Dreaming of White ✔ [Completed]

Chapter 1 - Blurred Vision

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the typos. They are mine. And mine alone.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Riddhima watched the birds. The lake was almost completely frozen over and more than a dozen ducks were bobbing on a small stretch of water around the shore, frantically paddling back and forth, bumping into and over each other, fighting for the last of the bread-crumbs an elderly woman had tossed into the lake a few minutes ago. The sight of a single Canada goose in the midst of the jumble of feathers and wings and beaks and quacking noises caught her attention. It just sat there, still and dignified, legs under the water only moving when the waves caused by one or more over-excited ducks threatened to push it closer towards the ice. Once, it turned its head and looked over the frozen lake, neck stretched in either alarm or curiosity, Riddhima couldn't really tell. Maybe it was looking for the rest of its flock. After a while, the goose lowered its head, bending its long black neck, its beak almost touching the dark water. Then it closed its eyes.

Riddhima got up from the bench and walked over to the shore. The movement had not been missed by the ducks, who, in anticipation of food, splashed and flapped over to her, quacking loudly and looking up at her with greedy eyes. Riddhima crouched down and ignoring the ducks, said in a low voice.

"Hey there, handsome. You look kind of lonely."

She didn't expect the goose to acknowledge her presence, let alone her words, but was strangely touched and happy when the bird lifted its head and looked at her.

Then suddenly the view became blurry, a cloud of steam obscuring her sight, leaving nothing but a smudge of black, brown, soft grey and white. When her eyes refocused, the rim of a take-away coffee-cup came into view.

"You really have a heart for lost creatures, don't you?", an amused voice said.

Riddhima got up, wrapping her cold hands around the coffee-cup and flashing him a quick smile she didn't really feel.

"Thanks for the coffee."

He shrugged while taking a sip from his own cup, not wasting time to separate the two actions.

Efficient as usual, Riddhima thought and wondered for the millionth time when and why it had shifted from being something that was actually a positive trait to something that slightly annoyed her. She took a sip from her coffee and made a face. Whatever this was, there was more sugar than coffee in it.

"Too much caramel?"

"No, it's fine", she said and he sat down on the bench without further comment. She didn't know if he had spotted the lie. She supposed he had not. She felt a little disappointed. This was another thing that now gradually turned from exciting and actually quite liberating into something rather less positive. Plus, after four months you could expect him to remember what kind of coffee she liked. It wasn't like you needed your own memory palace for that.

She sat down next to him, close enough for their knees to touch, but at an angle that kept her upper body close to the outer regions of his personal space.

This, however, he noticed.

"Everything alright?"

"Fine."

He took another sip of coffee, his left hand fishing the cell-phone out of his jacket pocket. She looked over at the lake while he checked his e-mails. The ducks had moved on, following a young couple with a kid. The girl threw pieces of a chocolate muffin towards the ducks, delighted at the excited noises the birds were making. While the ducks drifted off into the winter afternoon, the goose was still there, now hovering right at the shore and still looking over at her, like it was ready to jump out of the water and waddle over to her if she called it. She was tempted to try.