Smile

Chapter 5: Midnight Memories

As John and I were walking down the snowy glowy street, I couldn't help but feel nervous. I felt like I was going on a late night dinner date with my freaking boss. Maybe if he was a coworker or maybe even a friend, maybe I would feel less nervous. It was 11:00 at night, and there weren't many people out. I mean, what did you expect? It's almost midnight on a holiday night. You'd have to be fucking crazy to go out on Christmas Eve. It doesn't take a genius to realize I'm one of those lunatics. We finally reached the place and John told me to find us a seat. I chose the window seat because I find it soothing to look out the window at night, especially on a starry night. Maybe that was one of the few things I had in my boring dull life that I knew nobody could ever take away from me.

"I got you a burger and fries. It's one of the things I see you eat for lunch at work."

"Creepy, but thank you."

As John began to eat his food, Phoenix continued to look out the window. She was watching the snowflakes fall down and she was mesmerized by how a single snowflake is just a single ice crystal that has achieved a sufficient size. She believed even the tiniest matter in the universe can become something beautiful. If you gave it the chance.

"You like the snow?" John asked.

"I like the snowflakes. It's amazing that 1 simple snowflake is just a tiny ice crystal that achieved a sufficient size. Did you know that each flake nucleates around a tiny particle in supersaturated air masses by attracting supercooled cloud water droplets, which freeze and accrete in crystal form? Complex shapes emerge as the flake moves through differing temperature and humidity zones in the atmosphere, such that individual snowflakes differ in detail from one another, but may be categorized in eight broad classifications and at least 80 individual variants. The main constituent shapes for ice crystals, from which combinations may occur, are needle, column, plate, and rime. Snow appears white in color despite being made of clear ice. This is due to diffuse reflection of the whole spectrum of light by the small crystal facets of the snowflakes."

"Wow. I didn't know that."

"I was a big science nerd as a kid. I guess some of my knowledge stuck with me."

"What else do you know?"

"Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning produces rapid expansion of the air in the path of a lightning bolt."

"I bet you don't know this. What is the famous theory about time?"

"According to relativity theory, time is not fundamental, but is a necessary feature of spacetime, which itself is ontologically fundamental."

"Holy shit!"

"You're sitting with a genius."

"Then why do you work in marketing and not in a science lab?"

"My mother...thought being in a lab testing 'stupid' theories wasn't going to get me anywhere in life. And I guess at one point in my life, I started to believe it."

"Jesus Christ, your mother sounds like a jerk."

"She was more than a jerk."

Phoenix mumbled under her breath. John didn't hear it, but he knew she said something. John looked at a nearby clock and saw the time.

"It's midnight." John said.

"It's Christmas?"

"Yeah. We should go. We have a busy day tomorrow."

I never believed in 'midnight memories'. But this night was a midnight memory I will never forget. John went back to his apartment and will pick me up early in the morning. As I laid still in my bed, I looked out the window and not only saw snowflakes, but I also saw stars. Stars are an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. It's truly amazing how a single shining star can be something magical. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.