The Winter Stylist of Québec – Part 1: The Last Appointment

Hélène Marchand never missed an appointment with Félix. Not in fifteen years. On the first night of the Winter Carnival, she did not come. And she was not the only thing missing.

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In February, Québec City wears snow like lace. The old stone walls are white. The rooftops are white. And above the frozen river, the green copper towers of the great hotel rise like a castle in a fairy tale.

Félix's salon was on the hotel's ground floor, all mirrors and soft gold light. He had done hair for brides, politicians and opera singers. He wore a long cream coat, painted his nails a deep winter red, and greeted every client with a kiss on each cheek.

His favourite client was Hélène Marchand, the most famous singer in Québec. Every year, on the first night of Carnaval, she sang at the Ice Palace. And every year, at five o'clock, she sat in Félix's chair and told him all her secrets.

This year, she did not come.

At six, Félix called her phone. No answer. At seven, he called her husband, Simon, who said she was resting and would sing tomorrow instead.

But at five past seven, Félix's phone buzzed. A message from Hélène.

Just a photo. No words.

It showed a wall of ice, carved with snowflakes, lit blue from inside. And at the bottom, half in shadow, Hélène's silver hairpin. The one Félix had given her ten years ago. The one she never took off.

He knew that ice. Everyone in the city did.

It was the Ice Palace.

He ran out into the snow without buttoning his coat. The Palace stood on the plain outside the walls, glittering, enormous, built from thousands of blocks of ice. Crowds filled the square. Music played.

But behind the Palace, where the sculptors worked, one man was still carving under a floodlight, his breath clouding in the cold.

"I need to get inside the walls," Félix said, breathless. "The back ones. The ones nobody sees."

The sculptor put down his chisel. "Why?"

Félix showed him the photo.

The man studied it for a long moment.

"That's my wall," he said quietly. "I carved it yesterday. And that room has been sealed since noon."

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Next: Part 2, The Ice Palace. A blue passage behind the blocks, a cracked phone and a voice memo that changes everything.