Vanilla Ice Cream

She hit me hard, I couldn’t think for a moment. 

I take an extra-long time to pick something from the freezer. Really, I am not buying anything from here, but to enjoy the cool air. From here, I can see the window dripping sweat because of the heat outside, for as long as I could fight, I am staying here. 

I see with the magical eyes on my back that the shop assistant starts walking towards me. I get nervous, almost felt like committing a crime, so I grab something looking nice, I smile wide at the assistant and go straight to the counter to pay. I fought and I lost.

The window is blurred, my hand pushing the door handle is sticky from the sweat. The window was blurred last winter too, by the heat coming from inside the car. 

I have to walk down to the post office now because I don’t drive. On my way, I take out the ice-cream from the plastic bag. I‘d rather just hold it in my hand because it’s vanilla flavored—such a flavorless flavor, to me at least. I regret grabbing this one out of my nervousness. But then very soon I sympathize with it—this unappreciated ice cream I bought. it soon will just melt in its plastic cover without even getting a real taste of summer. so I decided to open it. 

It reveals from the plastic cover, emitting its overawe cold steam to me. 

Like her, first sight looked the meanest and hardest to approach in that winter of last year. I was dragged to the random party by my friend, I think… no, I guarantee that so was she. I was having fun so I didn’t make a move on her, of course neither did she. 

Vanilla... I make a boring expression. Then I lick the tip of the cream off. While my tongue diagnosing the flavor, my gut tells me, it’s over-sweetened.

She was gone when I came back to the room. I felt impolite not at least saying goodbye to that woman with cold air. I keep my manner you know. I walked out in the excuse of smoking and wasn’t expecting to see her since she left for a while now. 

But no, I saw her. Among all the little white shininess falling, she stands there. I cannot see her face but the white steam that comes out. The air she emits is warm now I bet, in comparison. 

It’s still flavorless to me the second bite, but it doesn't matter to me. The ice cream is enjoying being valuable and I am enjoying the cooling it is doing to me on this hot summer day down the street. 

“You came out at good timing!”

 She turned almost shockingly. 

“Oh, I am the guy from the party, umm sitting across from you?”I explained. “Oh. It’s snowing, hehe.” Then she went back to look at the snow, not as comfortable as she was, neither was I. Afterwards we didn’t say a word, stood there, beneath the snow. I was smoking because that’s why I came out for, right. And she is… waiting for a cab or a pickup. My cigarette was halfway done when she asked “ you going back up there? after um your smoke?” “ yah I guess…The cab is taking long, huh?” Said I while blowing out a mixture of smoke and carbon dioxide, they are all just white steam in the Winter. 

“No, I drove here.” 

Heat brutally presses that white body of the ice cream down, It melts and follows the plastic wrap to the purlicue of my hand. My hand is now very sticky. 

Did she stay because of the snow or because of me? This question filled the back of my head when I asked to check out her car while walking her there. I always wanted a car, not necessarily to drive it. I know very well I cannot afford it, but the thought of it was nice. So I applied for driving classes a couple of years ago, passed the test, never went to get the license. 

It was a small delicate 2-seat automobile she has, not convertible. The snow covered half of it, I could see it’s red. My feet jumped and I brushed the frost that built on the windshield. “Take a seat inside.” “ Really? Thanks.” It’s not an antique nor a luscious car, but the inside lured me in. Then she came into the car too, it was cold inside.

“Ugh!” I lick away the white sticky cream on my hand. Then oh did I not take two big mouthfuls of the ice cream before it drips everywhere, and did I not get the worst brain freeze…

Someone came out of the midnight Café, the snow brought more cold air. The coffee that person held fought with the cold air with its white steam, then for a moment, it surrendered by cooling off. One saw the red mini car parked next door to the café. It wiggled slightly, and its window steamed from the inside. One giggled, turned around, and sipped the coffee, “Ugh, cold already…”

“Hahaha! I don’t know why we are doing this?” “I told you, my heater is broken” “You think this will help?” “it already works!” She screamed out of excitement. I and this woman stamped our feet onto the car base, wiggled our body, and screamed loudly. Apparently, according to some random source of knowledge she heard, this is a fun way to warm up the car and ourselves. I don’t believe it, of course, but she was right about the fun, to do nonsense with a total stranger. 

“Hehe, it’s tiring.” To the point I am exhausted, the windows are finally steamed and we are very warmed up. To be honest, I am scared of this causing suffocation, so I rolled down the window. “Oh no the steam is running out, wait wait, before that…” 

She takes her hand out of the pocket. A line made of the colors from the subtle city lights followed after her finger on the steamed window, water droplets formed and broke out of the outline and flows down to the edge of the frame; A blur chased after the line as crooked little snowflakes bloomed on the window for some seconds, then soon got devoured by the blur. She looked at the now-undistinguishable snowflakes, I bet pretty proudly. On the side of her face, warm steam came out. 

She hit me hard, I couldn’t think for a moment.

The air-con brushes my hair up as the second door to the post office opens. I held up my package when I found the ice cream’s fragile body has broken off and a piece has dropped.

She waved at me once more through the steamed window. Then that red car started and ran into the darkness dimly lit by snow, farther and farther. I took out another cigarette and lifted my hand to cover the snow from the lighter when I realized the snowing had stopped. 

The divided ice cream has landed on my red Converse, I wipe it as soon as possible but still, it leaves a white heavy mark…I frown and aim the remain of the ice cream towards a bin, it’s vanilla flavored anyway! 

I walk out of the post office with the package under my arm and the ice cream in my hand. I pitied it once again. 

Something snow and shinny hit my sight, boldly falling from the sky everywhere on this hot summer day. Instantly I start looking around, then soon I spotted it. By the crossroad, a 2 seat mini automobile parked there, red. 

I know she comes with the snow.

With excitement, I threw my feet, in the red converse with a white mark, towards the car.

The window rolls down as she reveals.

“You came out at a good timing!” she says.

“Yea, it’s snowing hehe”, I reply. 

“What you got there?”

“um, ice cream.”

“Vanilla? ”

I nod, like a blockhead. 

Her sight moves onto the package.

“ Oh! that’s my driver’s license!” I exclaim as white steam emits.