A Warm Winter Solstice

Didn’t help it hurt any less.  It was a cold hurt. Icicles creeping into the pumping chambers in his chest, so his heart pounded even harder to shake them loose.

He disliked the cold and he disliked the ice, and he had plenty of reasons to.  Why was she so enraptured with the person of ice, anyway? How could he possibly keep her warm?  If it were him, he’d never let the cold even touch her. That’s what she deserved.

He kicked his foot in the water and spooked the minnows.

Stop thinking about it, stupid.

Try as he might though, all he could think about was the way all his friends seemed to be finding their comfort and happiness with each other.  Alibaba and Morgiana were so inseparable now. He was so happy for them, but at the same time he understood why Alibaba used to get so jealous whenever he saw Olba and Toto.  And then Hakuryuu threw himself into supporting his sister as much as he could. Even if it wasn’t what it once was, he finally had his family again.

Family…

That’s what it was.  That’s why he felt left behind.  That’s why it feels too cold all the time.  Even here in the warmth.

“Why the long face?”

“GYAH!”

He looked up from his stupor to see Kouha cackling as he bobbed in a little rowboat near the pier.  Aladdin had been so spaced out that he didn’t even notice the youngest Ren brother approach.

“Geez, Kouha, you really spooked me.”

Kouha paddled closer and tied the boat off at the post before climbing out onto the pier and plopping down next to him.

“You alright, Aladdin? Never seen you look so bummed before.”

“Y-yeah.  Just thinking about something, that’s all.”

“It’s Kougyoku, isn’t it?”

Aladdin turned beet red.

“Wh-wh-what makes you think that?”

“Ahahaha! Oh come on.  It’s sooo obvious. You’re an open book, buddy.”

Aladdin ruffled his hair again.  “Heh heh…guess I don’t need to hide it anymore.”

Kouha snorted.  “You’re terrible at trying to hide your emotions.  But that’s alright. I like earnest people like you.  So you still haven’t confessed to her, eh?”

Aladdin sighed.  “Well I…I don’t know if I should.  She clearly isn’t interested. Besides, she has enough to worry about.  Why add to it? But…it doesn’t really do anything to change the way I feel.”

Kouha dipped his toes in the water.  “Just forget about it then. You don’t really stand a chance anyways.”

Aladdin glowered.  “You’re not very encouraging.”

Kouha shrugged.  “Well, I could tell you to go for it, but that’d just give you false hope.  That’s like lying. Sometimes you just gotta face the facts and accept them as they are.  You can’t let your feelings make you do stupid stuff. That’s just a recipe for getting yourself hurt worse.”

Aladdin toyed with his staff, swirling patterns into the sand and stirring murky clouds in the water.  “Do you think her and Judar will be happy together?”

“She’s been chasing after him since they were kids.  Sure he’s a jerk a lot of the time, but he makes her smile.  And besides, if he screws up in any way, he knows us brothers would all take turns beating him to a pulp.”