A curse and a blessing

“Bob, get ready to shovel” – Lisa called out from the kitchen to her husband.

“What?” – he asked, flashing the toilet.

“The shovel. Get it ready because it started to snow” – she explained.

“I just got back from work. Barely had a chance to piss and wash my hands” – he responded.

“I heard we are to expect even up to three feet of snow overnight” – Lisa added as she stirred the stew.

“What’s for dinner?” – Bob asked, approaching the stove.

“Nothing for you, if you don’t shovel and maintain the driveway” – she replied, placing the lid on the pot.

Bob groaned and looked out the window. Only after a few minutes of snowfall, the ground was already covered by a thick layer of white dust.

“Damn it!” – Bob cursed.

“No rest for the wicked” – he added and walked into the hall to put his boots and winter jacket back on.

“I think there’s some salt in the garage” – Lisa said to him.

“Uhum” – Bob replied without hearing what she said.

“I hate winter” – Bob thought to himself as he stepped outside.

“Bob? Be sure to clear the path and then salt it heavily. It will help melt the snow, and it will save you a shoveling trip or two later tonight” – Lisa called out from the doorway.

Bob only nodded and slowly made his way to the garage. The snow shovel was not where he expected it to be – where he left it at the end of last winter. He suspected that Lisa organized the garage between then and now and must have moved it to where she thought it should be. The problem with that was that she was never the one to use the shovel. So why would she care where he kept it? After cursing a little under his breath and browsing through other things in the garage, Bob finally found the snow shovel in the back corner of the garage, behind cans of paint, brushes, and tarps.

“I wonder what her logic was.” – Bob thought to himself, unable to find a quick, reasonable explanation as to why Lisa would place the shovel there.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me” – he said out loud.

A large crack ran through the middle of the orange, plastic snow shovel. Bob tossed the shovel to the side and went back inside the house.

“You broke the shovel, and instead of replacing it, or at least telling me about it, you hid it and pretended as if nothing happened?” – Bob asked as he entered the kitchen.

Lisa was by the stove, stirring the stew again and sipping a glass of white wine.

“How old are you?” – he snickered.

“What are you on about? Did you shovel the snow already?” – she asked, placing the stirring spoon in the sink and the lid back on the pot.

“The shovel. It’s broken” – Bob exclaimed, opening a bottle of beer.

“So, you didn’t shovel, yet?” – Lisa asked, looking at him with daggers in her eyes.

“No, I did not. How do you expect me to shovel without a shovel?” – he asked and took a big swig of the beer.

“But we DO have a shovel” – Lisa replied, making her way to the front door.

Bob grunted, grabbed a second beer from the fridge, and went into the living room to watch some TV.

“Fine. I will go shovel the snow myself” – she said, putting on a coat.

“You do that” – Bob replied, placing his feet on the ottoman in front of him.

***

“The shovel is broken” – Lisa announced upon entering the house.

“Oh, yea?” – Bob asked with a smirk.

“You knew that?” – she asked, taking her coat off.

“I just found out five minutes ago, but I think you knew all along” – he added.

“What?” – she asked angrily.

“Never mind. I’ll go to the store and get a new one” – Bob said, getting up from the couch.

“Good. I don’t want to slip and fall tomorrow morning, as I did two years ago. Remember? I swear that bruise on my thigh was there for most of the year” – Lisa replied.

“Of course, dear. I will not let it happen again” – he said before making his way outside again.

***

Anna was sitting by herself in the living room when the first snowflake landed on the window in front of her. She automatically smiled. With every second, more and more white flakes could be seen covering the dark surface of the road. To Anna, the world was so dirty during fall with all the mud and dead leaves, but once the snow came, it was as if the world was reborn. It was covered in the innocence of white. Sinless. Given another chance.

“How beautiful” – Anna whispered to herself.

She looked towards one of the streetlights nearby and marveled at the snowflakes dancing in the light as they gently fell onto the ground.

“No” – Anna almost exclaimed when someone walked past her window, trampling down the fresh layer of snow.

“And they don’t even stop to appreciate its beauty” – she thought to herself.

As she watched the snow fill in the footprints left behind by the passerby, a car zoomed by, leaving even larger prints. The contrast between the dark road and the bright snow was so stark. It made Anna think of all the good in the world that gets trampled by the bad so easily. She promptly swept the negative thoughts to the side and focused on the snowflakes slowly swirling onto the ground.

“Ms. Anna?” – a woman who just walked into the room asked.

“Yes?” – Anna answered, turning around.

“It’s late. You should get to bed” – the nurse said.

“It’s snowing, Tiffany. It’s so beautiful outside” – Anna said to the young woman.

“I haven’t had the chance to look out the window. I was helping the others get to bed” – Tiffany replied.

“Take a break. Sit” – Anna said and pointed to the chair next to her.

“You’re right. It’s magical to see the beautiful, new snow silently fall to the ground” – said the young nurse as she sat down

“Do you like snow?” – Anna asked her companion.

“I like it more when I’m warm and cozy inside” – Tiffany answered.

“Winter has always been my favorite season” – Anna began.

“My parents would sit me down on a sled and pull me around town when I was a kid. When I turned eight, they took me skiing with them. When I was 10, they introduced ice skating to me. I fell in love with it immediately. I spent every waking moment, either practicing skating or daydreaming about skating. I took part in all sorts of competitions. I even represented my country – Russia at the Winter Olympics. I won a silver medal.”

Anna paused with sadness.

“Aren’t you angry that you can’t ice skate anymore?” – the young woman asked, looking at Anna’s wheelchair.

“I used to be bitter, but it consumed me too much. I didn’t like that. I chose to remember the good times and not think about what I have lost. I led a full life. Now, whenever the snow starts falling for the first time in the season, I think back to my youth. My eyes glaze over a little, and I can picture myself on that sled, laughing. Or on that ice rink. Twirling. Feeling so free.”

The young woman smiled.

“That’s wonderful” – Tiffany replied.

“I’m ready for bed now” – Anna said and turned around from the window.

A tear slid down her cheek.