Hidden in the Frost

4 years ago

Mark looks over the paysheets, trying to piece together what to do next, what client to push for greater integration, which late payer to cut loose. But he once again only felt his own inadequacy. The hole left by pushing too hard on the Romero account, the non-starter that the Jenkins account turned out to be.

So like most nights, Mark was ready to run from his problems, run back to the arms of his loving wife and come tomorrow to try again, to fight tomorrow’s battles tomorrow. He stood up, putting on his thick jacket. It was snowing tonight, for the first time this season. Mark had meant to leave a bit earlier to avoid the light dusting, but as a Colorado driver, he was used to it. As he stepped out of his desk, he turned to his left… and he saw her.

A woman stood there, her wan features a picture of beauty. A white yukata with blue designs on the sleeves, her posture a picture of grace. But she was not standing there, or at least… not in the office.

Mark struggles to understand just exactly what he sees, as the woman looks like she is floating outside. Or like she is trapped in the glass covered in frost as the light snow rubs against the glass outside. Based on how the woman does not stop the snow, it is clear that she is in the pane of glass, not floating outside as he had first thought. And then the apparition spoke.

“Hello Mark. I finally found you. Found your family after searching for so long, for centuries. An ancestor of yours saved me as the spring flood waters threatened to engulf me, so I have rewarded his descendants ever since. You are one such descendent, and I would reward you with wealth beyond your wildest dreams.”

Mark looks at this hallucination, this clear bit of unreality as he leans against his desk, the desk of the CEO for strength. “What… what are you?”

The woman, clearly a bit miffed about being interrupted, continues. “I am a spirit. One of ice and frost, who would see you rewarded for your ancestor’s generosity. I am a yuki-onna.”

Mark is confused. “How can you help me?”

The woman hides her further frustration as she waves her hand. A cold breeze flows through the office, and the book just recently closed flips open with the strength of the breeze. Mark turns to look at it, seeing a flake of snow land on the paper. As he watches it melts and the ink smears. A client name, Jacobson.

“The Jacobson account is only holding you back. They plan to dump you after the holiday season is over anyways. Meanwhile, if you press on the Martines account, that will lead you to greater success, and new opportunities. At your next meeting with him, mention the name Orin Kline.”

Mark, stumbling back to his desk, takes notes. Notes that become whole reports as the spirit tells him how to maneuver, how to sell these supposed deals. Which to sell softly and which to sell boldly. At the end, a whole 4 hours had passed and now it was 11 pm.

Closing the book again, Mark looks at this kind spirit, at this savior. “Are you trapped in the glass? If I can do anything to help you, anything at all, I would gladly do it. And… you never gave me your name. I want to tell my wife, Yua, about you. About this blessing that has fallen in my lap.”

The beautiful woman smiles at him. “I am not trapped in this glass, but I am weak, I cannot take any form but this one. I come from the future, and to find you, I had to project my mind, leaving my body behind. Now I exist in the frost, speak through it. You will only see me on the days where the frost coats these windows.”

The woman smiles a smile that Mark can’t help but think is the most beautiful he has ever seen. “And as for my name, call me Yuki. But I will say you should not tell your wife about me. I can see that she will grow jealous of me. Feel like I am taking you from her. The work that my gifts will demand of you will be long and hard. No woman is happy when another steals her man for hours and hours, even for only her benefit. No, if you wish to use my guidance, I would tell you to keep me a secret. After all, you want Yuichi to be proud of you, don’t you?”

Yuichi is Yua’s father, a man who had been CEO before Mark, who still gave advice. He was a nice enough man… but it was clear that Yuichi was the alpha in the relationship. The father-in-law sharing wisdom, no, leading from behind the lackluster son-in-law. But with the notes he took, with the leads this spirit had given him, he could… No, he would turn from some struggling follower into a true CEO, one who would make Yuichi and Yua proud.

Although Mark feels just a bit of shame, knowing that success would not be his, but given to him. But it only urges him to hide this boon of fate, this generous spirit. He thanks his unseen ancestors in his mind.

Mark looks at Yuki, that picture of ancient grace, and he tries to add a deeper tone to his voice. “Fine. I won’t tell Yua or anyone. I look forward to working together, Yuki.”

Three years ago

Mark closes his book of receivables watching the first snow of the season come down. She would be back. He had last seen Yuki around March, when the last snow had painted his windows with frost. But that did not mean he was not working hard in the meantime.

Some of Yuki’s predictions were time specific. Mentioning pressing after the 4th of July or saying he would have to butter up a client with multiple golf games until he was given a sign. And it felt like every account needed more time than the day could provide, so he never left at 5. Never left at 6 most days either, most of the times he was lucky to leave at 7, but even those were becoming a rarity.

