A Hoshi Christmas

Chapter 2: Winter Wonderland

Snow wasn't a regular occurrence in Tonosho Town. The town's subtropical climate meant that temperatures seldom fell below zero centigrade. On the rare occasion that the air grew cold enough, the town would be luckier still to receive any snowfall. Yet despite all that, Houjou and Hamaguchi's eyes beheld thin sheets of snow that covered the road ahead of them. Mounds of snow also rested atop the rooftops of all the homes around them, including Houjou's. Their town had somehow turned into a pristine winter wonderland.

The sounds of their boots crunching in the snow could be heard as the pair turned right and walked along the road. The couple wasn't merely ambling about to start their date. Rather, the pair had agreed to take turns leading the other through activities held throughout the day.

"Hamaguchi, where are we going?" Houjou asked amid the gentle crunches of her stylish red boots into the snow.

As Houjou turned to peer at Hamaguchi, she observed him grinning and giggling to himself. "Houjou, Houjou. You've been asking me that every day for the past few days. I'm not telling you 'til we get to town square!" he answered playfully, laughing to himself.

She squirmed and sighed as he wagged his index finger at her. "Hamaguchi, I'm only playing along because you promised to tell me today," she nagged. As much as she wanted to be annoyed with his antics, her reddening cheeks and her gentle hum suggested otherwise.

"Yeah, but it's a surprise!" he replied with another giggle. The jingling of the golden bell attached to the end of his Santa hat added to the excitement growing in his voice. "Trust me, Hoshi, you're going to love it!"

His starry eyes didn't escape her attention. She found herself pursing her lips and clasping her hands together. Her arms swayed back and forth in step with the ringing bell. For him to be this playful required a level of assurance she hadn't seen from him before. As of late, his newfound confidence threw her off her confident persona more often than not. "Okay, I'll play along for now," she stammered with a lightly pitched voice.

In an attempt to dispel some of her timidity, she turned to her right and looked on. During the summer, she would have expected to see a field of residential crops planted in the soil. Instead, her eyes beheld a swathe of snow that covered the ground in its entirety. Much like the road ahead, she couldn't make out any of the ground's features underneath the snow. Instead, tiny, rainbow-like pixels dotted the field, forming a colourful menagerie atop the snow. Her eyes glistened like the bits of light reflecting from the ground. A deep breath of awe passed through her lips.

"Hey, what's holding you up?" he asked, still looking ahead. The question, accompanied by a gentle tap on her shoulder, was enough for her to pause her train of thought. She observed his chuckles growing more gleeful by the minute.

She could see why he would be excited about his surprise for her. But his failure to notice the sparkling display left her heart racing. She had to show him the snowy sight. "Look to your right!" she beamed.

Hamaguchi did as he was asked. The sight caused his eyes to light up like the sun shining from above. "Wow, you're right! It's gorgeous!" he cheered. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask: does Canada get more snow than we do?" he continued, his voice reflecting an elation that he didn't miss out on her discovery.

Her heart skipped a beat after hearing his inquiry; she found the idea of him asking about her adventures endearing. She didn't get too much time to elaborate more about her experiences at summer camp. The floor was all hers to explain, and she longed to seize the moment. "Over the summer, Canada doesn't get any snow. But I heard that in December, it's not uncommon to see Canadians get 50 centimetres of snow in a single night," she answered, attempting to measure the height with her hands.