Stalls ✔️

E P I L O U G E

E P I L O U G E:
[December, 2019]

I sat with my legs crossed at the top of the winding staircase. The smell of Wren's crispy, mouth-watering bacon flavoured pancakes flooding up from our new kitchen, enveloping me in raw satisfaction. I could hear her horrendously singing along to one of her favorite vinyls from my dads old collection. It was a gift - a moving out gift.

I sat with a half-drunken cup of luke-warm tea beside me and the same journal balanced on my lap. I peered through the patterned windows, admiring the swirls of pink in the sky, watching the sun greet the earth as the crescent moon says goodnight. Dainty flakes of snow drifted from the clouds like marshmallow, coating the tree tops. Such an indescribably beautiful scenery.

There was a knock at the door. I shut the journal I was writing in, full to the brim, and placed it on the bottom step. I passed Wren, who had her back turned, concentrating on the sizzling pancakes. The door opened, sending a rush of cold through the living room: Rain and Hunter stood in thick, furry coats, beanies and scarfs. Their teeth chattered as they grinned.

"Come in for a minute before we go, we're just having breakfast." I said, and pulled open the mahogany door further.

They stepped through rapidly. Then, they unraveled their scarves and placed their damp gloves on the radiator. I shut the door, closing out the icy cold winds, and trapped the satisfactory warmth.

We ate the bacon pancakes together; I savoured every bite. It was purely satisfying to know that afterwards, I no longer had to consume a pill as a dessert. No, it was finally under some sense of control, after a hectic ride.

The collective clatter of knifes and forks against the plates signified that everyone was finished. Shoving the pots into the dish washer, I got ready to face the cold. I pulled on a mighty coat laced with fur, and Doc Marten boots. I slipped a pure ornament shaped like a dove into the front pocket, and we made our way to the lake.

🌿 🌿 🌿

Every winter, Riley and I would take our childhood friend, Tyler Mason, a christmas gift to the lake. 2019 was the third christmas I did this alone. Riley's promise to come back was put to the test early in the year, since his grandma had passed, however he struggled to find an cheap apartment back here in Sheffield.

I placed the dove by the crystallised lake; it blended prettily with the frosty setting. The lake itself was overthrown by a thick sheet of ice.

We stood like fire breathing dragons, breathing water vapour. Our fingers were freezing, and our noses were bleached crimson. None of that mattered to us - the maze of reflection was a wonderland in the depths of winter time.

Snow spread across the dewy grass like a fresh carpet. The next thing I knew, a ball of it gently hit the base of my numbed cheek. I looked up at the direction it was thrown. Rain gazed at me with playful, challenging eyes. I returned the gaze, slowly bending down to the floor. Between my fingers, I scooped a large piece of snow, and rolled it into a gritty ball.

With all my effort in place, I threw it. Rain was fast, bending down with a few milliseconds to spare. The ball whizzed, merely skimming her head.

My mouth dropped. I watched as Wren's hand scraped the snowy residue from her forehead. "You bitch!" She bellowed jokingly, her voice echoing.

"Haha! Revenge!" I snickered.

"Took you long enough, James." She replied, and bent. I prepared to reflect her hit, however a surprise attack from behind wobbled my concentration, as well as my balance.

Rapidly, I turned on my Doc Martens. Hunter's eyes were lit like a pair of fairy lights, her smile mischievous and full to the brim with wit. "Sorry," she lied.

Everyone leaped into a square, as if we were preparing for a battle.

123 snowballs later, I could no longer feel my aching fingers to throw effectively. I retreated from my pile, waving my arms frantically. "STOP!"

Wren groaned, "Aww, spoil sport."

A grin formed at my lips, "Shut it, Olaf."

She chuckled, "Did you seriously just call me that?"

Hunter exploded into song, recalling every single note of 'Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?' in an angelic, yet annoying tone. Her eyes clenched shut as she sang. Collectively, the rest of us packed an abandoned red, plastic sledge with snow, and slid it down the singing girls back

"I hate you. I hate all of you." She complained.

"No you don't," we spoke in unison.

"Fine," she paused, "but can we actually build a snowman now?"

"I guess so, there's enough snow here to build 10," I replied, spreading my arms for demonstration.

Eventually, we constructed four separate snow people by the lake. I insisted they resembled the four of us, however everyone else denied it, slightly offended. I didn't care.

"I'm quite proud of them," I stated, my hands rested on my hips.

"Me too, actually," Wren applied, her arm resting solely over my shoulders. She pulled me closer to deflect the cold. Rain and Hunter formed the remainder of the group hug.

Together, we inspected our gracious masterpieces. They stood defiantly before the lake, taller than every one of us, with three parts for a body, and stones and sticks for features.

It became so sacred to us, the lake, our own little sanction. There it was us, away from the rest of the god forsaken world.

Hunter, Rain, Wren, and I.