Stories of Mind

How Could I Forget?

I have been waiting 16 days, 7 hours and 56 minutes for this day. I know, it's a lot of numbers but I like to keep count of things. Today is so special because a group of people from our class are going ice skating and in this group is my crush.

Yeah yeah, how cliche, the guy I like is going ice skating. Oh who knows, maybe he'll kiss me and we'll get married and have a unicorn named Bob. I shake my head as I make my way down the white dusted hill. I glimpse some of my class loitering around the entrance to the outdoor rink. No crush, sadly.

There's about ten of us coming and seven are here already. My crush is one of the three who's coming up over hill. His uncovered sandy blonde head is a beacon between the wool covered heads as he and his friends rush toward our little group.

As he's running, I wonder if he'll remember. You see, I've been ice skating before, but I was blind. Only temporarily, only lasted two months. He helped me to skate.

I longed to join my parents on the ice but I couldn't. After all, I couldn't even see. So I sat there. All alone.

Then a distinctly male voice sounded softly in my ear. A young boy was asking me if I wanted to skate. My temporary blindness wasn't known to others so there was no way he could know.

I felt around for my discarded skates and struggled to put them on. I hear him chuckle and suddenly he was kneeling down and helping me tie them up. He took my hand and pulled me toward the rink.

I was very wobbly. My ankles couldn't stay still in the skates and threatened to topple. He steadied me and bit by bit we began to glide over the ice. I gripped his hand and he laughed.

'Here, watch me,' he said. 'I can't,' I said, 'I can't see.' And we talked. Then he described himself. I couldn't help but smile. He was so nice.

And then, like all good stories, we were separated. By a crowd of people. I couldn't see him so I just kept gliding in a straight line, hoping that I made it to the edge.

I hear him shouting my name. I turn. I was skating backwards! Blindly! A force crashes into me and sends us rolling across the ice.

He takes the brunt of the fall but when we stop rolling, he's on top of me, and the cold of the ice starts to seep in. We're both breathing heavily.

Something brushes softly against my lips. My unseeing eyes widen. I froze, and he pulls me up right. He guides me over to the exit. No words are spoken as he transfers my skate encased feet into my snow boots. I felt hot breath against my ear. 'See you later.'

And that was it.
And one month later I was back at the ice rink.

I recognised him at school via his voice and the description that he gave me of himself.

I shake myself from the memory and brush my hair from my face. He and his friends reach the group and we venture out onto the ice. We skate as a big group for a while, but then I help a young child with their skates, and I'm left skating all alone.

I spot him halfway across the rink. He too, is skating alone. I find that when you like/love someone, they tend to stand out in a crowd, but only to you. So you can always find them. Just like he is now.

I'm still quite wobbly, but I'm grateful that I'm skating alone so that I can figure it out without the embarrassment I'll no doubt receive from my classmates if I fall over.

I tentatively lift my foot off the ice to push off. I glide for a little, then I make to put my foot back down on the ice to push off, when my foot gives off a violent wobble. It snaps violently to the side and I go down.

Falling sideways, I fling my ungloved hands out to stop myself, and they tear slightly on the ice. My red hair falls pass my face. I vaguely hear my name being called. A small sound of pain escapes my lips and I flip myself over so that my rear is on the ice rather than my stomach. My foot clanks on the ice and I hiss.

Warm hands hoist me up onto my feet. He comes around to the front, concern written in his hazel eyes. He slings an arm around my waist and gently guides me over to the exit. Most of my weight is on him but he doesn't falter.

He sets me down on a bench. Kneeling in front of me he asks with so much concern that my heart breaks a little, "Are you alright?" Unable to form words, I just nod. He prods my skates and l gasp. My eyes widen from the sharp burst of pain. I squeeze them shut. His warm fingers curl around mine.

"Ok, you probably rolled it, but I can't be sure-I'll have to take off the skate." He says the latter slowly. It takes a second for the weight of his words to sink in. If he takes it off I'll be in a world of pain. "No no-I'll b-be fine,"I shake my head.

"No you're not. And I'm going to get it off."

"Do you remember me?" I blurt out. I just have to know. His fine eyebrows raise and he leans forward to look me directly in the eyes. I bit my lip, a habit of my nervousness that I can't get rid of.

"Of course I remember you," he chuckles, "how could I forget?" And he closes the distance between us.

It's like the world around us has stopped. My eyes close and he leans forward even more. Slowly I feel the warmth of his lips pull away from mine and I reopen my eyes.

My ice skate is in his hand.

That sneaky bastard.