Those you Love

"Smile, and think of those you love. You're a Hildna, after all."

My father once spoke with a dumb grin on his face.
He claimed that being the son of the Hildna family was something to be proud of. He was one of them; he knows it best.
But being a son of the Hildna family...
It's hard.

"--Keep fighting!"

In the snow, I can hardly see, I can hardly hear at all.

"--I said, keep fighting!"

The blood-soaked white beneath me makes it hard to move.
The duty within me makes it hard to cry.
With a dumb grin on my face, I continue to shout.

"For the Queen!"

◆ ◆ ◆

BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP.
An unfamiliar sound pulls me from a deep sleep.
With drool dripping down my cheek, my eyes drift over to the bedside table.
"So noisy..." I yawn.
Aah right, I bought an alarm. I already regret my decisions.
Eventually, I rise up out of bed and pick up the alarm clock. I blink, once, twice.

"How do I turn this off again?"

It was a noisy morning.

◇ ◇ ◇

After my dad died, I picked up a bad habit of sleeping in. It's honestly a surprise I managed to finish school despite being late so often.
But my teachers were kind. So long as I wore a smile and worked hard, they'd forgive my worse qualities.
Thankfully, now that I'm a working adult, I have someone else to rely on.
Or... I did, until yesterday. My girlfriend's away for a few days to get training for her new job.
She, too, is a teacher. I mean, she will be, very soon.
Even though I'm a bit of an idiot, I'm surrounded by hard-working people.
So I have to work hard too.

◇ ◇ ◇

BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP.
In my hands, I carry the source of a now-familiar sound.
"So noisy..." someone yawns.
The benefit of buying such an annoying device is that I can annoy other people with it.
Thinking such a thing, I hurried down to my sister's apartment and generously made sure to wake her before school.
"BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP." I sing along with the alarm. Does this count as singing?

"Both of you, shut up-!"

POOF! A pillow hits me square in the face, stifling my noise. My body flinches, and I lose grip of the alarm. It crashes to the floor with a thud, nay, a smash.

"...ah."
"...ah."

A furious little sister doesn't hold back.

"I JUST BOUGHT THAT!"

It was a noisy morning.

◇ ◇ ◇

After doing my duty as a responsible brother, I began my jog towards my new life.
Today I begin my first working job. It's not the kind of place I was expecting to work at, but-
THUD!

"Oh, sorry!"
"--uuugh..."

Whoops. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Usually, these streets are pretty empty.
Paying me no attention, the hunched-over old man keeps on walking. His gait, heavy.
Is he okay? He looks like he's just run a marathon. Maybe I should bring him some water...
Oh, but then I'll be late for work! Man, responsibilities suck!
Whatever, buying him a drink won't take long. I'll just jog a bit faster than usual.
That was the plan, at least.

"Huh?"

After buying a bottle of water, I returned to the spot where the old man was. He was moving slowly, so I didn't think he'd get far in the time it'd take me to get a drink, but...

"He's gone."

He can't have gone far.
"Oi-! Old man!" I shout.
Why did I do that? He's not gonna shout back, is he? If anything, hearing a croaky "I'm here!" right now would weird me out.

"Oh?"

On the floor, slightly ahead of me, something catches the sunlight, reflecting it brilliantly.
Did he drop something?

"Treasure, get!"

Like a kid, I skip on over. This must be my reward for being so generous!
I'm joking, of course. Whatever it is, I'll bring it to a lost and found and-

"...what...?"

I crouch down to pick up the object, but... what even is this?
It's like one of those cube puzzles where you shuffle the colours, but without any of the colours. Or without the shuffling. It's... a cube.
A sheer black cube. And the sun is reflecting right off it.
What is this made of? From afar, I thought it was glass, but... it must be a metal of some kind.
I pick it up, curious how the surface of it feels to touch.
It's smooth. It's... cold. I'm cold.
The wind whistles past my ear. My fringe lifts and falls. The sun no longer shines.
The ground is white.

"Hey!?"

I look up. A flurry of white dances through the shadowy night.
I turn, left, right, all around. I can barely see a thing.
But this... I'm sure...
...Is a snowstorm.
"Oi-! Ooooi-!" I quickly yell for help - It's almost instinctive - but the raging wind takes my breath away.
My brain is racing. What's going on? Where am I?
I don't even notice how much my body has tightened up until I feel a sting in my right hand.

"Ouch-"

I let go of the cube, my palm now bleeding from gripping it so hard.
I shake my hand. Damn, it's cold. It's not winter yet; it should be warmer than this!
But where the cube hit the ground, a faint warmth begins to pulse.
The snow around it turns to slush, then to water. Could it be-?
This cube is a portable oven!
I crouch back down to pick it up...

"Whoa!"

Hot hot hot! I plant my hand onto the snow.
Cold cold cold!
Man, what did I do to deserve this?
Okay okay, calm down. I'm a Hildna, I can figure this out.
Was there a flash snowstorm? Will public transport still be running?
How will my girlfriend get back home? Will my little sister be safe getting to school?
Will that old man be okay in this weather?
But, as far as I can tell, there are no buildings to my left. No park behind me. No pavement beneath me.
It's not that a snowstorm hit the city, but that I hit a snowstorm.
Well, at least if a polar bear comes along, my hair will blend in with the snow.
I could throw the cube at it! ...well, if I could pick it up.
"Oi, cube! Can't you cool down a bit?" I shout towards my only companion. Of course, it doesn't reply.
.........
Right, that's enough thinking. Now it's time to be brave!
Pick a direction, walk in that direction, victory!
"Oooooh!" I charge with a scream!
...it doesn't last long.
I forgot! Running in snow is hard!
Okay, let's just walk like a normal person.
Yup, very normal. Everything is very normal right now.
Step, step, step.
...wait, maybe I should bring that cube.