We hurried away from the beach together, leaving the blue of the sea far behind us. Above our heads, the gathering storm clouds were bitterly gray, heavy with the weight of our emotions. The weather was changing abruptly, and there was no saying when the snowfall was going to begin. I turned to Winter and dragged him into an empty alley.
"Winter, you can leave me and teleport there," I suggested reluctantly. "We can say our goodbyes here. Nobody's around right now."
"No. I'm not doing that." He shook his head. "And nothing's going to change my mind about it."
I swallowed painfully. "Then come on," I urged him. "We have to make it there before the snow starts to fall." I was determined not to let him turn to dust, no matter what.
We passed through the streets and stores with swift footsteps, dodging obstacles and sprinting across intersections. I was heaving for breath as the park entrance finally came into view.
"We're getting closer!" I turned to Winter.
"I know," he smiled at me.
We'll make it in time! I opened my mouth to tell Winter, but before I could, I tripped over something hard. Helplessly, I fell to the ground with a yelp.
"Ouch!" I cried as my palms scratched against the stone path. Fresh blood welled from the cuts, red and dark. There was a sharp pain from my right ankle, and I used my bloodied hand to check the condition. When I touched it, red hot pain seared into my leg.
"Winter, I sprained my ankle. You have to hurry without me! Go!" I waved my hands frantically.
"I said I'm not leaving you, remember?" Winter knelt beside me. "Trust me." Just like last night, he picked me up in his arms and began walking forward calmly.
My jaw dropped open and I grabbed his shirt. "Not here! We can't-- not here!"
He grinned but said nothing in return. In my state, I could only move around in restricted motions. He tightened his grip on me, and I was secure in his arms. He was so close, but in minutes, he was going to disappear. Like my father, his existence was only temporary. Like him, the memories would be burned into my mind, but nothing more. I will never be able to be held like this by him again. With a hiccup, tears streamed out of my eyes.
We reached the bench, where a soft snow started to descend from the skies. The flakes fell and melted with my teardrops, cleansing the blood that coated my palms.
It was too soon. It was all too soon. I thought I was ready for the parting, like I had done before, but I wasn't. I wanted to tell him not to leave, but the consequences were not light. I looked to the heavens and said a small prayer.
Oh god, just let him stay.
Winter gazed at me and wiped the tears from my eyes, but I was unable to stop. As he wiped, they reappeared, replacing the ones that preceded them.
"Thank you," I choked out between sobs. "for being here for me. Even if it was a brief time, I'm still thankful."
"I will always be watching over you, Caroline, as your guardian angel," Winter answered.
"Will you come back?" I was shaking.
"I'll always be here," he whispered. "You just have to find me."
"And what if I can't?"
"You will. Promise."
When I lowered my head, I felt him lean forward. Something warm and tender pressed against my temple, and my eyes widened as I realized what he did. His lips, like the final piece of the puzzle, triggered a reaction.
Winter's body was gradually fading, dissolving away. My hold on his arm was losing its grip, his body slipping away from me. I sunk to the snowy ground, my eyes refusing to leave Winter. Even during this, he was still smiling, his violet eyes unwavering. A pair of wings stretched out behind him, and for a moment, all I had in my eyes was him, only him. He was beautiful.
Behind him, I saw someone else, also smiling at me with the same expression. There was no mistake. It was my father.
At the last moment, they both transformed into an ethereal mist. A gust of frigid wind blew across my body, sweeping the mist away with it. Just like how he arrived, he was carried by the wind once again.
I sat, motionless, until my tears finally stopped. I stayed until the snow stopped, and until my legs and arms were numb with cold. At last, the tiniest beam of sunlight broke through the smoky clouds, shining directly at me. Gingerly, I raised my arm to block it away from my eyes.
Winter was gone.
**************
It felt like a wispy daydream; the way it happened and the way it ended. As if it never happened at all. But, I am sure that when an angel came to comfort me for the first time, it was not a dream, but reality.
After he left, I called my mom. When she rushed towards me, panic-stricken and worried, I was still unable to walk. She bombarded me with questions, but I answered all of them vaguely, blaming it on my clumsiness. Miraculously, the wounds on my hands were already healed, and my ankle eventually did too.
Things slowly got better in my life. I continued working hard in school, getting both yelled at and praised by Tatiana (in the same sentence, believe it or not), and working to repair the relationship with my mom. Most of the time, I'm sure it's because of him. Because he's watching over me.
When I think deeply about it, I don't know what we were. We were more than friends, yet not lovers. I only knew that he was special to me, and that somehow, I was precious to him too. He was the tiny reassurance I needed, the hope and encouragement.
I know he would keep his promise, and I know I must keep mine. He asked me to find him, so I do. Every year, every time I go to the ocean, drink a cup of coffee, or watch the snowfall, I see him in small fragments. He's the waves in the sea, the warmth of the coffee, the snowflakes that come and go.
He exists in more than my memories, and that's good enough for me.
YOU ARE READING
Into Your World
Short Story"Where are you from?" "It's a secret." Sometimes, you don't know what an impact someone will have on you until they walk into your world and change everything you know. One snowy day, I watched as he materialized in front of me. He was alluring, pur...
