It happened on the day that I chose to go ice skating. I lived near a lake, Lake Jelactic, which would freeze over every winter and become the perfect ice rink. Jelactic was circular and large enough that it could easily have 200 people skating on it at once. It was always solid as a rock and stayed like that for the entire winter season. However, on rare occasions, a part of the lake’s ice would become thin. But the patch would only last a couple of days before it became solid again.

The day I went out was the day after the seventh snow of the season. There was a pristine layer of fresh white snow on the ground. The snow sparkled in the early morning sunlight as if it was too precious to disturb. But I crushed the snow as I set out to Jelactic. The nice part about living near the lake was the fact that I could take short cuts through the woods to get there. The trees I passed had a layer of white on their branches. It made the lifeless twigs look so pretty that I giggled at their beauty.

The chilly winds blew through my hair and pushed against my face. The bitter wind try to make me cold, but I enjoyed it. The cold air was a nice change from the warmth of the house. As I approached Jelactic the trees dispersed and revealed a breathtaking scene. The lake had a light orange shine on it from the sun. The snow banks around it just made the lake seem so exotic, unique and perfect. The snow glistened in the sun, adding to shine and making the view blindingly beautiful.

I went to a nearby bench, pushed off the snow, and sat down. Lacing on my skates was a bit of a problem because I knew that they were getting worn out. I made a mental note to get some new ones. As soon as my skates were on, I went out onto the lake.

The best part about skating early in the morning is that you can just be alone. You don't have to listen to the chatter of other people or get bumped into by little kids or have to avoid anyone that fell. It is just you, the warming sun, and the world of winter. You could think without any interruptions, do anything you wanted, or just be plain silly without any judgement. It was like you were in your own world, where you were the only person that existed.

The tricks I liked to practice were figure 8s, spinning, and leaping. I always pretended that I was a professional skater and that I was practicing for the Olympics. Although it was just a fantasy, it made me feel free. I skated out towards the center and paused, looking around to the invisible fans. Then I started humming the song I skated to, Read All About by Emeli Sandé. As the piano started playing, I did some simple figure 8s. When the words became part of the music, I became a ballerina on skate. Whenever she said, "come on, come on," I would do a spinning leap. During the chorus, I would do combinations of simple but graceful leaps and spins. Then I would go back to the graceful ballerina on skates at the end of the chorus.

As she was leading up to the bridge of the song, I prepared myself for my own trick. I would do five spins, then leap and continue spinning and land spinning. It was tough, but I was determined to do it perfectly for once. When she started singing , "We're all wonderful, wonderful people," I started spinning. After my fifth spin, I leapt into the air, still spinning. Everything was going perfectly and the invisible crowds we're going wild. I thought that this was the time I would finally do it.

As I was about to land, I became anxious. This was it, I will have finally done my trick perfectly. When my skates hit the ice there was the overwhelming feeling of excitement. I was still spinning . Then I felt the ice give out under me.

Time slowed down and I could feel myself slowly sinking into the freezing cold water. The cold water wrapped around my legs and found its way onto my skin. It felt like needles were being stuck deep into my skin. As my heavy winter coat came under the ice, the water gripped it tight. My coat became an ice cold weight dragging me under. Before my head could be dragged under, I managed to yell for help. It was my first instinct, but I knew it would do be no good. There was no one but me there in the morning.

As the deathly cold water dragged me down towards its ice depths, I fought to swim back to the hole I fell through. But as the seconds came and passed, the world around me started to become dull and dark. The light from the sun faded into oblivion. The stinging pain on my skin started to slowly fade away as death pulled me towards him. I think that I actually saw him in front of me before I closed my eyes. Subconsciously, I heard Emeli Sande sing, "They can read all about it" before I slipped into a winter sleep. So I guess that I died from drowning and I'm a ghost now. But that doesn't explain that annoying beeping sound I keep hearing.