I Called Out the Window: “Mum, Why Are You Up So Early? You’ll Catch Cold!” She Turned, Waved Her Shovel in Greeting: “I’m Out Here for You Lazybones.” The Next Day, My Mum Was Gone… I Still Can’t Walk Past Our Garden Without My Heart Squeezing—That Little Pathway in the Snow Is All I Have Left. Every Year on January Third, I Look at That Old Photo and Remember the Last Tracks Mum Left for Us to Follow.

Author Emily TaylorReading 7 minViews 1

I shouted out of the window, Mum, why are you up so early? Youll freeze! She turned, waved the snow shovel in greeting. All for you lot of lazybones! She grinned. The next day, she was gone.

I still cant walk past our front garden without feeling my chest tighten, as though some invisible hand has closed around my heart. Each time I see the narrow path there, its as if time buckles, drawing me back. It was me who took that photograph on the second of January I was simply wandering by, noticed the footprints in the glistening snow, and stoppedsnapped that picture, not knowing why. Now its the only thing left from those strange days.

That New Year was as ever, spent all together as a family. Mum was up and about from the crack of dawn on the thirty-first. I woke to the smell of frying sausages and her cheerful voice echoing from the kitchen, Emmy, love, rise and shine! Give us a hand with the salads? Otherwise your father will nibble all the bits before were done!

I padded down, still half-asleep, hair in a muddle. She stood by the hob in that apricot-patterned apron Id given her for Christmas back in school. She was all smiles, cheeks ruddy from the cooker. At least let me have a cup of tea first, I groaned.

Tea can wait! Chop the veg for the potato salad first, but not in massive lumps like last timenice and small, just how I like it! she chuckled, lobbing me a bowl of roasted veg.

We chopped and nattered about anything and everything. She told me how theyd celebrated New Year back in her childhoodnone of these fancy foreign salads, just a herring under a fur coat, and clementines her father brought home from the steelworks through the back door.

Dad came stomping in with the Christmas tree, mighty and tall, nearly scraping the ceiling. Alright ladies, look what the Kings elves sent us! he cried, beaming.

Dad, did you fell the entire woods? I gasped.

Mum came in, arms wide, Beautifulutterly impractical. Where on earth are we going to put it, Dave? At least last years fit in the corner! But she helped anyway. Lizzie, my little sister, and I hung up the fairy lights while Mum dug out the old baublesthe ones from my own childhood. I remember her holding a glass angel up to the lamplight and whispering, I bought this for you, Emmy, on your very first New Years Eve. Remember?

Course I do, Mum, I lied, though the memory was no more than a shimmer. But she glowed, satisfied that I remembered her amulet of love.

My brother Tom rolled in later, as usual with a clatter of bags and wrapping and bottles. Look, Mum, got the good prosecco this yearnot like last year, none of that vinegar! he declared.

Oh you, just dont let everyone get sozzled, she laughed and hugged him tight.

At midnight, we all trooped into the garden. Dad and Tom set off fireworks, Lizzie whooped, and Mum stood next to me, arm snug around my shoulders. Look, Emmy, isnt it gorgeous? she whispered. Weve got such a wonderful life

I squeezed her back. The very best, Mum.

We drank bubbles straight from the bottle, and roared with laughter as a rocket veered into old Mrs. Hughes shed. Mum, a bit tipsy, did a silly dance in her wellies, Dad whisked her up in his arms, and the lot of us laughed till the tears rolled down.

New Years Day, we lazed; Mum bustled, making pies and a ham hock jelly. Mum, not more food! Were bursting! I moaned.

Oh hush, youll manage. New Years not over yetwe celebrate for at least a week! she swatted me away.

On the second, she was up before dawn, as always. I heard the front door bang, peeped out the windowthere she was, in her tatty old parka and knotted scarf, shoveling a perfect slim path through white crusted snow from the gate right to the front step, neat as a pin, just the way she liked. I called from the window, Mum, its freezing! Come back inside.

She turned, waved with the shovel, Im not having you lot tramp mud through the house till April, Emma! Pop the kettle on, would you? I smiled, headed for the kitchen. She came in, cheeks ablaze, eyes dancing.

All sorted, she beamed, sliding into her chair, cupping her tea. Lovely job, isnt it?

Perfect, Mum. Thank you.

That was the last time her voice rang so lively.

On the third, she woke pale, holding her chest. Girls, somethings not rightits a bit of a pain, nothing too awful.

My nerves spiked. Shall we call someone, Mum? A doctor?

