The Delights Of Magic Ice

Submitted into Contest #53 in response to: Write a story about another day in a heatwave. ... view prompt

160 comments

Fantasy Funny Kids

โ€œUuuugh, nothing is possible!โ€


The words fly out of my mouth as I fling my sweaty arms in the air. The sofa is damp and uncomfortable against my damp and uncomfortable back. โ€œThe AC will never start working, I will never stop sweating gallons, and THIS FREAKINโ€™ HEAT WAVE WILL NEVER END!โ€


โ€œCarson,โ€ Ron emphasized, โ€œbe more, uhโ€ฆpositive.โ€


โ€œDude, you were complaining a second ago.โ€


โ€œAt least I wasnโ€™t saying nothing was possible! Thatโ€™s dark for a 17-year-old.โ€


โ€œBut it's true.โ€


I hauled myself up into a sitting position and slouched against the sofa. Arizona summers were never cool, but this freakinโ€™ heat wave had partially melted me.


I check the weather on my phone, as I had been doing every 5 minutes for the last hour. 110ยฐ and sunny.


โ€˜Heat waveโ€™ is classified as when it's over 90ยฐ for a couple days or more. Safari also explained that it kind of depends on the place. That was trueโ€”90 in the summer was actually average for Arizona summer.ย 


Sadly, that meant when we got heat waves, we were talking over 100ยฐ.


In other words, want-to-go-soak-in-ice-for-a-day kind of heat.


It didnโ€™t make me feel better than while I was stuck at home, my parents were living it up in Florida, which was a cool (in both waysโ€ฆ) 80ยฐ. Seriously, Mom, Dad? Making your teenage son stay at home, with no AC and only his best friend, Ronaldo, for company wasnโ€™t really earning them any Parent Points.


โ€œI want ice,โ€ I groaned. โ€œActually, no: I need ice!โ€


Ron shrugged and got up from his chair. โ€œWell, your freezer broke a couple days agoโ€”when the heat wave started, actually.โ€


โ€œWhy are you telling me this?โ€


โ€œLetโ€™s go see if Walmart has any ice.โ€


โ€œWe went an hour ago.โ€


Ron rolled his eyes at me. โ€œStop killing my suggestions!โ€ย 


*Awkward silence*


My friend checked his phone. โ€œOh, look, itโ€™s 111ยฐ now. Yikes.โ€


I stood up and stomped over to the door. โ€œThat does it! Letโ€™s go get some ice. And, if not, hop in Walmartโ€™s freezer!โ€


โ€œBrilliant,โ€ Ron said sarcastically (or maybe he was genuine. It couldโ€™ve gone either wayโ€”I was starting to like my sudden idea). โ€œLetโ€™s go!โ€



โ˜…ๅฝก โœฐ ๅฝกโ˜…



By noon, I had pulled up into the parking lot of Walmart.


โ€œDang, itโ€™s hot,โ€ I said as we walked through the sliding doors. Ron nodded and added, โ€œAnd think, we were complaining about that cold wave 7 months ago, near Christmas.โ€


โ€œThat was weird,โ€ I agreed just as we rounded the bend to the giant, clear freezer.


My friend and I moaned in unison when we saw it was empty.


Ron sighed. โ€œWell, thereโ€™s nothing there. Do you want to grab some chips before we leave?โ€ He followed my gaze to the freezer. โ€œAre you going to go in it?โ€


โ€œYes!โ€ I exclaimed. โ€œActually, no. Whatever.โ€ I inspected the freezer closer and noticed something that I was certain wasnโ€™t there a moment agoโ€”a bag of ice, smushed into the corner of the giant, clear box.


โ€œICE!โ€ I hollered. I regretted it a second later because a wave of people rushed to the box (this a natural phenomenon that occurs during heat wavesโ€ฆI call it Heat Zombies. Basically, at a certain temperature, if you say โ€˜iceโ€™ or even โ€˜working ACโ€™ a whole bunch of people will crowd youโ€ฆ).


Then, they pouted, muttered something like โ€˜liarโ€™, and walked off.


