Frozen Note

Copyright © 2014-2026 Rocío Elizabeth González Isaac

INTRODUCTION

If you are the kind of person who enjoys reading stories about impossible situations that are supposedly happening all over the world; including your own backyard. But when you open the window there is nothing. You are in the wrong place. However, if you like the kind of stories with an unbelievable plot that could be happening to anyone, anywhere; right now. You just found the story you were looking for.

This is a very short and simple story, you might wish for more. After you finished reading, you can look for our book: Stuffed World by González Isaac on Amazon Books

PREFACE

The reason I wrote "Frozen Note." Here is exactly what happened: The night before I came up with this, I knew I had to find a way to remember something I couldn't forget. It was some chore I had to get done before breakfast. In order not to forget this, I decided to write a "not-to-do list." That way, the next morning, when I opened the refrigerator there was a note. It wasn't the same "to-do list" and it was also not stuck on the refrigerator's door. It was inside and, for a good reason, very cold.

All of a sudden, too many ideas came to mind about what the mysterious note could mean. Along with a whole story that could even happen to me. And if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone. Therefore, I decided to write this story just to be shared. I know that someone else would have written a complete book out of it. In my case, I think that as short as it is, as honest as it can be. Hope you enjoy it.

FROZEN NOTE

The TV was on. She was on her way to the kitchen when she heard the man on the speaker. He was saying something about the pulsars and how far they are from Earth. His voice made her stop, and pay attention to each word he was saying; one by one.

No doubt about it, she was very interested in documentaries; especially documentaries about the universe. The young woman had long dark hair and a soft smile that you could see trying to slip between her lips. But she wouldn't let that smile come out, she trapped it with her fist, as if trying to figure out something.

The man on TV kept saying: "Sometimes, we believe that we are looking at stars in the sky. To be truthful, we are looking at the light of something that is not even there anymore. Somehow…as if traveling back in time."

She heard a noise in the kitchen, followed by something that sounded as if someone had closed the refrigerator. Which was impossible, taking into consideration that she was on her own.

However, she decided to go straight to the kitchen. Using all the skills she had gotten from watching legal drama television series, she took the baseball bat; the one she had concealed under the couch. Then she readied herself to face whatever she could find on her way.

Once at the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and found a note. It said Do not touch this paper until you have gone to the door. John is there with your mail. Take it from him, come back to the kitchen and read this carefully.

John? That made no sense.

John, her next neighbor. The guy who wears a suit all the time, and is always in a hurry. Why would he ever have got her mail? Why would he take some time, out of the precious time he has never got, to knock on her door? 

The girl obeyed every word, she just had to; it was her handwriting after all. She had no idea how that note ended up there. First, she only writes "to-do lists" and she tags them outside, on the refrigerator door. Never before she had left a "not-to-do list" or any list inside her refrigerator.

She reached the door and covered her face with both hands as if trying to clear all her thoughts. A knock on the door made her open the door immediately. John was there, and her mail. The guy seemed kind. He had the perfectly fixed mussed hair, his polished smile, and a very long explanation of the way her mail had arrived at his hands. Something about a mix-up between their mailboxes that she didn't hear very well. 

Finally, back in the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and kept reading the letter.

Look, I cannot say all I think you should know because there is no time. This is how I can put it in short words: First, until midnight you can't trust anyone. It doesn't matter who this person is. If I were sure about something I wouldn't tell you this. Since I'm not sure, all I can say is: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

The whistle of the teapot made her stop. She needed a cup at that exact instant or she would collapse. It was her handwriting, but she didn't have an idea of when or where she had written this note. Another thing, she never turned on the stove. Everything was too confusing.

So, she left the refrigerator open and went to get that cup. The phone rang, and for the first time in her life, she didn't answer immediately. The girl went back to the refrigerator and took the note out of it. It felt like something had fallen on the floor, but there was no time to look down. She closed the refrigerator door and kept reading the following sentence.

YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.

Then, it continued saying I can say that at first, but only at first, people are going to use your ideas with the best intentions. But later, a conflict of interest will develop a huge mess that I do not want to be responsible for. I do not know if there is someone, like me, out there, trying to reach you too. You must have all the caution possible, burn this until there are only ashes left. Good luck.

Without an idea of what to do next, she placed her cup inside the left bowl of the kitchen sink and the note inside the right one. The girl began looking for matches when the phone rang again, while someone insistently knocked on her door. She didn't answer any of them and kept looking for fire.

The girl stepped on what looked like a Christian bookmark. There was an address on one side, it probably belonged to a church building. On the other side, there was a verse.

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” Acts 1:7

She lifted the bookmark from the floor and dropped it inside a basket, on the small table at the kitchen's corner with the rest of her notes and mail. Then, kept her way to the stovetop burner. The girl opened the flame, went back to the sink, took the paper, and brought it with her, close enough to the flame until it caught fire.