No, dont fuss, lovejust overdone it. A little lie-down and Ill be right as rain.

She lay on the sofa; Lizzie and I perched nearby. Dad dashed to the chemist for tablets. Mum even quipped, Honestly, stop looking at me like Im about to pop off. Ill outlive you all yet! And then suddenly her face drained.

Oh I dont feel well at all not at all…

We called for an ambulance. I gripped her hand and whispered, Hang on, Mum, theyre coming itll be alright She looked up at me, face soft and faraway, barely murmured, Emmy I love you all so very much dont want to say goodbye”

The ambulance arrived swiftly, but it was too late: a massive heart attack, stealing her away before we could blink.

I sat huddled on the hall carpet, wailing, unable to believe it. Just yesterday, shed been dancing under fireworks, alive and laughing, and now

I stumbled outside. The air was still; no more snow fell. There on the ground, I saw her footprints, small and evenly spaced, heading from the garden gate to the door and back. Exactly as shed liked to leave themstraight and neat.

I stared and stared, silently pleading to the sky: How can someone walk here one day, leaving behind gentle marks, and be gone the next? Why do footprints remain when people vanish?

It felt like shed made that path for usone last timeso wed have a way to reach the house without her.

I refused to cover them up, and I asked everyone else to leave the footprints untouched, let the snow do as it will.

That was the last gift my mother left usher simple, steadfast care reaching out even when shed gone.

A week later, a heavy snowstorm swept in, erasing the prints as if theyd never been there.

Ive kept that photographthe one with her final steps. Every January third, I look at it, and then stare at the blank, chill path outside our house. It aches to know, with every flake that falls, somewhere under all that white, she left her last trace. The very path I still try to follow, forever after her.