โ€œThat wasโ€ฆstrange,โ€ I frowned as I watched the dozen or so people drift away. โ€œThey didnโ€™t take the ice.โ€


Ron knocked on my head. โ€œCarson, there is no ice.โ€


โ€œYeah there is!โ€


I opened the freezer, which was barely cold (but still felt amazing), and reached my hand in. I grabbed the bag of ice in the corner and pulled it out. I sighed with happiness as the cold bad cooled my hands and showed it to Ron. โ€œSee? Ice.โ€


โ€œYouโ€™re holding nothing,โ€ Ron noted, โ€œand calling it ice.โ€


โ€œIt is ice.โ€ย 


How did he not see this? I glanced at the bag and, yep, it was definitely there. Although the ice wasโ€ฆdifferent. At first it was your white-clear ice, but nowโ€ฆit was sky blue. Was it food-dyed? If so, how had I not noticed it before?


โ€œAre you sure the heat isn't affecting you, Carsy?โ€


โ€œUgh, donโ€™t call me that,โ€ I glared at him.


โ€œWhat? Carsy? Carsy, Carsy, Carsy,โ€ he teased.


I didnโ€™t even look up, my gaze focused on the ice. Now, it was pink. A second laterโ€ฆyellow!


โ€œWhat kind of ice is this?โ€ I said in awe. It was changing colors!


โ€œIce that doesnโ€™t exist.โ€ Ron elbowed me. โ€œSeriously, Carson, are you sure youโ€™re okay? Youโ€™re examining air. Do you want some water?โ€


โ€œNo!โ€ I barked. โ€œIโ€™m examining ice!โ€


โ€œGeez, geez, okay,โ€ Ron said. โ€œBut I seriously think the heat is affecting you. Really, drink some water.โ€


I crossed my arms (which was hard, holding ice). โ€œIโ€™m good, thank you. Now, Iโ€™m going to figure out how this ice is changing colorsโ€ฆโ€ I poked at the ice, which was now orange.


โ€œCarson, please,โ€ Ron pleaded. โ€œDrink some water.โ€


โ€œHow about I eat some ice?โ€ I glanced at him like, eh, eh?


โ€œUhโ€ฆsure.โ€


I teared open the bag (Iโ€™d pay for it soon) and grabbed a purple ice cube. I didnโ€™t know what was in these, but for now, I was going to eat them out of spite.ย 


As soon as the ice cube dissolved in my mouth, I felt way better.


And by way better, I mean way cooler.


Iโ€™m always a little bit cooler after eating ice. But this ice was different. It cooled my cool body, inside and out. I felt like I was in a 60ยฐ room. All my sweat (and trust me, I was coated in it) was gone, and my skin was cold instead of clammy. The roof of my mouth wasnโ€™t dry. Basically, I was mixed between two emotions. First, OH MY GOD I FEEL NORMAL THIS ICE IS AMAZING. Second...OH MY GOD I FEEL NORMAL WHAT THE HECK IS THIS ICE?!


โ€œYou ate air,โ€ Ron said flatly. โ€œI feel so reassured.โ€


I grabbed his shoulders. โ€œDude, I ate ice. Color-changing ice that nobody can see, but makes me feel cool. Like, my skin is cold right now.โ€


Ron grabbed my hands. โ€œYikes!โ€ He peered at my palm like it held the secrets of the universe. โ€œGeez, how is that possible?!โ€


โ€œThis ice,โ€ I held it up proudly.


Ron snatched at it. โ€œLet me try.โ€


I tried to dodge, but he still touched the pack. Butโ€ฆhe didnโ€™t.


His hand passed straight through the ice like it was a hologram.


โ€œAck!โ€ I jumped back and dropped it. โ€œYour hand passed through it!โ€


โ€œDo you believe me now that I canโ€™t see it?โ€


โ€œI guess,โ€ I said as I edged closer to the ice.


I picked it up and glanced at its label.