When the note began burning, the fire alarm from the smoke detector was activated. This made an increasing noise that was driving her crazy. Since she lives in a building with a coffee shop on the first floor, fire alarms are probably in every corner.

It was a sure bet that she wouldn't have peace for a long time. Given all that noise, she decided to hit the mute button that would disable the alarm for a short period of time. Usually around 15 minutes, according to her memory. As she kept ignoring the door knock and the phone ringing tone, she went back to the stovetop. There were only ashes left from the note.

All of a sudden, there was complete silence, like if everything had stopped at the same time. She began thinking about the note. The only reason she paid attention to it was due to her handwriting. Traveling in time, in her opinion, had always been something really stupid. The girl did not understand how that idea came to her.

Thoughts of science magazines flitted through her mind. The kind of magazines that publish research results that attempt to answer difficult questions about any type of unknown field. They reminded her of the many times that scientists discover they were wrong in their last report. She loves buying those magazines; not just because they are related to her job.

It is not that she did not know that scientists are human and it is inevitable for them to have some errors in their findings. However, she has always believed in the idea that science does not really change. It is our interpretation of things that change when additional information is added. Since there is always a lot of new information being added….

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang against her window. She screamed so hard that the handyman that was in the hall felt in the need of breaking into her apartment. He drove out the door from its frame, while she discovered that it was her cat that was trying to get back home; from the fire emergency ladder.

Each one began to give their own explanation at the same time. Nothing made sense until they both clarified each other. Finally, they understood. She had screamed because of her cat, and he had knocked the door out because of her scream.

They both laughed, while she caressed her cat's hair. The girl found a way to ask the handyman for how long he had been in the hall. He answered he had been there the entire morning trying to paint the hall's ceiling. The guy added that he was there before John came to bring her mail. When she said she was sorry because she didn't answer the door before, he asked her to forgive him because he never knocked….

She looked at the handyman, from top to bottom, several times; trying to decipher all this mess. It made no sense that he had done something so rude, considering the kind of man he seemed to be. She met him the same day she moved into the building. Up until now, his actions had been nothing but respectful. Under the circumstances, she was relieved he had said he never knocked on her door before he had heard her scream.

After the handyman finished checking the door, amazed to find out that it was in perfect condition, he left. Thinking that, like the door, all things had returned to normal; she decided to go out. Once she had thanked him, she said goodbye and began walking toward the elevator door. She remembered there was a map on her desk that she wanted to frame, and went back inside the house.

When she opened her apartment door, went straight to her desk. After picking up the map she was looking for, and saving it in her purse; she took a look around and was alarmed. Almost everything was out of its place and an amazing amount of her documents on the kitchen table. This time she left the building immediately without saying a word to anyone on her way out.

Once out of her building, she heard an unknown voice saying something that sounded like an introduction, "Excuse me, Miss." What came to her mind at that moment was something that she had learned as a child: "The biggest weapon against a bully is to ignore him," and so she did. The girl went to her car as if it were a normal day.

As a way to put the past behind, the girl headed to the frame shop. All of a sudden, she felt like a car was following her, she made a U-turn and took another direction; without knowing where she was going. Believing she had lost him, she thought that living her day, like if she could act normally, was impossible.

Not knowing where she was going was hard, but she thought it was best; considering what happened when she was following her former path. The idea wasn't completed in her mind when she felt something hitting the back of her car. This time, not only was she being followed by the car she had fooled earlier, but several cars were chasing her.

Aware that her car had now a broken tail light, she had to toe-off her shoes, in order to stop the situation. The girl spent a long time tapping the screen of the GPS device with her stiletto shoes; Unsuccessfully.

The voice of the GPS device, along with the honking of cars that followed hers, was giving her a headache. When she stopped at a red light, the stiletto heel was nailed to the screen; stopping the GPS device. At the same time, she saw how everything came to an end.

The girl was on her own, driving her car without a GPS device, but she had a map. She pulled it out of her purse and began looking for a place to go. Even with the map in her hand, she felt lost. Without taking notice she ended up in a parking lot unknown to her. After scanning the place, she ruled out the possibility of danger. With astonishment, she found out that she could wear her shoes again. The heels hadn’t snapped.

Someone knocked on her window, and something heaved inside her chest. Her sight discovered a familiar face. It made no sense, but John was there. A different kind of John. He was wearing a priest suit, and like if that wasn't enough, for the first time he had too much to say. This new guy spoke so much that he even asked why they weren't talking to each other more often. It was like the suit gave him all the right words to say.

Everything snowballed until she found herself walking next to John, on their way to his church door. They spoke about their childhood. At first, she couldn't remember, but he said he had known it all along. The point is that they were together at school. She asked him how could someone that was predicted to be a scientist end up being a priest. It took a long time for him to answer.