I Called Out the Window: “Mum, Why Are You Up So Early? You’ll Catch Cold!” She Turned, Waved Her Shovel and Laughed, “I’m Doing This for You Lazy Lot.” The Next Day, My Mum Was Gone… I Still Can’t Walk Past Our Old Garden Without Heartache… Every Time I See That Pathway, My Heart Feels Squeezed as If an Invisible Hand Grips It. I Took That Photo on the Second of January… I Just Happened to Pass By, Saw Her Footprints in the Snow—And Stopped. I Took a Picture Without Really Knowing Why. Now, It’s All I Have From Those Days… We Celebrated New Year’s, as Usual, All Together as a Family. Mum Was Up Early on the 31st. I Woke to the Smell of Fried Cutlets and Her Voice from the Kitchen: “Get Up, Love! Help Me Finish the Salads, or Your Dad Will Eat All the Ingredients Before We Even Notice!” I Came Down in My Pyjamas, Hair a Mess. She Stood at the Hob in Her Favourite Apron Covered with Peaches—the One I Gave Her Back in School. She Was Smiling, Cheeks Flushed Red from the Oven. “Mum, Please, Let Me Have a Coffee First,” I Groaned. “Tea After! First, the Potato Salad!” She Laughed and Lobbed Me a Bowl of Roasted Veg. “Chop Them Fine, Like I Like. Not Like Last Time—Chunks as Big as Golf Balls.” We Chopped and Chatted About Everything. She Told Me What New Year’s Was Like When She Was Young—No Fancy Salads, Just One Plate of Herring and a Few Tins of Mandarin Oranges Her Dad Managed to Bring Home. Later, Dad Arrived with the Tree. Huge, Almost Touching the Ceiling. “Alright ladies, Check Out This Beauty!” He Boomed from the Door. “Blimey, Dad, Did You Fell Half the Forest?” I Gasped. Mum Came Out, Surveyed the Tree, and Spread Her Arms: “Lovely, but Where On Earth Will It Go? Last Year’s Was Smaller at Least!” Still, She Helped Decorate. My Little Sister and I Hung Tinsel and Fairy Lights, While Mum Dug Out Old Ornaments—Ones from When I Was Little. I Remember Her Taking Out a Tiny Glass Angel and Whispering, “I Bought This for Your First Christmas, Remember?” “I Do, Mum,” I Lied. I Actually Didn’t, But Seeing Her Face Light Up, I Couldn’t Spoil It. My Brother Showed Up Later, Bags, Gifts, and Bubbly in Tow. “Mum, I’ve Got Proper Champagne This Time! Not That Sour Stuff From Last Year.” “Oh Son, Just Don’t All End Up Sloshed,” Mum Giggled and Hugged Him. At Midnight, We All Went Out Into the Garden. Dad and My Brother Set Off Fireworks, My Little Sister Squealed with Delight, and Mum Stood Beside Me, Her Arm Around My Shoulders. “Look, Love, Isn’t It Beautiful?” She Whispered. “What a Wonderful Life We Have…” I Hugged Her Back. “We’re the Luckiest, Mum.” We Passed Champagne Round, Laughing as a Firework Zoomed Toward the Next-Door Shed. Mum, a Bit Tipsy, Danced About in Her Wellies to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, and Dad Picked Her Up and Spun Her Around. We All Howled with Laughter. New Year’s Day Was Spent Lounging. Mum Kept Cooking—Now It Was Dumplings and Jellied Meat. “Mum, Give It a Rest! We’re All Practically Rolling!” I Moaned. “You’ll Eat It—New Year Means a Week of Feasting!” She Shooed Me Away. On the 2nd of January, She Was Up Early Again, as Always. I Heard the Door Slam, Peered Outside—She Was in the Garden With Her Shovel, Clearing the Path. In Her Old Puffy Coat and a Headscarf. She Was So Meticulous: From the Gate Right Up to the Porch—a Thin, Straight Passage. She’d Pile the Snow up Neatly Against the Wall, Just How She Liked. I Called From the Window: “Mum, Why Are You Up So Early? You’ll Freeze!” She Turned Around, Waved Her Shovel Cheerfully: “If I Left It to You Lazybones, We’d All Be Wading Through Drifts until June! Put the Kettle On, Will You?” I Smiled and Headed to the Kitchen. She Was Back Half an Hour Later, Cheeks Glowing, Eyes Bright. “All Done—Looks Good, Doesn’t It?” “It Does, Mum. Thank You.” That Was the Last Time I Heard Her Voice So Full of Life. On the Third, She Woke Up and Quietly Said, “Girls, There’s Something Funny in My Chest. Not Bad, Just Uncomfortable.” I Got Worried Immediately: “Mum, Shall We Call the Doctor?” “Oh, Don’t Be Silly, Love. I’m Just Worn Out, All That Cooking and Rushing Around. I’ll Lie Down, It’ll Pass.” She Rested on the Sofa, Me and My Sister Beside Her. Dad Went Out to the Chemist for Some Tablets. She Even Joked: “Don’t Look at Me Like That—I’ll Outlive You All, You’ll See.” And Then, Suddenly, She Turned Pale and Grabbed Her Chest. “Oh… I Feel Awful… Really Bad…” We Called the Ambulance. I Held Her Hand, Whispering, “Mum, Hold On, They’ll Be Here Soon, You’ll Be Alright…” She Looked Up at Me, Her Voice Barely Audible: “Love… I Love You All So Much… I Don’t Want to Say Goodbye.” The Paramedics Arrived Quickly, But… There Was Nothing They Could Do. A Massive Heart Attack. It All Happened in Minutes. I Sat On the Hall Floor, Howling. I Couldn’t Believe It. Only Yesterday She Was Dancing Outside Under Fireworks, Laughing… Barely Able to Stand, I Went Into the Garden. Snow Still Gently Fell. I Saw Her Footprints—Those Same Small, Deliberate, Neat Prints. From the Gate to the Porch and Back. Exactly as She’d Always Left. I Stood There Staring For So Long, Asking God, “How Can It Be? Yesterday Someone Walked This Earth, Leaving Their Trace, and Today They’re Gone? The Footprints Remain, but She’s Not Here.” I Kept Thinking Maybe—She’d Gone Out One Last Time on the 2nd—to Clear the Path for Us. So We Could Walk Down It Without Her. I Didn’t Brush Them Away, and Asked Everyone Not To Either. Leave Them Until the Snow Itself Wipes Them Away. It Was the Last Thing Mum Did For Us—Her Care Showing Even After She Was Gone. A Week Later Heavy Snow Fell. I Still Keep That Photo of Her Last Footprints. Every Year, on the Third of January, I Look At It—Then at the Now-Empty Path Outside. It Hurts, Realising: Somewhere Under That Snow, She Left Her Final Steps. Those Steps—I’m Still Following Her Down Them…