โ– โ–‚ โ–„ โ–… โ–† โ–‡ โ–ˆ โ’พโ’ธโ’บ โ–ˆ โ–‡ โ–† โ–… โ–„ โ–‚ โ–

ั”ฯ‡ฯฯƒัั‚ั”โˆ‚ fัฯƒะผ: ั‚ะฝั” ฮนั•โ„“ฮฑะธโˆ‚ั• ฯƒf ะบฮฑัะบฮฑัฮนฮน


แด€ษดแด›ษช-สœแด‡แด€แด› ษชแด„แด‡


๐™๐™๐™ž๐™จ ๐™ข๐™–๐™œ๐™ž๐™˜ ๐™ž๐™˜๐™š ๐™ž๐™จ ๐™—๐™ง๐™ค๐™ช๐™œ๐™๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™—๐™ฎ ๐™ƒ๐™–๐™ง๐™ ๐™š๐™ฃ & ๐˜พ๐™ค. ๐™๐™๐™š 100 ๐™˜๐™ช๐™—๐™š๐™จ ๐™ฌ๐™š๐™ง๐™š ๐™œ๐™–๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง๐™š๐™™ ๐™›๐™ง๐™ค๐™ข ๐™„๐™˜๐™š ๐™‘๐™–๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™ฎ, ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™–๐™˜๐™š ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™™ ๐™—๐™ฎ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™˜๐™ช๐™ง๐™ง๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™ˆ๐™ž๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐™Š๐™› ๐™๐™๐™š ๐˜พ๐™ค๐™ก๐™™, ๐™‹๐™ง๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐˜ผ๐™ก๐™–๐™จ๐™ ๐™–. ๐™๐™๐™ž๐™จ ๐˜ผ๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ž-๐™ƒ๐™š๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™„๐™˜๐™š ๐™๐™–๐™จ ๐™ข๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฎ ๐™ช๐™จ๐™š๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™๐™š๐™ก๐™ฅ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ฎ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ค๐™ก. ๐™๐™š๐™š๐™ก ๐™›๐™ง๐™š๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™š๐™ญ๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ง๐™š.




โ€œWhat theโ€ฆ.โ€


โ€œWhat?โ€ Ron said.


I shook my head. โ€œWow. Okay. This isโ€ฆweird. Donโ€™t laugh, but Iโ€™m pretty sure this ice is magic.โ€


Ron laughed.


โ€œI just said donโ€™t do that!โ€


โ€œWhatever. Magic doesnโ€™t exist.โ€


โ€œI know,โ€ I bit my lip, โ€œbut then how is this possible? This ice, first of all, doesn't act like ice. Second, itโ€™s actually color-changing. And this label! I kinda thinkโ€ฆโ€


โ€œYeah?โ€


โ€œI kinda think this ice is magic. Itโ€™s shipped from a magic place, and itโ€™s not intended to be here. Butโ€ฆit is.โ€


โ€œSoโ€ฆwhat?โ€


โ€œNow,โ€โ€”my uncertain face morphed into a grinโ€”โ€œnow I โ€˜exploreโ€™ this iceโ€™s โ€˜many different featuresโ€™.โ€



โ˜…ๅฝก โœฐ ๅฝกโ˜…



โ€œWow. I mean, justโ€ฆwow.โ€


We bought the ice and went homeโ€”back to my sweltering house. For the past half hour, I had been experimenting with the magic ice, reporting my findings to Ron.ย 


Spoiler alert: there were quite a few โ€˜findingsโ€™.


So far, I had figured out the ice could do 4 things. First, if you ate it, it would literally cool you down. But I already knew that. What I didnโ€™t know up until 10 minutes ago? The ice was like popsicles. When it was yellow, it was lemon flavored. When it was purple, grape. You get the idea.


Next, the ice never meltsโ€”unless you ask it to.


Then, when it does melt, it turns into color-changing water. But thatโ€™s not the end of it.


The water isnโ€™t normal water, and not just because it's made out of melted, not-normal ice. The water is still ice, even when itโ€™s a liquid! It's like youโ€™re drinking iceโ€”itโ€™s cold and has the same texture.ย 


Freaky but awesome.


The last thing I found out:ย 


The ice cubes could turn into statues. Any shape you ask it to turn into, it will.


I may or may not have made more life-sized ice chickens than I need.


Anyways, I was super sad there were only around 80 cubes (plus various ice sculptures) left.


I fill a glass with melted ice and put the rest on the kitchen counter. Ron and I jumped on the couch and I clicked on the TV.


โ€œ115ยฐ,โ€ Ron noted, glancing up from his phone as the intro to the show played. โ€œYikes. And the ACโ€™s still broken.โ€


โ€œMeh,โ€ I grinned, taking a sip of my enchanted water. โ€œDude, this ice is freakinโ€™ magic. I mean this in the least cheesiest way possible, but I swear, anything is possible.โ€ย 






July 31, 2020 18:39

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160 comments

Tariq Saeed
12:28 Aug 23, 2020

Always good.

