Snow Devils Part 1

Hello Dear Reader,

When making one of my regular visits to the Steaming Mug I discovered another rare cryptid.  Kevin’s Crossing is like some kind of wonderful monster wildlife preserve here.

The drink of the day was something called a ‘Snow Devil Latte’.  Being the kind of person that is drawn to the unknown, I was beside myself with excitement!  It's my two passion combined: stimulants and mystery.

The Snow Devil Latte consists of :

·         Espresso

·         Steamed Milk

·         White Chocolate syrup

·         Red Hots Candy

·         Cracked Black Pepper on top

Gemma was not at work and Vic had gotten back together with Jason.  So I was on my own.  Boo for days off work and reconsolidation. So after ordering my overpriced mystery beverage I sat down next to my new friend Casey and her co-workers, Sam and Robyn.  They work at an engineering firm nearby.

They were all drinking Snow Devil Lattes.  I'm glad to see Casey out and about again. Yusuf said that she had not been feeling well after she played the Elevator Game and reached an alternate universe.  She had trouble going to work since her office was on the four floor and she couldn’t bring herself to use the elevator.  Silly goose.  But on the plus side, her calves look amazing from taking the stairs.  It seems that being a little emotionally unsettled can do wonders for one's physique.

“So, what’s the deal with this?” I asked as I sipped my steaming beverage.  It was bitter, sweet, and spicy all at once.  My nose hairs tickled.  Robyn and Sam looked at each other then at Casey.

“If you just tell the story it’ll be over quicker,” she said, tucking red curls of hair into her cap.  I smiled hopefully.  I was touched by how well she knew me in such a short period of time.

“Okay, well there’s a snowstorm forecasted for this weekend.”  It was Thursday. “Local legend says that whenever there’s a snowstorm after the first day of spring(March 20) that snow devils come out and make mischief,” said Robyn.

“And what is a snow devil?”

Sam dunked an orange scone.  “No one knows and accounts tend to differ.  They’re sometimes bug-eyed.  Maybe three fingers and toes.  Possibly mandibles or tentacles.  Occasionally scales.  Or glowing red eyes.  It doesn't snow that late in the year very often, so there aren’t many opportunities for sightings.  There have only been two snow storms like that that I can remember.  But there were sightings both times.”  The varying physical descriptions reminded me of the bunyips of Australian.  I told my companions as much.  This information was met with blank stares.

“So the snow devils have a hundred percent appearance rate, that’s better than Bigfoot.  Do you have a timeline of all reported sightings cross-referencing their physical characteristics?” I asked.

“Ugh,” Sam said through a mouthful of scone.

“Well, is there evidence?’

“There's no hand in a jar or anything like that.  If that's what you're thinking of.”  Casey gave a wry smile.

“Well that’s not entirely true,” Robyn said.  I tried to hide my smile as Casey got a confused look.  Robyn leaned in and spoke in a loud whisper.

“Okay, so my third-grade teacher's husband had an encounter with one when we were in middle school.”  Her excitement grew with each word.  As did mine.  Casey looked bored and Sam confused.  “He was having problems with groundhogs in his yard so he put out some traps.  Then there was a heavy snowfall that night.  When he checked the trap in the morning he found it torn apart.  There were strange three-toed footprints all around it.”

“What was the trap baited with?” I leaned in.

“I don't know!” she leaned in further.  I sat back, mouth agape.  She smiled.  Casey looked annoyed as she crunched on Sam's last scone.  Sam was playing games on his phone.

“I know,” Casey said in response to my unspoken enthusiasm.

“Were there any pictures?” I asked

“No, but her husband drew some sketches of the footprints”.

“That’s it?” Casey asked

“That’s it” Robyn relaxed back into the couch.  Her story finished.

“Can I see this sketch?” I asked.

“Well, he showed it around town and caused a commotion.  Even made the evening news.  I think it was donated to the historical society.”  I made a very excited mental note to take a much overdue trip to visit the historical society again.

“Okay,” I was humming with excitement, caffeine, and sugar.  “How about after the snow storm, we all get together and compare notes on sightings!  I’ll call Yussuf and Vic and Gemma and-”

“No,” Casey said.  “No more crazy adventures.  No more looking for trouble.  I’m finally able to sleep through the night again.  I’ve started going back to church.  Count me out!”  She folded her arms. The gesture seemed very final. I was confused that she didn’t understand the small and completely reasonable risks associated with challenging the unknown.

“Okay, well I guess we’ll wait and see what happens,” I drank the last of my latte.  I wondered if there were any other monster-themed foods in town.  A Jak-Jak themed burrito is too good of an idea to ignore.  Now I had no choice but to wait and see what the spring snow would bring!

Before the snow came,  even before I left the coffee shop, something unexpected happened. When everyone went back to work, Robyn left a napkin with her phone number and a sketch of a three-toed footprint on it.  I may have found my soulmate.

I took my new favorite napkin and headed towards Ziggy’s Mini Mart.  I needed to get supplies(Cheez-its and root beer) for coming blizzard!

I'll keep you updated!