Trochilidae

Chapter 8: I Need You

The sun once again rose across the horizon, greeting the winter season that had come across the country.

Frozen fractals fall from the sky, painting the land of the Republic of Korea white. It was that time of the year again when the seasons change. With the coming of winter, it is expected for streets to be covered with snow. And for people to get their snow shovels and to start clearing their pathways. However, despite this hard work that the adults (usually) have to go through, it was still, undoubtedly, an ethereal winter wonderland on the peninsula.

The snowflakes gracefully fall, floating like they were little winter fairies who were dancing and twirling around on this atmospheric stage. The performance of these tiny ice crystals had beckoned the crowd to come out and play. Mostly the kids were excited to get into their winter clothes and to play in the snow.

Children burst out of their homes, staring up at the sky with this pure, innocent fondness as they watch the snowflakes fall. Some of the kids stuck their tongue out to catch the snow, others had made snow angels on the ground, and other activities that one would do out in the snow like building a snowman or having a snowball fight with your friends and family.

All year long, whenever the winter season comes, it is expected that people would go out of their houses and enjoy this season of coldness and joy—to prepare for the coming of the special day called Christmas. As expected, almost everyone in the neighborhood had gone out to play. To get out of their bed covers and to run around with the snowflakes.

Conversely, some decided to stay inside and to watch the fall of the snowflakes from behind the window.

Beomgyu and I were part of the latter.

Sitting by the window, Beomgyu and I watched as the snowflakes fall from the cloudy sky. While others had decided to go ahead and play outside, we decided to stay in and to take a moment to indulge in the change of seasons; the environment's transition from autumn to winter.

From the inside, we could see the neighbors going out of their houses, playing under the snow with this childlike joy emanating from them. Although I do not know what was happening or what conversation was ongoing with the neighbors, it was pretty obvious how happy they were judging by the broad smiles that they had on their faces and the joy that was expressed through their actions. It was quite a sight if I should say. To see people smiling happily, even when you don't know that person, gives you this strange, indirect feeling of warmth that felt strong. The sight brings a smile to my face.

I reclined onto the wall and gently sighed through my nose. This was a nice feeling, I thought to myself. To take a moment to relax and to see the world play out before you was something relaxing, soothing if I should say.

Right now, I am hanging out with Beomgyu at his house. For us, best friends, it has become a tradition for me to visit his house every start of the winter. If I'd like to add, every time was just a moment that I want to cherish forever.

In our said tradition, what we would usually do is that we would go out in the snow and do some exploring in his backyard. Maybe even go around the neighborhood if we wanted to. Back then, we would always have a snowball fight, build a snowman, the usual activities that one would do whenever the snow would hit the country.

However, today was different.

This time around, Beomgyu wanted to stay inside rather than to play in the snow. As he said, his reason was not because of his condition (he was perfectly okay to be in the snow) rather, he wanted to stay warm and to watch the snowfall. As much as I loved going outside, I agreed to stay with Beomgyu and to watch the snowfall with him.

Besides, I'm fine with being anywhere as long as it's with him.

Watching the snowfall was not like watching the paint dry or the grass grow. Rather, it was kind of like watching a documentary about nature. An easing time passer that not only makes you sit back and relax, but it makes the viewer learn more about the world around them. It makes the viewer appreciate more the world that they were living in. Though watching the snowfall isn't the most entertaining thing to watch, it was still an experience that I find to be enjoyable.