Most nights Yua was asleep before he got home. Most of the time he was too exhausted to do anything in the mornings other than thank her for the breakfast she made and the lunch she offered him at the door. They still had sex… well, the last time had been two weeks ago, but still. The results spoke for themselves.

The company had doubled in this year. And based on certain contracts he was still working on, it would reach 3 times the size before the end of the year. And knowing Yuki was not yet here, he couldn’t help but the yuki-onna “snowballed” the change in fortunes, only growing faster over time. Looking at the growth projections, it was like looking at an exponential curve. Some local papers had even caught wind, a piece soon coming saying he might lead a Fortune 500 company soon.

But the leads were thin now. He needed her. And as he sat at his desk, looking at the window, he saw her return to him.

“Ah, I see you have been waiting. How very kind of you to wait for me. You really are Jiro’s descendant, I can see his face in yours. So lovely… So handsome.” Mark smiled, feeling a pulse of excitement. Yuki occasionally slipped up and revealed how she liked the way he looked. If she wasn’t only able to appear in the frost, maybe he’d have tried something by now… No, that’s not true. Yua was his wife, and he was doing this for her. In a couple years, he could go on a sabbatical and let a vice president handle these things, while Yua and him went on a second honeymoon. Or something like that, Mark hadn’t decided.

“You did well, following my portents. Nothing assured you would succeed. It is only your hard work that builds this company. I have seen that if you follow all of my advice this year, your successes and fortunes will balloon to a truly fantastical level.”

Mark is taken from his idle thoughts, talking to his meal ticket. “Is it possible that I will be able to take a vacation this year? I’m not ungrateful, it’s just… I want to share the fruits of this work with my loved ones, but I feel like at times I have worked like a ****.”

Yuki lightly chuckles. “A **** who might soon be able to afford a yacht. In this world, every man is a **** until they can free themselves of the shackles that bind them. Needs. Wants. Desires. All may chain a man.” Mark looks at Yuki, unsure. “But you will break your chains by leaving none who doubt your business acumen. A few sleepless nights are worth it. Soon your company will be 10 times the size,”

Mark sits back in his chair, utterly shocked by this figure. “But, I just, how?” The man stupidly babbles and Yuki smiles all the harder at his incompetence and lack of understanding. “Have you ever heard of the Bisney corporation? Maybe the Nfinity corporation? You will be able to get subsidiaries working in your shops, using your services. Do you doubt me, Mark?”

Mark stands, “No! Yuki, how could I doubt you, you’ve already taken me so far! I just, tell me how to get there, and I will. I’ll prove your faith in me, work as hard as you need me to. Just say the words and I will make them come true.”

Yuki looks at the man swelling with slavish devotion, smiles, and starts, “Well, the first steps are quite immediate, so you are going to have to stay until 1 am tonight.”

Two Years Ago

Mark closes the book, the dawn blears through the window, as he stands. He looks at the cot he had set up in his office a couple months ago. He had last seen Yua on Tuesday. And as Mark stretched, he realized it was Sunday. He hadn’t intended to work Saturday… but the Igert account demanded him to change production schedules, the Katlenberg account needed those income projections by Tuesday, the Morganstern account needed those prototypes last week after Karen Nguyen had to go on her maternity leave earlier than expected…

He should really hire a president of management or something to take the edge off. To give him room to breathe. But that might doom his advantage. Yuki had told him that only he could bring her predictions to reality. And after delegating a few tasks, Mark had seen the truth in her words, cursed himself for his lack of faith. Those errors only seemed to multiply his work, trying to sooth contracts like a nanny handling 20 petulant children at once.

The frost was gone at least for now. The sun broke through it, leaving only the edges still coated in frost. The weather report said that it would snow again in a couple hours, but Mark didn’t intend to see Yuki again until Monday. He was going home, god damn it. He was going to be with his wife, even if only for a few hours. At times in the past couple of months, it felt like he was divorced from her.

Mark grabbed his jacket, pushing in his chair. He locked up his office, walking to his car, turning it on. The weather men were wrong today. The snow started almost the second that his car left the parking garage that had been built for all of the new employees. It really started coming down the second that Mark got on the highway. And it was almost a blizzard as he crossed the river.

The 16 wheeler jackknifed in front of him to fly across the gap in the bridge and block the side. As Mark slammed the brakes, his car veered into the side and went over.

The truck driver was questioned extensively and examined for **** after his story to the police. A woman in a pure white yukata standing in the road, hit by his truck, or at least she had to have been given how she came out of nowhere with no time to stop. But there was no body, no blood.

And as Mark saw the black river beneath him in those last moments, the frost in his windshield put into stark relief, he saw Yuki. And he saw as her hands left the glass, grabbed his. And then he was gone, before the car slammed into cold water.

Her smile was monstrous.