Warm Winters

Part 2: Matthew Lin

"The movie Constipation still hasn't come out," James commented very seriously. I laughed loudly at the joke that James made as we hurried on the snowy sidewalk. His corny jokes would one day cause the end of my days.

I warmed my frozen hands as I bent down to adjust my shoes, which were just about to be unlaced.

Turning the next block, I glanced at James and his twin brother Jackson walking ahead of me while their younger sister Juliette stayed back.

"I'll wait for you, Matthew," she said, halting to wait as I finished tying my shoelaces.

"No, you go ahead; it won't take too long," I told Juliette.

I loved the three siblings. The twins and Juliette were my childhood friends, and we had all made a pact to continue our friendship in our new undergraduate experiences. Along with James and Jackson, we were all three Musketeers, ready to take the world by storm. As luck would have it, we had all found our place at Queens County College for each of our future career choices.

Unlike Juliette, James, and Jackson were both in the same college year as me.

The affection Juliette showed me was always one-sided; I saw her as my sister and wanted her to understand how valuable she was to me. As a way to avoid breaking her heart, I stayed nice to her and tried to create a space between us.

"Okay, don't take too long," she whispered as a rosy color spread her cheeks.

Once again, light snow filled the morning air, and I couldn't help but imagine how elated Kevin would have been at how many inches of snow had accumulated this year.

The silent cold, the white nothings, and the wind of winter always reminded me of my little brother; he always loved playing in the snow. In some distant history, we enjoyed cups of hot chocolate on our front porch with dad as the smell of fresh cookies warmed the impending cold. The silent bliss of the cold always reminds me of what could have been forever.

I glanced at the hurried figure behind me.

It was Alina Hayat.

"Excuse me," she mumbled quickly as puffs of white smoke covered her words.

I knew Alina from elementary and high school; judging from my rare acquaintances with her, she was a very tall and timid person. She, Jackson, and I were all on the pre-medical track as undergraduates, and Jackson's experiences with her were no short of the words "angry, tall, and very self-pretentious." But I knew Jackson well enough to know how much of a pain in the ass he actually was because he was just like me.

Alina's sudden movement as she passed me by surprised me as I hastily tried to get up from tying my shoelaces. Without realizing the slippery mess underneath, I grabbed at whatever I could get my hands on. Which happened to be a very irritated 5-foot-8 special someone.

A scream escaped from Alina as she landed on top of me. Her maroon shawl covered my face as I placed my hand on her waist to stop her from landing face down in the snow. Cold hands took away the silky material from my face.

Angry brown eyes stared back at me.

I couldn't help but notice how nice her eyes looked. It was like staring at an endless pool of warm brown. Thick lashes complemented the dark eyes that stared back at me. Her furrowed brows made her eyes even starker against the white sky. Mysterious rays surrounded by a rim of ebony distracted me from whatever thoughts were attempting to spill from me.

Their luminance reminded me of the glimmer of glowing coals.

I never realized how captivating dark eyes could look.