The Fool Everyone thought Annie was a fool. She’d lived with her husband for fifteen years, and they had two children—Alice, fourteen, and Sam, seven. Her husband was blatantly unfaithful; he’d cheated on her the second day of their wedding— with a waitress, no less— and from then on, who could count the affairs? Her friends tried to open her eyes, but Annie would just smile sweetly and stay silent. Annie worked as an accountant at a toy factory: the pay, she said, was tiny, and the workload enormous—reports and late nights, even on weekends. Her husband earned well, but Annie was a useless homemaker—no matter how much money she got, it was never enough for groceries, the fridge was always empty, and the best she managed for meals was borscht or some sausage and pasta. Everyone was amazed to see Val with a new fling, coming home dry as a bone, as if nothing had happened. “Oh Annie, what a fool, why does she put up with that philanderer?” they’d say. On the day Sam turned ten, her husband came home and announced he wanted a divorce—he’d fallen in love and didn’t want a family anymore. “Don’t be upset, Annie, but I’m filing for divorce. You’re a cold fish—if you were a good housewife at least, but you’re not even that.” “Alright. I agree to the divorce.” Val nearly fell off his chair, expecting a scandal, tears, hysteria—but not this calm. “Alright, then pack your things. I won’t get in your way. When you leave tomorrow, just leave your key under the doormat.” Annie looked at him silently, with a strange little smile. Val thought it odd but quickly forgot, already picturing his happy new life without children or a tired old wife. The next day he returned with his new girlfriend. No key under the mat—it annoyed him but, “No matter, I’ll just change the locks,” he thought. But his key didn’t fit. He rang the bell. A broad-shouldered man in slippers and a robe opened the door. “What do you want, mate?” “This is my flat, actually,” Val said, suddenly uncertain. “Got documents? If not, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” He had no documents on him, so they didn’t let him in. Then he remembered—his passport, with his address. He found it and handed it over. The man in the robe flipped through, handed it back with a smirk. “When was the last time you looked at this, mate?” Val frantically opened to his registration stamp. Two stamps: one to register, one to remove, two years earlier. How had this happened? He didn’t argue with the bouncer, called Annie—no answer. He waited outside her work, only to learn Annie hadn’t worked there for a year. His daughter had gone to university abroad, his son had switched schools a year ago, and “sorry, we can’t give out those details if you’re not his father.” Crushed, he sat on a bench with his head in his hands. His timid, mousy ex-wife had pulled off some kind of heist—she’d even managed to sell the flat out from under him! But never mind, he’d sort it out in court—the divorce was in a week. He showed up furious, determined to expose his wife and get everything back. And at the hearing, it all became clear—he had forgotten that two years ago he’d signed a power of attorney over to Annie. Back then, he was infatuated with Eliza and tried to get Annie off his back by giving her the legal power she needed for their daughter’s university paperwork. He had, with his own hand, given away everything he owned. In the end, he was left on the street, and—most galling of all—when Eliza found out he was homeless, she disappeared without a trace. But Annie would get no maintenance from him—he’d make sure of that! But then another twist: instead of a summons for child support, he got a summons to contest paternity. Both ‘his’ children turned out not to be his. On their wedding day, Annie had seen him cheating with the waitress, and something snapped. She never understood exactly how or why, but she decided to get her own back, one step at a time. Step one: cheat for cheat. Then she started to scrimp, hiding every penny her husband gave her. The fridge was empty, but the children were fed and clothed at her mother’s house. “Revenge will destroy you and hurt the children,” her mother warned. But Annie was possessed, determined—and she’d succeeded. She’d even done DNA tests, though she already knew neither child was Val’s. That blow hurt more than losing the flat. Beware the woman you wrong; when she is angry, she is capable of anything.