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12:38 Aug 23, 2020

Thanks!

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B. W.
16:04 Aug 21, 2020

giving it a 10/10 like always :) and could you check out my story i just did for the new prompt? "her past"

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16:04 Aug 21, 2020

Thanks, sure!

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B. W.
16:05 Aug 21, 2020

no problem and can't wait to see what ya gotta say :D

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16:05 Aug 21, 2020

I already read and responded ;) (I read suuuper fast)

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B. W.
17:59 Aug 21, 2020

hey- i just finished another one, could you tell me what you think of this one? i called it "first love"

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Siya Gupta
19:19 Aug 14, 2020

Awesome story! Your sense of humor is great.

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19:23 Aug 14, 2020

Yaaay thanks so much! Iโ€™m so glad you think itโ€™s funny; Rick Riordan is my idol so Iโ€™m always super happy when people say my writerโ€™s voice is humorous. Thanks again!

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Siya Gupta
19:27 Aug 14, 2020

You're so sweet! My pleasure ;)

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Hallie Blatz
01:08 Aug 13, 2020

This one was great!! I loved the humour and how it didnโ€™t go bad it was just funny the whole time. I canโ€™t help imagining the cashier when he tried to buy the ice though. ๐Ÿ˜‚

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Hallie Blatz
01:08 Aug 13, 2020

This one was great!! I loved the humour and how it didnโ€™t go bad it was just funny the whole time. I canโ€™t help imagining the cashier when he tried to buy the ice though. ๐Ÿ˜‚

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Hallie Blatz
01:08 Aug 13, 2020

This one was great!! I loved the humour and how it didnโ€™t go bad it was just funny the whole time. I canโ€™t help imagining the cashier when he tried to buy the ice though. ๐Ÿ˜‚

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01:15 Aug 13, 2020

Thank youuu, Hallie!!!! ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

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Maya Reynolds
19:13 Aug 12, 2020

Very nice, lighthearted story!

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19:15 Aug 12, 2020

Thank you!

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Alma Meek
02:05 Aug 09, 2020

I broke this down as I was reading it -- I really, really enjoyed this story. Good job! Itโ€™s weird, but for some reason, a person isnโ€™t supposed to start a sentence with numbers. So write out โ€œ110ยฐ and sunny.โ€ This made me laugh: โ€œโ€œBrilliant,โ€ Ron said sarcastically (or maybe he was genuine. It couldโ€™ve gone either wayโ€”I was starting to like my sudden idea). โ€œLetโ€™s go!โ€โ€ This made me laugh: โ€œ(this a natural phenomenon that occurs during heat wavesโ€ฆI call it Heat Zombies. Basically, at a certain temperature, if you say โ€˜iceโ€™ or even ...

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02:09 Aug 09, 2020

Woah, thanks so much for all this feedback! Thank you so muuuuch! Really? Wow, thatโ€™ll be useful to know! Haha, thanks! Got it, thanks. Yeah, good point! I was just thinking that they would try to, fail, and leave, but that would work WAY better. NO WAY, seriously?! Thank you SO MUCH, that will come in handy a toooon. Let me get this straight: I spell out numbers under ten, and write when theyโ€™re over? THANK YOU!!! Thanks again, Alma! ~Aerin

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Alma Meek
05:51 Aug 09, 2020

No problem! I found this resource and it's pretty clear. It will probably help with the number stuff. Don't worry too much about it. Always do the corrections afterward, this way you don't lose your style or writing speed. https://nau.edu/writing-style-guide/numbers-dates/

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Lily Kingston
17:57 Aug 08, 2020

I absolutely love Carsonโ€™s character. Heโ€™s so funny! And Ronโ€™s and Carsonโ€™s friendship is just *chefโ€™s kiss* amazing. Keep up the good work!

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18:56 Aug 08, 2020

Thank you so much! Haha, thanks! ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿคฉ

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Corey Melin
16:46 Aug 08, 2020

Entertaining way of putting a fantasy element into this prompt. Magical ice cubes. Well done.

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16:57 Aug 08, 2020

Thanks!

