The man who danced with me at midnight.

2

The day passed on and on, and what Mariah expected to be a usual, magic and fun Christmas, turned out to be a daydreaming mess. Her mind wouldn't leave the unfamiliar man who attended church this morning. 

At the point where Mariah sat down at the little table in the middle of the kitchen, the man still hadn't left her mind. And it was not like thinking about him made her feel unpleasant or queasy. No, instead, the face of the man she'd only seen once in her life fulfilled her daydreams. 

Oh, how much Mariah had longed for a man to dance with her, when the clock would strike twelve and snow fell down the sky, covering them both in the cold but romantic blanket of nature. And now, this man she saw became the face of her dreams. 

She couldn't help but surpress the constant smile covering her lips, while the little candle on the table exaggarated the twinkle in her eyes even more. Could you really start to like a certain someone by just... seeing them?

But no, that couldn't be right. Mariah's mom had always taught her to not judge someone by just their appearances, wether it'd be bad or good. But how much she tried to tell that to herself, she couldn't help but keep her interest up at this guy. He was so... fascinating. 

It was like she already knew the entire man from inside out, just by one glance. Is that what they call 'love at first sight'? Mariah wondered. No... That couldn't be true either. Love was something you'd develop over an amount of time, not by just glancing and feeling fascinated by a man. 

A few hours passed, and when the clock almost pointed it's hand at twelve, she couldn't help but just... go outside. After she'd put on her coat and boots, she stepped outside. Her footsteps from this morning had already faded by a new, fresh layer of magical white snow covering them. 

Closing her eyes and letting the ambience of the wind fill her ears, the young woman started twirling around in the snow, forgetting that anyone could see, and judge her. Her boots made crackling sounds while stepping into the snow, her arms lifted up in the sky to make beautiful and dainty moves. 

For anyone watching her, it'd look like she'd been dancing with a ghost. It was a duo dance she was doing, and in her imaginations, the man from church was there, holding her and dancing with her. An unfamiliar feeling of euphoria filled her chest, and a smile was covering her face, just like always. 

But it was until she had to be twirled around that she slipped and fell. If the man was real, he'd been there to hold her steadily. But he wasnt. And that made her fall, and together with smacking onto the cold icy ground, the realisation that he wasn't there was smacked into her brain. I'm being way too delusional... She thought, the smile fading from her lips. 

She lifted her small body off the ground and walked back inside her little home again. But not with the happy urge to be.. happy. She suddenly felt lonely, though she'd been alone for years and never felt lonely. She was missing the feeling of someone's accompany. But that was the problem: there hadn't been someone who's just been missing from her life.

Yeah, her parents are. But Mariah had already put that in a place. They both died when Mariah was six, due to a illness that occopied them both. They knew it was incurable and that they were going to die, so they tried to prepare Mariah for the upcoming loss when they were still alive. Because of that, Mariah learned to accept it and didn't feel the paining loss anymore. 

After her parents died, she moved in with her aunt. But when she was eighteen, her aunt wanted to move to another place. Mariah, already dependent enough, decided to stay in Lofota while her aunt would move. It all was okay with her, and she hadn't felt any type of loneliness in those years. 

So how come that feeling suddenly overtook her senses, even when there was no one in particular missing from her life?

~•~

As he left his grandma's house to make his way to the inn, he stumbled into a man. 'Oh... Mr Kim, I didn't know you'd be here!' the man said, nodding his head. Mr Kim greeted him back by tapping his hat. 'Now that you're here anyway, I wanted to ask you something, mr Olsen. Do I still have to stop by that dinner next week's wednesday night?' He asked. 

'Uh... I'm not sure, but straight out of my head, I think that hasn't been changed, no.' Mr Olsen said. 'Alright. I'll see you another time. Goodnight.' Mr Kim said. As he continued his way to the inn, he thought about his past here, in Lofota. 

He was heir of the baron family, soon to be the next baron. His family was originated from Lofota, which made him grow up here. After thirteen years, his father moved to a city far away from here. But last year, he died. After Mr Kim had processed his death atleast a bit properly, he decided to move back to Lofota. 

He was here now for just two weeks, to stay the holidays with his grandma, and to orientate a bit. As he was walking and thinking, he saw a silhouette moving in a weird way through the snow. 

He slowly walked closer and saw that it was a woman, probably a few years younger than him, dancing freely in the moonlight and snow. It kind of fascinated him how she radiated so much freedom and happiness. 

But one thing that made his curiousity grow was her way of dancing. It was like she was dancing with someone, but there was nobody there. He could feel her happy spirit from five metres distance. He made sure to 'hide' himself behind a wall, just so he could watch her properly.

What was she doing outside past midnight anyway? 

But no matter how many questions this woman created in his head, he couldn't help but smile, looking at her. And that also was the reason he chuckled a bit when she clumsily fell down. But the chuckle faded quickly as he noticed the sudden sadness washing over her. After she got up and slumped inside, Mr Kim didn't have another option but just continue his way to the inn. 

When he passed her house, he couldn't help but try and peek inside. But all the lights were extinguished, showing him that she went to bed. He unknowningly sighed as he directed his eyes onto the path in front of him. 

He was passed the lantern the woman was dancing under, and as he looked up into the halogen light radiating from it, onto his skin and onto the white snow, he kind of could understand her happiness. And how? He had no idea. He'd never felt so happy by just seeing a lantern. 

'It's just a girl, get yourself back together.' He mumbled.