Liebestraum (Dreamnap)

Chapter 4: Aubade

It was dead silent, except for the rustling of the trees in the distance and the crackling of the falling snow that had settled on the leaves and was now trickling down to the ground by the shallow wind. It was a pristine landscape, far from any civilization, free and beautiful.

The snow performed a dance that had already passed. It turned through the air, looking for a place to stay, for in its place it would linger for centuries until wind or vibration might drive it on. As well, new snow would keep coming on top of the already thick and glistening layers. The cold dominated this land, pursuing warmth like a deadly shadow.

In the meantime of the fresh and cold layers, however, a figure rose. Through the movements, the new snow came off, and fell like glitter from the face and body. The cold sun shining through made the ice and snow glitter and sparkle.

Sapnap awoke from his deep sleep in the snow, his body still variously covered with snow, his skin pale. His lips were numb with cold, each breath flying as a great cloud in the air before him. The warm air danced across the icy sky until it disappeared behind ice and bare trees.

With every little movement, he felt how frozen muscles in his body cracked. The snow fell from his body again and again, like a snow-white curtain it swirled around in front of him. On the tip of his nose, as well as on his eyelashes, the crystal-clear pearls slowly detached themselves and silently shattered on the ground. The snow was hard and soft, cracking as Sapnap rose to his own feet.

With each step he took, both the muscles in his body and the snow beneath him cracked. He could hear every breath, every step, and his own heartbeat. He paused at the thought of a scream echoing through the valley. But his lips were too blue and his throat too raw for a scream to break out.

He was a cold spirit strolling through the woods, the only sign of life in him was the beating heart in his chest and the warm clouds of breath he left behind with each step. No bird, no other living creature moved through the snow, down the valley.

As soon as he broke out of the dense bushes and trees, a huge frozen lake presented itself to him. The cold had already settled into his body, like a friend in his soul the cold did not bother him but walked with him.

On the frozen lake, the wind scurried around, swirling the thin layer of snow on it wildly. Sapnap felt the wind digging into his hair, pulling on it from all sides. He felt the wind trying to push him toward the lake. With heavy eyelids, he turned around, searching the surroundings.

When his eyes jumped back to the vastness of the lake, he could see a silhouette in the distance. A man stood in the middle of the lake and his silhouette reflected in the blue ice. Sapnap's heart jumped and the cold disappeared from his upper body.

The sudden warmth unsettled him, so he had become accustomed to the cold and it had become his friend. A constant old companion that had tried to convince Sapnap that he didn't need anything else.

And yet, when he caught sight of Dream on the blue ice, his heart filled with warmth. It drove the cold out of one part of his body, while the other still-cold limbs in his body also cried out for warmth. The cold clung tightly to his body, but he moved his body and fought it.

The warmth was new, it unsettled him. He was afraid it would disappear again and the cold would come back, this time more violent than in the beginning. But he would never refuse the offer of warmth. So he ran, hearing the ice crack and scrape beneath him as his shoes rubbed across the surface. He kept sliding and moving his stiff limbs, feeling the ice break and melt inside his body.

He ended the last few steps between them with a skid. Laughing, he rowed his arms as he slid across the ice right toward Dream, only to be caught by his arms.

In his embrace, it was as if the cold between them disappeared. He felt it slowly and agonizingly disappear from his limbs, his legs and arms no longer cracking and aching with every movement. The warmth was addictive and he felt how much he had needed it all along. Never again did he want to feel the lonely cold on his shoulders, pressing his eyelids sleepily as the snow gently and deadly covered his body with a soft blanket.