Frozen Water

The snow lightly fell, taking over the dark of the night. The bitter cold brought warmth inside the houses. Families cuddled a little bit closer, cherishing each other and remembering the love they have for each other. The first snowfall of the year was a special time. A time full of joy and comfort. The cold fingers, colds, and snowball fights would be worth it. There was more that would come from them than would be taken. By morning, there were three inches of snow covering everything.

“Good morning, Mom!” 

“Morning, honey. Are you going to see Jacob today?” she asked, smiling.

A smile was already on Sarah’s face. “Yes. I texted him to see if he wants to go sledding later. I haven’t been sledding in a long time, and he’s never done it.”

She looks out the window and the snow is glistening off the bare trees. A light snow flurry fills the area, and the snow reflects the street lights. Her heart beats slightly faster, and a tightness squeezes her chest. She can feel another smile form on her face, and she can’t help but get even more excited from anticipation. 

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

She grabbed her phone from her pocket. Jacob was calling her.

“Jacob!” Sarah answered.

“Hey, I saw your text,” he said, sensuously calm.

“Do you wanna go?”

“I have some things I need to do around the house, but yeah. Then, we can hang out back at my house.”

“Awesome!”

“Come to my house in an hour and bring sleds.”

“Okay, bye!” Sarah said, hanging up the phone.

She told her mom the plan and proceeded to her room. Her bed was on the left upon entering the doorway. Light pink sheets with white pillows neatly made the bed. A dresser and bookshelf lined the wall to the right. A nightstand was beside the headboard of the bed and had a small lamp sitting on it. A radio sat on top of her dresser and was tuned to a Christian station. Forgiven by Sanctus Real played in the background. Her beige walls contained pictures of friends and family. The words “stars can’t shine without darkness” were in the center of the photos on the wall.  Sarah grabbed her blue gloves, white hat, and black winter coat from her closet. She finished dressing in her winter attire by putting on her brown boots. Sarah was ready to go and had twenty minutes to spare. 

“Hey, Mom, can you hand me an apple?”

“Catch.”

She threw an apple at Sarah. She looked over as the apple was right in front of her face. Her hand made contact with the apple and she grasped it.

“Ha. Got it,” Sarah said, sharply exhaling. “I’m going to head out. I need to grab the sleds from the garage.”

“Have fun and be safe.”

Sarah grabbed a long orange sled and a penguin-shaped sled from the cold garage. Jacob only lived ten minutes away, but she was too excited to wait. The snow had already reached up to four inches, and it was supposed to snow all day tomorrow, too. Crunch! The sound of Sarah’s foot in the snow satisfied her. The large evergreen trees were spotted with snow and the bare trees were only white. The wind was the music to the snowflake’s dance, and the quietness was the captivated audience. The cold bit at her nose, but she only smiled. The purity of the winter enthralled her, and she could never be upset with it. As Sarah grew closer to her friend’s house, a hug embraced her heart. She was excited to see him again. Turning right in the familiar road, she could see his house. Covered in snow and icicles her anticipation began eating at her. Sarah sped up and within thirty seconds she was at his doorstep. 

“Ding dong,” the doorbell sang.

“Sarah!” Jacob laughed, throwing the door open.

Her bell-like laughter rang through his ears. “Hi, Jacob.”

“Come in.”

Sarah stepped into his large house. The door opened to a long hallway with shoes lined up against the right wall. She knew her way by heart. On the left, she could enter the living room, with the kitchen on the right. She walked to the living room. A light blue couch sat across from a white one, with a table in between. Jacob’s family didn’t have a TV, but there was a family portrait in the middle of the wall upon walking in.

“I finished all my chores, so we can go in a few minutes.”

“Sounds good.” Sarah sat on the blue couch that had two rose-colored pillows.

Jacob sat next to her. Sarah looked at him with furrowed brows and a smile at the corner of her lips. Jacob smiled a crooked sarcastic smile.

After a few minutes of silence, Jacob said, “Let’s go. I can’t wait anymore.”

Sarah followed Jacob outside, and once again, the beauty of the winter made her feel happy. Not only that, her best friend was beside her.

“Here’s the hill.” 

The snow glistened underneath the darkening sky. The snowfall had stopped almost completely. 

“Alright. I’ll go first,” Sarah stated.

Sarah sat criss-cross applesauce on the orange sled. She pushed herself off using her hands, and at first, nothing happened. She pushed harder and picked up speed. The snow brushed into her face. Trees on the left and right raced past her. A small joyous scream escaped her lips and she burst into laughter. 

“Come on! It’s your turn!” She screamed up the hill.

Jacob clenched the penguin-shaped sled in his right hand. His heart pounded against his chest, and his palms were sweating through his gloves. He stared down the hill at Sarah’s face. Her smile was contagious, and he set the sled down. Sitting on the sled he felt his heart start racing again. He closed his eyes and mimicked the movements Sarah did to push herself. The cold snow hit him on the face, and he refused to open his eyes. All in a moment, he crashed into Sarah and tumbled off the sled. 

“Ow, that hurt,” Sarah mumbled.

Jacob sat up in the snow and helped Sarah sit up. The snow had ended up in his jacket, and he noticed the snow was in Sarah’s gloves. 

“I’m so sorry.”

Sarah looked at Jacob and burst out laughing. He only looked at her in confusion. 

“It’s okay.”

Sarah stared into Jacob’s ocean blue eyes and she felt her face get rushed with heat. Jacob took her face in his hand and leaned closer, only to stop centimeters from her lips.

He sighed. “Why did it have to be like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I like you, Sarah.”