Prologue:

Flurries of snow had begun to fall, coating the windscreen of Burt Hummel's Navigator with a fine white power, obscuring his view. The windscreen wipers were failing to keep up with the increasingly heavy storm and anxiety was setting in while he was still a good thirty miles from home. A violent judder ripped through the vehicle as the wheels made contact yet again with the rough, uneven ground and indicated he had veered off the road for a third time. Sighing heavily, his already fragile heart pounding in his chest, Burt pulled over and turned off the engine.

He sat silently for a while, not sure what move to make next. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be going anywhere soon and the snow looked to be getting thicker with each passing minute. He weighed up his options in his head, feeling frustrated at his limited choices: If he remained where he was, he risked becoming snowed into his own car; not a pleasant option considering the below freezing temperatures, but if he left the Navigator in an attempt to find help, he may well risk not being able to find his way back. Eventually the chattering of his teeth and his personal frustration at simply doing nothing, forced him from the car. There had to be some houses nearby and at least then he might be able to call for assistance, or at least let Kurt know he was ok.

After twenty minutes of stumbling blindly along the roadway, Burt had begun to give up all hope of finding any salvation. White clouds blurred the landscape and every time he took a step his previous footprints were immediately blotted out, leaving no trail by which to return to the security of his car. Feeling the wind biting across his cheeks, Burt turned back towards the direction he had come from; disorientated and numb from the cold he whirled blindly on the spot for several seconds before slumping against a nearby tree for support.

Desolation had just started to creep into his skin when he caught a glimpse of a tiny light through he trees in the distance.  Relief washed over Burt as he allowed the meagre glow from the shadowy house, discernible through the trees, to seep into his bones and warm him. He granted himself a small smile as he pushed off from the bark beneath his fingers and headed off in the direction of safety.

Intricately carved, wrought iron gates greeted him as he neared the darkened building. Holding on to the curved, freezing metal, Burt peered through the bars to look at the house. It was significantly larger than it had previously appeared; the shadowy outline from the trees had obscured the additional wings that seemed to grow out of each side of the main building and a multitude of blackened windows glared at him from shadowy alcoves. Only the tiny yellow glow from one of the upstairs windows of the West side of the building gave him the strength to push through the gates and enter the garden that fronted the property.

The snow had eased up slightly now and as Burt trudged towards the impressive double front doors of the house, he was able to discern more of the architecture and landscaping of the garden. He looked to be in a rose garden, large bushes flanking both sides of the path that led to the house. Icicles clung to the delicate petals of the red roses  giving them a frosted effect and little cascades of snow dusted the thorns as Burt brushed past.

His mind moved to Kurt, waiting anxiously at home no doubt. He'd not wanted his father to go on this journey; certainly hadn't wanted him to go alone but Burt had insisted. They'd already defaulted on last month's mortgage repayments due to the increasing pressures from the current recession and the garage needed to be open at all times to garner any sort of passing trade. He thought back to Kurt's defeated face as he'd finally relented and waved his father off. Burt loved his son more than anything in the world. Since his mother had died when Kurt was only eight, Burt had fulfilled both parental roles and had spent the last ten years desperately trying to protect his son form the misery of the world. This trip had been Burt's last attempt to expand the business, looking at a larger shop further out of town that would be able to offer more services that Burt currently couldn't accommodate. It was to secure their future.

He paused as a single flower stood out to him, illuminated in the darkness. The petals seemed untouched by the snow, as white as they already were, just radiating an ethereal glow through the frosted tips of its virginal folds.

A single white rose.

Burt reached out his fingers tentatively and stroked the velvety, ice cold petals, thinking again of how much it reminded him of his son, the unearthly pallor reminiscent of Kurt's porcelain features. He wanted to take it back to Kurt, give him at least one token of hope from this trip that would bring a smile to his increasingly tired and all too weary face these days.

He glanced up at the house again, seeing the light flicker slightly in the surrounding darkness before looking back to the flower. Sliding his fingers carefully down, avoiding the sharp thorns that jutted out at him, Burt twisted his fingers and in one motion, snapped the stem.