The Candy Cane

I plop down on my bed and groan to myself, looking at the snow outside.

Christmas is coming. Again. Like last year, and the year before that.

Christmas was never my favourite time of the year, and neither was December. They both only meant sub-zero temperatures, sweetened and unhealthy foods, cheesy songs and cold, wet stuff raining on your clean, dry hair that you just washed.

I guess you could say I wasn't a big fan.

I watch the snow fall softly onto the lawn, covering the green grass with white flakes. I scowl and the glass of orange juice on my study table turns into a glass of tangerine-coloured crystals.

I roll my eyes, and the crystals turn back into juice.

When I was twelve, I had developed the power - no, power was too strong a word, more like... ability - to turn stuff into crystalline solids.

And I hate it.

I transform things into crystals at the very flicker of my emotions, which meant that I had to remain stoic perpetually, which was hard for me. I guess that's why I always wanted December to be over fast, because snow was basically crystallized water, and I'd had enough of crystals to last me three lifetimes. Or more.

I sigh and walk downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing my coat on the way.

"Scarlet, do you want some pumpkin pie?"

"It's okay, mum. I think I'm going to the park for some fresh air," I reply, glancing at the chestnuts roasting on our open fireplace in the living room.

Without waiting for an answer, I open the front door and walk out, wincing when the cold air blew into my face.

Great. Why did I decide to go outside again?

I walk to the nearby park and sit down on one of the benches, watching kids play around in the snow. It really was nice weather - for December, anyways.

And just then, a snowball decides to hit me in the shoulder.

"Hey, Scar."

"Don't call me that!"

I twist my head to see Joseph walking over, his cocky smile permanently glued on his unfortunately handsome face, brushing the snow from his hands. His short black hair is lightly dotted with snowflakes, and his well-fitted jacket shows off his lean frame. He is this cool, suave guy in my class, and a constant annoyance in my short, uneventful life thus far.

Well, let's see who hits harder, then.

I mould the splattered snow on my coat back into a snowball, and close my eyes. When I open them again, the snow inside the ball has hardened, becoming compact crystals, whereas the outside still remains the same. Grinning, I throw it straight at Joseph's chest.

He backs up, coughing. "I never knew a girl like you could pack quite a punch with such a soft snowball."

"I didn't know either," I shrug, blinking innocently.

He looks at me with a strange expression on his face, and I hesitate.

"What's up?" I ask him.

"Nothing," he returns at last, and something makes me turn around.

I see a small boy, around seven, on the swings. A small twinkling of red-and-white catches my eye, and I spot a candy cane half-buried in the snow. The child sees it too, and he gets off the swing to approach the candy.

As he picks it up, I realize that the candy cane looks slightly odd. Usually, candy canes were white with red stripes throughout the cane, but this one only had three red stripes. The bottom half is pure albino. I start to go over to him, but a hand holds me back.