Annie's Frozen Heart

By: A.L. Jambor

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The holidays were fast approaching, and Annie Monroe wished they were over so she could get back to her life. Not that her life was so great, but it was familiar, uncomplicated - safe. As she navigates the snow-covered streets of Hansel, PA, Annie keeps her eyes on the ground, her hand on her rabbit's foot, and her mind on the old movie she'd watched the night before. With her grandmother. Her six-times great-grandmother, Sally. Sally was born in 1755. She lives with Annie, and Annie is the only one who sees her.
Annie's gift, which she denies is a gift, is the ability to see ghosts. They come to her for help. They badger her on the street. And they won't go away. In an old town like Hansel, they are everywhere.
Annie is a woman who likes order. She was born on the spectrum. The holidays disrupt her quiet life because Sally loves the holidays. Sally wants a tree. But Annie, who has withdrawn into a cocoon since the pandemic, is reluctant to get one.
The pandemic stole Annie's mother and her best friend. She doesn't want to admit she is lonely, even when the young man at the convenience store, a man she had shared a brief but intense encounter with, is eager to see her again. Annie avoids his eyes when she buys her Red Bull, and she wishes more than anything to be with him again. But she isn't sure how to talk to him, or to let him know how much she cares. Her heart, frozen since her mother and friend died, won't let her admit that she needs him. Hopefully, Annie's desire for love will warm her heart, melt the ice surrounding it, and help her accept the changes she will need to allow into her life.