“Prompt 2”
Fresh snow has fallen over Destiny City for the third time this week; most people seem to have stayed inside today due to a particularly heavy flurry, but you find yourself outside tonight for some reason. The weather has faded, revealing a sparkling night sky. Much of the ground is covered in a crisp layer of snow--but more than that, beautiful flowers in the shape of snowflakes have sprouted in the ground. They grow in small patches and permeate a pleasant, sweet fragrance. If the flowers are not kept in freezing temperatures, they melt, but for the duration of their lifespan they are beautiful, fragile things. In such a busy metropolis, isn't it nice to take a moment to take a moment and appreciate nature? Even if there does seem to be something a little magical about this?
Loren would not, ordinarily, be outside in this kind of weather. Sure, the front itself seemed to have moved on, but he did not trust that another one would not be through soon. Not with the way there had been three snow falls so far this week, and this heavy one last of them. However, his sister was staying with him and his parents for a few days, and she needed something from the store to ease her morning sickness.
Evening sickness.
Whatever.
Either way, Loren’s boots crunched on the fresh fallen snow as he shuffled his way down the sidewalk and tried not to slip on any fresh patches of ice. This was made more difficult by the fact that the sky looked absolutely amazing now that the clouds had cleared out. His gaze ketp getting drawn upwards to look at them, only to get dragged back down to the icy pavement when his boots inevitably slid and skidded on a patch of fresh ice. So far, he was lucky in that he had not fallen. He was not sure how long that would last, however, and was not terribly keen on testing that.
So he would have much, much rather be inside, where it was warm and not icy. Where he could snuggle deep into a new fluffy blanket he’d gotten for Christmas, drink some hot cocoa, and play the newest installment of Pigeon Dating Simulator. The premise was funny enough to him, and his sister got a kick out of it herself, so it might be a win-win situation. Then, he could go take a warm shower, put on his warmest, fuzziest pajamas, and go to bed in a very warm bed. He even had a new heated blanket he could use.
He had zoned out at the sky again and almost missed the flowers that were blooming out of the snow. When he next skidded on some ice, however, Loren did see them as he looked down in reflexive fear of imminent demise. Distracted from his adrenaline-boosted heartbeat, Loren crouched down to look at them. They looked like little snowflakes, waving a little in stray breeze that made Loren shiver.
Having not seen these before, Loren was entranced. Carefully, he reached out to touch one of the snowflake blossoms and was immediately disappointed when the warmth from his fingertips—though he did not actually feel like they were warm—melted the petals. Alright, so he could not actually touch the ice flowers. Duly noted.
Darn.
He got out his phone after a moment of trouble rustling in his pocket and took a picture of the clusters of snowflakes rising out of the snowdrifts on delicate stems. There was no way his parents or sister would believe him when he mentioned what took him so long, so he knew he should get some proof. They probably still wouldn’t believe it, but it was worth a shot.
Speaking of, his sister was going to be missing that stomach medicine if he didn’t hurry up and bring it back. She wasn’t going to look at the ice flowers if she was too busy being grouchy at him for getting distracted with them and taking eight hundred years to get the medicine he’d specifically been sent out for. So Loren got back to his feet and headed back towards the store at a brisk shuffle. He noticed more of the flowers, now, rising out of the snow, and smiled a little.
It was weird, he’d admit, but they were nice. Magical, almost. Maybe magic could be a good thing, sometimes. It wasn’t all monsters, was it?
(604 words)
