The blaring alarm clock screamed in my ear, I woke up and rubbed the weariness away from my eyes. I stretched my limbs and hoped into the steaming shower, warming my skin.

Once I was dressed, I headed for the door, followed by my mother. Today was Monday, a day for Jazz Band at my middle school. We had to be at school at seven o’clock exactly or we would be scolded by the director.

As I stepped outside the frigid air hit me like a wave and chilled me to the bone. Just another typical morning in the January of Connecticut. Finally, I was in the car with the heat blasted all the way up. Slowly but surely, the numb feeling escaped my fingers.

As my mother and I drove along, I suddenly noticed just how beautiful the day was. Immense pines were swaying in the slight breeze. Crystal clear icicles hanging from the corners of houses, suspended only by the freezing cold.

As we sped over a small hill that was obstructing our view, my mother screeched to a neck-breaking halt. I stared at her curiously, wondering why she came to such an abrupt stop.

Then I saw them, sleek and majestic, beautiful and mysterious were three deers, rippling with hardened muscle. They stared at me with dark pearly eyes, widened with slight fear but more than fear, I sensed there was awed wonder illuminating their eyes. They turned their thick necks away from us and started towards the bristly woods.

As they moved their fur shimmered and reflected the sun like silk. Their wet snouts sniffed the air around them. The family moved on across the asphalt, s small buck with stubs of antlers sprouting out of his head, the doe gracefully clopping her way up to the wood and the father, a huge buck with antlers fully grown jutting out of his forehead. And as quickly as they had come, they were gone, slipping silently into the forest.

And just like that we were on our way driving through the streets until we arrived at my middle school. I hurried in but noticed something odd, no one was there. I went outside and caught my mother just as she was leaving.

As I walked I slipped on something smooth and slippery. It was ice. Then it dawned on me. There was a 90 minute delay, which unfortunately meant no jazz band. But even though we were up early and drove all the way out there, it was OK. The beautiful family of deer crossing our path made it all worth it.



By Ben Firsick