My mind drifted back to my childhood, to the days before the snowmobiles came. Skis had been indispensable in the winter, providing a means to visit friends without having to depend upon parental chauffeurs. I tried to calculate how many trips I had made across this frozen lake but the numbers slipped away from me.

Another stop, another pull at the wine skin. My thinking was getting fuzzy.

I could see the far shore of the lake quite clearly now. Not too much farther to go. There was a diamond shaped light in a house window a long way off. I'd seen a light like that before. I stared at it for a long, long time. Finally, a matching picture bubbled up from a memory that hadn't been disturbed for many years.

It was Tommy's bedroom window.

I bet he is in his room right now, looking for me.

I'm going to help him finish building the P51 model airplane he got as an early Christmas present. It has a clear skin so you can see the engine, fuel tanks, even the machine guns in the wings. It's cool. Tommy promised that I could paint the engine. I want to paint it red even though the instructions said it should be black. Tommy said that was OK.

I reached the other side of the lake. I turned and side-stepped up the bank. It was hard work and when I got to the flat trail at the top of the bank I was panting like a dog. I realized that I was pretty tired now. I skied over to a nearby pine tree, poked the bindings with my ski poles to release them and stuck the skis tail first into a snow bank. Dad had always told me to stick the skis into the snow so I wouldn't lose them. I took my packsack off and sat back against the tree.

There was no hurry to get to Tommy's now. I was so close. There was time to take a little nap.

I was thirsty so I reached into the packsack, pulled out the weird canteen and took a drink. I don't know what mom had put in my tea but it tasted funny.

I leaned back against the tree again and closed my eyes. Just before I fell asleep I jerked upright. I reached into the packsack and pulled out the sign and hung it around my neck. I don't know why I did that. It must have been something Mom told me to do before I left home. She always thought of everything.