BOOK OF ONESHOTS | BTS

The Last Winter: K.S.J

The streets had become snow clad, the winter chill was conjoined with the typical Christmas fragrance.  The smell of coffee, candies, new fabrics  was scattered around the neighborhood.

That day was Christmas eve but I still had work since I was working at a candy store. Business during Christmas always helped to fill our pockets with extra cash.

It was already evening when I got off from work.  I saw happy couples, families and friends holding hands, being in a merry mood unlike me who had no one else to greet and hug on Christmas eve.

I felt so much lonely and left out. The weather was already chilly enough to make me shiver in my skin and the warmth of my heart had faded too, it had become ice cold,  the moment loneliness had engulfed it.

Digging my hands inside my coat pocket, I walked between all those lighted pine trees  on my way to home and finally unlocked my front door.
The room was exactly the way I had left it and was devoid of any decoration because I was busy enough to not spare some time. I sinked in my sofa and poured some hot coffee with bread. What a way to spend Christmas! But it wasn't like I had any other option to keep myself delighted.

My eyes caught sleep in an instant and I woke up a few minutes before Christmas. I rubbed my eyes open and flung my front door open, it was already snowing and like every year I built a snow man on that cold winter night using the little amount of snow that had covered my garden.

I built a wonderful snowman and was quite satisfied with it. It sparkled in that night and my face brimmed like a Christmas star. Taking out a sticky note from my pocket, I wrote my wish and pasted it against that little lump of snow. It struck midnight just then and although I couldn't see any Santa, it felt like sparkles were descending from his cart.

My shoulders rose up in happiness, my smile muffling behind my scarf, my hair had little pieces of snow trapped in them. I hugged myself to warmth with the thick gloves and with one last look at the snowman, I closed the door. Christmas was here and I preparing some cookies and Christmas treats for me. I had grasped enough sleep and I was craving for some warm stuff now.

I set up my meal and was just going to pounce on it when a loud banging at the door diverged my attention. With a frustrated yet curious expression, my steps took the lead and I opened the door to a handsome tall man who was half covered in snow and was shivering like crazy. He had no winter clothes  on him and had he been left there for another 10 mins, he would have been deprived of his life.

Without any further interrogation, I let him in and immediately made him sit near the fireplace and covered him with a lot of blankets and served him some soup. His complexion came back after a while and his cheeks and lips restored their redness. He kept sitting at the fireplace and continued to stare at the rustling wood, the flickering fire.

"Where are you from,?" I asked and he didn't flinch for a minute, his expressions unhindered, his eyes had a whirlpool of sadness and doubt in them as he clumsily snuggled inside the warm blankets and within a hour or so, fell asleep.

I watched him sleep, his soft eyelids closed, his red lips pressed close, his comfortable breathing and his soft hair pressed against the pillow. In a house which was abandoned of luxury and beauty, he lay there like a precious rare jewel, stuffed between rugs. Where, who and what he had come for was a mystery and the christmas night which proceeded with seconds in his company was unexpectedly delightful.

The next day, I found myself on my bed, my scant memory from the yester night  became clear and I was curious that how I ended up myself under the sheets.

The first motion my organs did was search for him. Where did that mysterious stranger run off to in the brink of the dawn? My head became dizzy with thoughts and I slept again.