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It was a normal morning for me. My mother had left me with my 8 year old cousin again. She told me to stay with her the whole time, and not to let little Edith out of my sight. It would be okay, for now. I was not fond of the kid, as she was very chatty and annoying. Yet, as always, I do as I’m told. I’d started to play a game with Edith. I, of course, was winning. She started to cry. I rolled my eyes, and gave her back the card I rightfully took from her. She immediately stopped crying. Yep, it was definitely fake. How could such a young little girl be so manipulative? We cleaned up the game and I made us some lunch. I’m not the best cook, but I really did try. I passed her the bowl, and she just looked at me with a bored stare. She jumped out of her seat and said I gazed back at my warm bowl of macaroni and cheese longingly. She wanted to go skating. I hate skating. We went out on our rink. I helped her put on her skates, and we went outside. She did fall a lot. I then remembered I had not checked the depth of the lake today. I was starting to get annoyed. She stomped her skate on the ice, and I saw a small crack form in the ice. I grabbed her hand and we skated off the ice while she tugged at her hand. I helped her take off her skates, and she almost kicked me in the face. I placed her skates by the mat on our sliding door, then dragged her inside. She immediately ran back outside, yelling that she was going to just play by herself. I didn’t care. I was fed up with this kid. I took out my phone and called my mother. I hung up the phone and muttered to myself, “I wish Edith wasn’t here.” I started making myself a fire in the fireplace. I grabbed the wood and used a match. I knew I wasn’t supposed to have a fire when no one is home, but I could just put out the fire later. I felt so warm and exhausted from a day of running around chasing a kid, that I curled up on the couch and fell asleep. I woke up groggily to find that it was night time. I glanced slowly around the room and found no sign of Edith. I checked all the rooms, and opened all the doors, but she was nowhere to be found. Now I started to get frantic. I ran around the house, calling her name. Quickly, I put on my boots and coat, grabbing a flashlight, I went outside. It was dark. I thought that any second now a serial killer was about to come and kill me. I called out her name. No answer. I saw a small trail of footprints leading away from the house, and into the woods. The woods. Clutching my flashlight, I followed the trail away from the house and into where I was fairly certain would be my final resting place. I called out her name again and again. The lights of the house seemed further and further away. I was shivering from the cold, and terrified. What would mother say? I was so concerned about my own well being that I completely forgot she was just a little kid! My heart fell as I saw that the footprints just lead back to the house. Stepping inside, I called out for her once more. Nothing. I sighed and walked over to put my shoes away, when I noticed something. The skates- they were missing. A cold shiver ran down my spine. I threw open the door and started walking over towards the lake, when I spotted a small, pink glove laying in the snow, with an unnoticeable trail of footprints, leading to the same path we took earlier when we were skating. Running now, I drew closer to the pick glove, and picked it up with my bare, freezing hand. I clutched it and ran over to the ice rink, stepping onto the lake. My stomach dropped. Surrounded by snow and ice, a large hole of broken ice was visible. No, this couldn’t have happened. She’s dead. She drowned. This is all my fault. I looked back up at the house, my eyes watering. Suddenly, I smelled smoke. Trying to look through the darkness I saw a small burst of flame emitting from my house. The fire! I’d left it unattended! I started for the dock, preoccupied with the thought of Edith and the fire, I had completely forgotten about where I was. I felt the ice around me start to give way. I plummeted into the dark pit of ice cold water. I tried to tread water, but the coldness was just too much to bear. I could feel my blood freezing, my hands turning purple.I knew it was it for me. I knew there was no getting out of this one, the hole was too large, and I was getting too cold too fast. Squeezing my eyes shut, I let the icy waters take me.