Her Eyes

Thirty

"What should we name her?" Lan asked, her gloved hands on her hips as she stared at the snowman she made with Esmae. "She?" Esmae asked, tilting her head. The snowman looked like a regular snowman to her, so why was it a she?

"Yeah! She looks all small and cute, right?" Lan smiled widely, her nose and cheeks burning red from the cold. Her fluffy puffer jacket matched her fluffy earmuffs which, of course, had bows decorating them.

Esmae nodded, agreeing. The snowman was indeed smaller than Chióni, mainly because the two women couldn't roll up as much snow as Esmae and Nikolaos did before. Still, it was enough to make a decent size.

Esmae fiddled with the hand warmer in her pocket, thinking as she stared at the snowman. Names weren't her expertise, seeing how she decided to name the snowman she made with Nikolaos 'Snow'; only, it was in Greek.

It sounded more unique that way.

The leaf tilted her head, racking her brain for a name that wasn't related to the nature around her. She couldn't think of any. She only knew a handful of names in her life, and those were from people she knew personally. She couldn't fathom trying to remember anyone else's. There would be too many.

"I don't know," she huffed, stuffing her gloved hands in her pockets and fumbling with the hand warmers inside. Lan shared them with her, and they kept her delicate hands even warmer in the winter cold.

She turned to Lan, watching the woman puff her rosy cheeks before a smile rose on her face. "What about Cabbage?" she suggested, smiling widely as if it was the best name ever invented.

Huh? Isn't that food?

Esmae blinked once and then twice, staring at her friend silently. "...Cabbage?" she repeated, hoping she somehow misheard her for something else. Her thoughts were proven wrong when Lan nodded happily, seemingly excited about the name.

"Isn't it the cutest?! I think it fits her pretty well," she stated, her hands on her hips and she smiled gleefully at the snowwoman, appearing accomplished.

The dryad's mouth dropped open at her words, and she couldn't help but stare at her for a few more seconds. "Are you s-sure?" she asked, looking at their creation. Why would we name snow after food? Why cabbage? Doesn't that grow in the ground?

She thought back to the gardening videos she watched online, recalling the large, round, lumps of green layers that were planted in soil, and the kind, elderly voice that accompanied it. She couldn't fathom the idea at all.

Lan snapped her head to Esmae and glared jokingly. "You sound like, Lukas, you know that?"

"I... do?" Lukas' voice is so deep though.

The leaf felt lost in the conversation. Between the name Cabbage and sounding like a Greek man six inches taller than her, she struggled to comprehend what was truly going on.

It seemed that Lan noticed her confusion and eased her excitement, smiling softly. "You guys say the same thing about my names. I mean, cabbage can grow in the winter, unlike many other plants," she explained differently. Somehow, Lan understood when Esmae was confused quite easily, so she calmed down her usually excited nature for her.

Looking at the snowwoman again, Esmae nodded slowly, finally understanding why Lan wanted to name it Cabbage. A small smile made its way to her face as she looked at the snow for longer. "Cabbage," she whispered, feeling the word on her tongue.

"I like it."

Lan's light smile turned into a beaming one and she squealed, pumping her fist in the air. "See? I told you; it fits her perfectly." Esmae looked at Cabbage, who was placed next to Chióni, and her smile spread by a few millimeters.