperately want a child and they make one out of snow. And … she comes to life."
"The snow was heavy and wet and melted from the eaves."
"I should have strapped a pillow to my back side."
"She stood and turned to face him. Hand in hand they skated up the river, following the curves of the bank."
"I’ve got to say, I had my doubts, but that was tasty."
"The fox would dart across a field or cross his path in the forest, and Garrett would let it pass."
"Spellbound, Garrett watched even as he felt he should look away."
"Life doesn't go the way we plan or hope, but we don't have to be so angry, do we?"
"The smell of cut spruce was strong in the air."
"Everything will change. But you'll do the best you can."
"Hearts, like doors, will open with ease to very, very little keys."
"The air stung Garrett’s lungs, and the exposed skin of his face burned in the cold."
"Her life is going to change soon. Whatever else happens, she won’t be able to run through the woods like a sprite. Everything will be different."
"When the time came, the child could go to school in town and compete in spelling bees and draw lovely, silly little pictures for them."
"There was a whistle, like a chickadee’s, and Faina’s dog trotted past as Mabel’s eyes focused again."
"Then all sound was lost to the river’s roar, and the ground shifted beneath Mabel."
"‘But … is it snowing?’ and she heard someone laugh beside her."
"‘Aren’t you cold?’ Garrett whispered as he lay beside her."
"‘We love each other, don’t we?’ He didn’t want his voice to whine."
"‘What’s all this?’ ‘I, too, have been working,’ she said with a small smile at her lips."
"‘Faina? Faina? Where are you?’ Garrett held his lantern against the winter night."
"‘Go on. Don’t be afraid,’ Esther said. ‘Go meet your son.’"
"And all of this – the entire world – was held in the little clenched fists of the newborn baby."
"‘You must give him a name, child. It can’t be like with the dog. He can’t just come to a birdsong.'"
"‘I’m sorry to wake you …’ ‘Let me sit.’"
"‘It’s going to be all right, Garrett. Now, let’s go take care of her and that baby of yours.’"
"‘Are you well, child?’ ‘Oh, yes. Out here, with the trees and the snow, I can breathe again.’"
"Illumination behind the peaks shot up into shards of light, blue-green like a dying fire."
"‘But where?’ Without answering he left the cabin."
"Grief swept over Mabel with such force that her sobs had no sound or words."
"‘Did you hear that?’ ‘What was that?’ ‘Wolves, I think.’"