The Recipe for Happiness… Everyone in the building watched curiously as a new family moved into the second-floor flat – the family of the workshop manager from the major local factory, a key business in their small English provincial town. “Why would they choose to live in this old estate?” mused Mrs. Nina Andrews, a retired neighbour, to her friends. “With the connections he’s got, surely he could’ve snapped up a flat in one of those new developments.” “Don’t be so quick to judge, Mum,” her daughter Anna, a lively, single thirty-year-old with bold makeup, replied. “They say these are classic Victorian flats – high ceilings, spacious rooms, a huge hallway and a balcony like another room… Besides, they’ve had a phone line installed straight away. Not everyone here has one – only three phones for nine flats!” “You’d be on that phone all day if you could,” chided her mother, “You’ve already worn out the neighbours. Don’t go pestering the newcomers – they’re busy, important people…” “Oh, they’re not that serious. They’re young – their daughter’s only nine, Natasha’s her name,” Anna retorted defensively. “They’re almost my age, maybe five years older.” The new neighbours turned out to be polite and friendly – Lida worked at the school library and Ivan had a decade behind him at the factory. Anna filled in her mother and the other women about every new detail each evening as they gathered in the courtyard. “How do you know all this, Anna?” asked the ladies, teasing her for her inquisitiveness. “I pop over to use their phone – unlike some,” Anna said with a smirk, alluding to refusals from other neighbours wary of her marathon calls to friends about every imaginable topic. Soon, Anna was regularly calling friends and colleagues from the newcomers’ flat, often lingering in her best outfits or comfortable dressing gowns, with an obvious hope of striking up a friendship with the friendly couple. One day she noticed Ivan deliberately shutting the door to the TV room whenever she arrived for a call. This became a pattern. Anna thanked Lida after each call, peeking into the kitchen, only to be met with a polite nod and a reminder to pull the door tight. “I can’t, my hands are in flour,” Lida would say. “And our French lock snaps shut by itself.” “Oh – what are you baking? More pastries? You always have something lovely in the oven… I wish I could bake,” sighed Anna. “Yes, I’m making cheesecake buns for tomorrow’s breakfast, just prepping now as mornings are hectic,” Lida would reply, turning back to her dough. Anna would wrinkle her nose – it was clear Lida wasn’t ready for more than neighbourly politeness. “I think it’s time to say no when she wants to use the phone,” Ivan said to Lida that evening, “My friends can’t get through, and she treats our place like her own lounge.” Lida agreed, so when Anna next perched on the hallway stool, gossiping on the line, Lida politely interrupted: “Anna, will you be much longer? We’re expecting an important call.” Anna nodded, hung up – but then pulled a chocolate bar from her pocket. “I brought something sweet! How about tea, to celebrate our friendship?” She marched to the kitchen, placed the chocolate on the table. “No, please, take it away. Natasha can’t have sweets, she has allergies. We avoid chocolate at home – it’s our family rule. Sorry, no tea,” said Lida firmly. Anna flushed. “I just wanted to thank you.” “No thanks necessary. But unless it’s for the doctor or the fire brigade, try not to call by, alright? Ivan gets work calls, Natasha’s doing homework, we keep the flat quiet. Hope you understand,” Lida added gently. Anna left, chocolate in hand, frustrated and convinced Lida was simply jealous. “She knows I’m better looking than her,” Anna told her mother later. “She’s just jealous – I brought my own chocolate, for goodness’ sake!” “You’re stubborn, Anna,” Nina sighed. “Maybe I didn’t raise you quite right. You mustn’t wedge into another family’s life. Start your own traditions – get your own phone, maybe your neighbours will come round to you.” Anna made one last attempt to break the ice – arriving with a notepad to ask Lida for the pastry recipe. “You’d better ask your mother,” Lida replied in surprise. “My mum taught me everything – and I bake by eye, never by a recipe. Besides, I really must dash.” Anna blushed again and trudged home, where she knew, tucked in the kitchen cupboard, was her mother’s tattered recipe book, filled with handwritten instructions for every dish imaginable. She thumbed through until she found exactly the pastry recipe she needed, surprising her mother. “Are you really going to bake?” Nina gasped. “Why shouldn’t I?” Anna played it cool, bookmarking the page. Her mother grinned. “So things with Slava are on again?” “You never know!” Anna quipped, secretly planning to win over her young man with baked treats just as her mother once had. A few days later, the scent of homemade baking filled the flat. “Well, I never! Smells like pastries! You must be in love, Anna!” Nina laughed. “Don’t shout across the landing! Just come in and try one – look, proper English curd buns!” Anna grinned. “Not bad at all,” her mother said after tasting. “You’ve not forgotten everything, after all.” Soon Slava was popping round ever more often, staying for Anna’s baking, their rows growing fewer, laughter ringing out from the kitchen. When Anna announced they’d filed for a registry office wedding, Nina Andrews wiped away happy tears – finally! Anna began slimming for the big day, while Slava pleaded, “Why have you stopped baking those buns? Promise we’ll have pies for the wedding tea?” For the simple home celebration, Anna, her mum, and her aunt prepared food for two days for twenty close family. The newlyweds set up in a big room in the family flat. Soon, every flat in their building finally had a telephone. Now Anna made her calls – short and sweet – before rushing back to the kitchen, where her dough grew and her happiness blossomed. She was expecting their first child, but still baked and cooked for Slava, who adored her – and her delicious, homely cheesecakes. A taste of happiness, found right at home.