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Nandan Prasad
09:39 Aug 08, 2020

Hey, this is a wonderful story! I like the fantasy spin on it. One thing, you wrote 'I teared it' for 'I tore it.' I don't know whether you can correct it now, but just saying. Otherwise, very well-written and keep writing!

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12:56 Aug 08, 2020

Thanks so much!

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03:50 Aug 05, 2020

๐•Ž๐• ๐•ฆ๐•๐•• ๐•ƒ๐•š๐•˜๐•™๐•ฅ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•„๐•”โ„š๐•ฆ๐•–๐•–๐•Ÿ (๐•ช๐• ๐•ฆ ๐•œ๐•Ÿ๐• ๐•จ, ๐•ฅ๐•’๐•๐•œ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•ฃ๐•–๐•• ๐•”๐•’๐•ฃ ๐”ป๐•š๐•ค๐•Ÿ๐•–๐•ช ๐•”๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•”๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ฃ?) ๐•™๐•’๐•ง๐•– ๐•๐•š๐•—๐•– ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•ค๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•”๐•– ๐• ๐•ฃ ๐•”๐•’๐•ฃ ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•ค๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•”๐•– (๐•Ÿ๐• ๐•ฅ ๐•“๐• ๐•ฅ๐•™)? Unclear. But I think he might have medical insurance due to the fact that he's racing, and that's dangerous. And most dangerous things result in injury. And we don't want that.

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11:48 Aug 05, 2020

Cool ๐Ÿ˜Ž

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Deleted Account
18:34 Aug 02, 2020

Great story! Also, the riddle for today, is it the dictionary?

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18:55 Aug 02, 2020

Thank you! Yep, it is! Congrats!

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Deleted Account
19:44 Aug 02, 2020

Thx!! ๐Ÿ˜

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Tiffy H
07:37 Aug 02, 2020

This is great! I loved how you begin it, so professional like

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12:48 Aug 02, 2020

Thanks you, Tiffiana!

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Len Mooring
05:30 Aug 02, 2020

Loved it. Keep up the weird.

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01:23 Aug 02, 2020

This was cute! I especially liked the expression 'parent points.' And good job with the descriptions--I could almost feel the heat reading it!

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01:34 Aug 02, 2020

Thanks!

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<inactive> .
18:35 Aug 01, 2020

You asked me to be here, so here I am! Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing... It was immensely relatable to me because I live in a desert and spending five minutes without the AC in August is literal death. It was HILARIOUS and just so full of life it makes me think of a little snow globe (ironically) where this story lives, undisturbed by the world.

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18:55 Aug 01, 2020

Thanks so much, Priyamvada!

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Jr. Romars
16:32 Aug 01, 2020

Beautiful story.

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Saron Mengistu
16:11 Aug 01, 2020

~What is always in front of you but canโ€™t be seen?~ The future?? Thanks again, Aerin!!

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16:13 Aug 01, 2020

Wow! Yes, thatโ€™s the answer! Nobodyโ€™s gotten it so far, so congrats! Thank you??? What did I do??? Well, thanks anyway! ๐Ÿ˜‚ ~A

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Saron Mengistu
16:35 Aug 01, 2020

Oh wow. It was kinda obvious from the beginning. Thank you! Lmao, i meant thank you for the riddle!! Thanks(๐Ÿ˜‚) Aerin! :))

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16:46 Aug 01, 2020

Oh, okay. ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜

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Saron Mengistu
12:59 Aug 01, 2020

This is great! I love the narration, and how you used something completely unpredictable like magic ice and still have a ring of a theme. I also love the ending. It was very satisfying. Well done! My only piece of criticism is the plot hole. You never explained how Carson could see this ice and Ronaldo couldn't. I'd love to see what you come up with for that! All in all, this is another amazing piece of work. Awesome job, Aerin!! :))

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14:05 Aug 01, 2020

Thanks so much! Yeah, there wasnโ€™t really a reason I went into specifics in. The ice is magic and something about Carson letโ€™s him see it and not other people. I might expand on that in a Part 2 or something. Thanks again! ๐Ÿ˜„๐Ÿ˜„๐Ÿ˜„ -Aerin!

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Saron Mengistu
14:47 Aug 01, 2020

Your most welcome!! I really would like to see what you come up with if you have a part 2:))

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