After a while of thinking, he said, "I am not a Priest, I'm a Reverend…" for her that made no difference and still made no sense. To put it in short words he answered, "If you hear the girl who has been your girlfriend for seven years saying, 'You are a good guy but…' then you end up in therapy for six months and it doesn't work, I advise you to: Join the seminary."

About to give in to walking inside a church, she thought of all the times she had wondered where she had seen those eyes in the past. Never before, she was able to find out what made her wonder about him. It made no sense that they had lived in the same building for such a long time. Out of the blue, it turned out that this man was her close friend when they were children.

And the interrogation period began, the first question was: "Why didn't you say anything before?" John answered that his job made him awkward to his former friends. The girl asked if he had new friends now. He said he had just arrived late for church because he was visiting most of his friends all day. She asked him who they were, clarifying that she only wondered if she knew any of his friends.

His answer was kind of surprising. He said that he didn't think she knew who they were, given that most of his friends were too old or too ill. They couldn't leave their homes. At first, she thought of him as the best person she had ever met, but suddenly she began to worry. This guy, at the moment, looked so perfect, but she had no idea if she could trust him. She had to leave immediately.

On her way back to the car, she discovered her tail light was no longer broken. John interrupted her thoughts with a question: "What's going on?" The girl had to walk back to him. She answered that she had to go to a place to fulfill some pending issues. It was not important, but she could not leave it for later. 

Back in the car, the GPS screen was intact, but the engine wouldn't start. John saw what happened and went to offer his help.

The girl couldn't accept his help, knowing that he was late for the service and all. They agreed on waiting until the service was over. By then he would call a friend who knew how to fix anything. She walked inside and prepared herself for seeing John's other side. The one that seemed to be in control of everything, every word, every step, every single movement. He was at home.

The service was as long as she could imagine. Each song, each anthem, each word that came from the pulpit made her feel a lump in her throat. They kept singing and talking, as she counted the times she heard the word, "Today". When the service was over, one little boy, who was too small and charming to say NO to, came to her. He had a basket filled with some memorabilia from that night's service. The girl took one of them, without looking at it, she tossed it inside her purse.

Walking straight to the door, where John was waiting, as he talked to that friend he had, who he affirmed could fix anything. The girl noticed that her car key was not in her purse. Leaving the car in a hurry was probably what made her lose it. She felt control over her desperation knowing that being inside a church was the best thing that could happen to her. It would be the last place someone could think she would be in.

After she explained the key was inside the car, they came to a decision. John would drive her home; the morning after he would go back to the church to meet his friend. His friend would find a way to open the door and get the key; getting the key out of that car was part of his skills. He would fix the car, and John would bring it back to their building, as soon as it was fixed.

They did get to the building door together, but they stayed for a while inside the coffee shop. Catching up on everything that happened to them during all those years. When she looked at her watch, relief filled her heart. The day was over. Once in her apartment, she opened her purse and found the bookmark. The same bookmark she had gotten rid of. It was right there, inside her purse!

She examined the bookmark in her hand, it turned out to be the memorabilia the little boy gave to her in church.

She went to the small table at the kitchen's corner and looked for it inside the basket. It wasn't there. Despite the confusion caused by the bookmark inside her purse, she was ready for a well-earned night's rest. Nothing else mattered at the time. She followed her desire.

When she woke up, the next morning, she could have sworn that everything was a dream. To refute her idea, she found a note lying on the floor. Someone had slid it under her door. Without an idea of what it could say, she opened it.

It was better than she expected. First, it wasn't her handwriting. If that wasn't enough to be thrilled, it was a note from John! It explained that his friend had found a way to open the door of her car, where he found the key. He added that he was at the coffee shop with her key. In case she hadn't arrived at the place before he had left the building, he would leave the key with the owner of the place for her.

The girl didn't want John to leave the building without speaking to him. She had questions about her car, about the night before, about everything. So, she hurried down to the coffee shop and found John at the owner's desk about to say goodbye. Luckily she could stop him and ask him to stay for a cup of coffee. He said he already had one, but he didn't mind staying for a longer while.

He stayed, they had a longer chat than the night before. When she asked him about her car, he said, "There was nothing to be fixed." She couldn't believe what he was saying about her car but decided to leave the past in the past. The girl even proposed a toast and said, "To the past."

Before they made a toast with their cups, John asked, "Why did you say, 'To the past'?" She answered, "Because the amazing thing about the past, is that perhaps you cannot do anything to change it, but you can learn from it. In order to make a difference in your present, enjoying the mystery of the future that you just certainly improved."

I CANNOT SAY THIS IS "THE END"

BECAUSE IT IS "THE PRESENT"