Your Hands Are Cold

A Story by bryanie

The girl awoke to a new smell, to a new light seeping in through the windows. Through the crimson curtains she could see the evergreens draped in white. She smiled then, running to open the glass and let the soft flakes come to rest on her skin. Green eyes sparkled as they took in the marvellous beauty that had come in over night and taken the old world away.

Two boots dropped down, creating to first marks in the untouched, undisturbed snow. It was still, quiet, and serene as she walked with careful steps to the path that she always took.

Cold ice erupted on the side of her head, making her shiver as it slid down her skin. She only just caught sight of him as she spun around. It was the tree on the left that he was hiding behind; she could see his breath. Somewhere, a bird called out in the silence before the dark-haired boy started peering out from behind the tree.

Although aimed at the boy’s face, the throw was completely off and sent the ice grenade into a clump of snow-covered bushes. A grin spread across his face as the boy ran from his cover toward the girl. With a scream, she turned to run, but too slowly. Not slowing down, the boy came crashing into her, bringing them both down into the cold blanket. There was laughter amid her squealing and the two of them sat up, facing the open clearing.

“We can build a fort,” the boy suggested, “a base, for a snow-ball war.” Nodding in agreement, the girl began forming the snow into a packed brick.

Layer by layer the snow had formed a thick, impenetrable wall as the sun slowing climbed up in the sky and then began its descent back down. The emerald eyes scanned for anymore untouched snow. The girl found some and the boy watched her, an amused expression on his face, as she softly scooped up the powder in her cupped hands and throw it up in the air. She lifted up her face as it gently fell about her, frosting her in the blue glow of the fading sun.

For a moment, the smile left her eyes as she looked around her. Grass and dirt showed through the muddy snow. It no longer shone with the same glow and the girl found herself wishing for the morning again, for the beauty and joy that it had brought her. She looked up at him in that moment and he nodded, raising at arm to wave good bye as the last of the sun’s rays slid though the branches.

A new morning showed what the night had left behind as it passed by. Cold ice replaced the soft flakes of yesterday, taking away all beauty that had once dwelt in the place. By mid-day the sky was cloudless, leaving the sun naked amid the blue. The girl came to a halt in her walk as she looked about the distorted clearing before her. What was left of the snow was brown with dirt and the fort had already melted, collapsed in the centre of her world. Sighing, she brought her collar up around her face to block out the piercing cold, and carried on.

He watched her standing there, saw her bite her lip in that way as she considered the fallen place. No smile lay on his face, not even his usual smirk, as he watched her take a breath and walk into the wood. It had been there, for one glorious moment, but then the moment was gone.