Ones Sole Wish in the Winter's Cold (One Shot)

One Cold Winter

𝙊𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙

She says, Do you have this feeling before? On the way to a cold trip in the winter, you plan to swim-to see the sea-and it's a dazzling breeze waiting for summer to come. You are leaning on the bus window, taking a nap, while everything is passing by your covered eye.

The long road gazes across the blue sky with cotton candy-like clouds. Yes, you have a chance to miss these spots. Everything passing is like breathing and the feeling as though you ignore the tree and birds asking, How are you?" This feeling you might have, but...

I don't have them because this scene is quite repetitive, as the world wouldn't want the New Year to come.

"Sol, wake up! We're here." As I heard her voice, I opened my eyes and saw her beautiful smile. It's wonderful, I can say. This infinity loop made me realise how the world is so wonderful, and I noticed simple things as a classification of beauty.

Here, in the sea, where ocean water is a reservoir, an approximate average depth of 3800 m2 contains 98.53% of Earth's water, which formed 4500 million years ago, giving life to the first single-cell organism. 600 million years ago, ancient seaweed appeared.

That's what our teacher told us.

As those memories start to happen again,

"Sol, why are you being such a slow poke? Huwag ka mag-alala sa maliit mong dibdib, okay? Maliit din naman ang akin. Kinakahiya ko ba?" she yelled while laughing. At first, I found it funny, but it looked like a joke only once or twice.

"You don't have to broadcast my boobs," I said, walking towards her.

"I'm going to help you change," she said, pulling my dress.

"Okay, stop pulling. Magbibihis na nga ako," we laughed, and I grabbed my bag. This is not the first time, but I still feel nervous every time I go behind the boulder.

Unlike the first time we came here, I immediately dressed behind the rock, even though I was not sure if anyone was around. This time, I didn't move an inch, waiting for him to come and visit.

You know, this day I was destined to meet a strange guy. He has long white hair and a red line in his eyes' curve; his torso is naked, and he waited literally for something unknown. As I thought, he might be the reason for this infinity loop.

Because the specific heat capacity is different, the air presses down from the top to make low-pressure moves. This is how the sea wind is enough to form fetters around us. I let my hat fly, so we could start an I-know-already conversation.

Like the first day we met, he turned around and left quietly. He wasn't as cold as I thought, but we didn't greet each other formally.

"Just now... Maraming salamat," I said and sat down on the sand. "Malungkot ka ba?" I asked out of the blue. I have one thing to do now: stop this infinity loop.

As I expected, he didn't answer. "I always thought a person who gazes across the sea must have melancholy feelings. But, I always tell myself, I wish I'd have the opportunity to sit like this one day."

"May naaalala ka bang kaibigan?" Again. I asked him, hoping for an answer, so maybe I can help with whatever the cause of this infinity is.

"A friend in the sea." He took a deep breath and put his hand behind his ears. I didn't dare to move, as though a small movement would break his call to the distance I thought I could hear-the sky, the sea wind, and his story.

The first time to enter such a realm at the moment, a pigeon dove to the depths of the ocean. For a brief moment, a sudden appearance startled him. At that moment, two completely different lives intersected.

The shark was on full alert but had no sick intentions. They passed one another; bitter cold water surrounded them, but the heat of their bodies radiated off one another.

"Let's be friends." Those words' pigeon said underwater was ignored by the shark, for he knows being friends with prey is not a good decision.

He bowed and didn't let me see what expression he was making. "Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" I asked.

He shrugged his head. "Do you have friends?"

That's new for him to ask me. "Yes, I guess so. Do you have? If you want to see him, why don't you find him?"

"He already died." Silence killed us. I didn't know what to say. Death is such a heavy and foreign concept. "You asked me, Why can't I go look for him if I missed him?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just-"

"No, please, don't mind. He died because of me. Before he had time to be terrified, people held him down and took away his only wing, his sole pride. When his skin emerged from the water, he could no longer distinguish where the pain was from. Struggling and crying was insufficient to express the pain of that moment, so he chose to suffer silently. That was the last memory life and humans gave him. Being the king of the ocean, being my predator. It's worthless."

"I'm-" I took a deep breath as I looked at what he was saying. 'Stop saying sorry.'

"In exchange for coming here, can you grant my last wish?"

"What is it?"

"Will you take me back to the ocean? He's waiting for me," he said while smiling. I said yes when suddenly I heard my friend's voice.

"Sol, ang tagal mo magbihis! Bakit ka ba nakaupo diyan sa tabi at nakikipag-usap sa patay na kalapati?"

"Is that one of your weird hobbies?" As they said that, I turned around and saw a dead pigeon washed up by the tide. So, this is the reason why the strange guy cannot meet his friend.

That day, I carried his body in our boat and rested between the boundaries of the ocean and the sky. The soft breeze from the land bellowed softly. The shark returned to the sea, while the pigeon chose to ignore the land to be with him.

Everything is silent. And just as well, but also a little sad to continue the upcoming New Year's Eve.