Walking Over Snow

"You take care now."

The mother inhales sharply, then exhales. Her breath dances around her lips and it fades with the atmosphere. "Don't forget what I told you to buy," she lays her hands on her daughter's shoulders and grips a little tightly. "If only your dad's car didn't break down, I wouldn't have to send you out in this weather. I'm really sorry, but you have to. Take care. Okay, Leslie?"

Leslie smiles a sweet smile, despite the piercing cold. "Of course, mom," She hugs her mother, then quickly descends the steps. "I'm going with Nathan, anyway. He's pretty trustworthy. We'll go now."

The two depart and slowly make their way to town, though it would still be a long way off before they reach the pharmacy. The white earth crunch below their feet with every step they take. They pass by the houses, the gate, and left everything behind.

"Do you think that it's going to take long to reach town?" asked Leslie.

"We're going to check if there are trains available."

"There surely will be, at least some, right?"

Nathan looks up to the sky, then back down again, flickering his eyes to shield it from the tiny flakes falling slowly around him. "We should've brought with us an umbrella."

Leslie sighs, and glances at the young man walking beside her. "Speaking of umbrellas," she stops in her tracks. "You gave her your umbrella, didn't you?"

Nathan stops walking and looks back at her. "Leslie, that day-"

"You don't have to tell me anything. You don't really tell me much anymore, and it's sad that I'm getting used to it," she looks at him, then at the ground, her eyes blinking fast and slightly red. She eases a lump in her throat. "But, anyways, I asked for it first."

They continue with their journey, and the awkwardness slightly fell. They knew that they were really far away from home. They step up the small number of steps leading inside the train station, with the hope of finding at least one train to help them get closer to their destination.

▪ Let's go over the word "destination". Destination is the place that you'll arrive in. Most of the time, people have their destinations in mind, but sometimes, it doesn't really go to plan. A lot of things can stand in the way. In the most spiteful of circumstances, the one that stands in your way is the destination itself; the one thing that prevents you from reaching it. The destination then remains to be a dream; an illusion of what could've been. ▪

"Leslie! Run!" Nathan yells at the top of his lungs as Leslie runs with all the energy she has. The deep snow holds her down, but she continues to go after the quickly advancing train. She trips and falls, but stands up again and runs after it. Her lungs are worked to death, her eyes seeing a blurry background but the open side of the train, and within it, a young man looking at her with an expression of helplessness and pity.

"Nathan!" she exclaims and gasps for breath. "Hold out your hand! Quickly!" She was finally close to the open side, and she held out her hand desperately. But, the young man sat frozen and numb. Before her chance to enter the train disappeared, the last thing she heard from Nathan was: "You're not..he-" Everything went black.

She wakes up in a shock. "What the hell was that?"

Scared the life out of me.

Someone taps a piece of paper on her forehead. "Come on, the train's here." She looks up and for a moment, thought of never-ending praises for how handsome he is. She stands up and snaps out of her thoughts. They board the train and look for some spare seats, but they don't have to. They look around them and find only a few people seated.

Leslie grins, and Nathan looks at her inquiringly.

"You okay, Les?" Nathan asks. He felt as though he was at fault for her bad mood a while ago. But, seeing her smile made him smile. A weight was lifted from him.

They sat on the most comfortable seats they could find. Nathan and Leslie sat across each other. For awhile, they were staring at each other, then Leslie looked away. "You annoy me," she said. "You're very, very annoying."

"Then, why did you come with me?" Nathan asks back. This time, he really felt the confusion that he's been feeling ever since puberty hit her.

"You were the only one available."

"So, if there was another person there?"

"Then, it depends, but I probably would've gone with them instead of you."

"Leslie, you changed so much," he looks straight back at her again, eager to talk with her about what's been happening lately.

Leslie smiled bitterly. "You changed, too, you know? Ever since she came."

He heaves a sigh. "Today isn't about her, okay? What did I do so wrong that you would treat me like this?"

"Nothing," she says, her voice quivering. "Nothing at all. It's just that, I want to let go of you already."

"And why is that?"

A slight pause. Her lips part, as if wanting to say something, but the lump in her throat returns. She closes it and swallows. Somehow, her eyes couldn't look at him. It looked everywhere, but not on him.

"You know the feeling," cold sweat trickles down her forehead. "When you just feel so desperate for something? I, I know it's going well between you two. And I.."

Nathan scoffs. "What? You're jealous? I can't believe this."

Leslie raises her delicate hands, and slowly wipes away stray tears. The former gloominess was replaced with an upward curve of her lips. "I like you, as a man," she takes a deep breath, and sighs. She looks straight at him, and finally, Nathan was struck with a feeling he couldn't describe. Not a bad one, or a good one, or maybe both.

"That's behind how weird I act around you. And, I do know how much you like, er, her, but I wouldn't have felt this way..if only you didn't neglect me so much," she continued. "I like you, a lot. That's all."

He smiles and covers his face with his palms. "Hey, I'm really sorry if it seems like I ignored you, but I swear, I didn't mean to. Well, your confession did make me happy. T, thanks." He stands and slowly slips next to Leslie. Quietly, his warm hands lay on hers, making her feel a certain assurance that she hadn't felt in a long time.

He starts to talk and her ears are filled with the softness of his voice. In a clear whisper and full of hope, he said, "You're special to me, Les. We're like twins. But, I'm really sorry. Please, let's just go back to the way things were, okay?"

Leslie frowns, and this time, her emotions finally pour out. "I," she gasps for a breath. Her face turns slightly red, while she breaks down in sobs. Nathan sits silent, not knowing what to do. His smile disappears and the weight on his chest returns. After a while, Leslie replies.

"Sure."

Destination: cannot be reached.

A 12 year old Nathan looks up to the sky. "Leslie," the young boy says. "Do you like snow? Come on, let's play!"

Leslies crouches and takes a handful of snow. With much energy, she throws it towards Nathan and giggles. "Of course! I think snow is very pretty. I like snowflakes the most!"

Nathan brushes off the white flakes that lay on his coat. "They look like rain, 'cause they fall and all that. But, I still agree with what you said even though they fall."

The young girl grins heartily. "Right?"

END