First Snow

Tonight was cold enough that I thought I would freeze. Thankfully, we were all bundled up in our coats and sweaters, scarves and hats. Through all those layers of thick fabric I had difficulty seeing my friends, and as they were similarly wrapped up, I mostly saw their red noses. But all of that didn't matter, as the night was fresh and clear. We looked up at the stars and enjoyed the full moon among them.

"I think we should return home soon," Maria shuddered.

"Aw, don't be like that. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Arisu was the only one not wearing winter clothes. She had her hair wrapped around her, but even that was pretty loose. Did she not feel the cold? It didn't seem to affect her, at least.

"It's cold. And I canceled my date with Rai for this, remember?"

Maria sniffled, but it didn't earn much sympathy from Arisu. Instead, she grinned at the other girl.

"So that just means you should enjoy it as much as we do, right?"

"Uwa... I'm also freezing," Pudding complained.

Her whole body was shivering, as if she was a wind-up toy.

"Oh, don't be like that. The cold helps with staying awake, right?"

"But that doesn't mean I have to like it, uwawa..."

I blinked. While I would love to stay a little longer, the sky seemed to disagree.

"It's getting cloudy."

"Urgh."

Arisu huffed, and her breath showed itself in a tiny white cloud.

"This is beautiful," Erica agreed with a sigh, "but I don't want any of us to get sick. Let's go."

She closed her sketchbook and neatly stored the pens she brought with her in her bag. I didn't try to catch a glimpse of her artwork. While she had been sketching more and more during our club meetings, she never let us see her work. Apparently, it was a secret. And I was fine with that. Still, I hoped that one day, we would be able to see what she drew. I yawned, and stretched.

Erica was right. I didn't know if the clouds that were quickly approaching would stay harmless or rain down on us. And I certainly didn't want to get drenched tonight. Or maybe it was cold enough...

I glanced at Arisu. While she hated the rain, how did she feel about snow? Had she ever seen it? It wasn't mere frozen rain. Snow was beautiful, and fun. Or at least, that's what I always thought. Maria probably thought the snow romantic. I was so caught up in my daydreams about it possibly snowing that I took my time while the others quickly packed everything up. But even with Arisu helping us with her hair, it took much longer than Erica usually anticipated. And today, despite the cold, I just wasn't particularly motivated. Time and time again I glanced up at the sky, now full of gray clouds.

Now or never, right?

"Sara, can you help me with the telescope?"

"Hm? Oh yes, sure."

I went over to Erica and together, we lifted the heavy case. While we walked home, I looked at the sky occasionally, and so I was the first to notice the white, cold specks tumbling down from the clouds. The tiny snowflakes fell on our clothes and equipment, as well as the ground, and they quickly melted.

"Waaaah!"

It wasn't that surprising to me to hear Arisu scream.

"That's not rain! But..."

"It's snow," I explained.

"It's cold! And... solid? Kind of?"

Arisu stared at the snowflakes tangled in her hair, the tiny crystals glittering under the light of the street lamps.

"So beautiful," sighed Maria. "I just hope it won't melt, so I can take a walk with Rai tomorrow..."

"Let's not think of tomorrow," I was too excited for that, "but enjoy tonight! It's the first snow of the winter, isn't that wonderful?"

"Mesmerizing."

Erica mumbled the word as a snowflake landed on her free hand. She lifted it close to her face, as if she wanted to see every last detail, before it melted away under the heat of her skin. We were all so caught up in our excitement that it took me a moment to look at Arisu, who still watched the falling snow with a mixture of wonder and caution.

"So, how do you like it?"

She took a moment to answer.

"It's cold. And melting."

I let out a small laugh. Yes, she was not fully convinced. But it wasn't as bad as real water, it would seem.

"Well, that's what snow does. If it's not cold enough, it melts down into water."

"So... this is cold rain."

I shrugged.

"I'm not a scientist, but I think that's roughly it?"

My breath was foggy, but I still could see Arisu's bright hair through it all.

"I think we're lucky to see it. I mean, most people are sleeping and will probably just see what remains tomorrow. We can watch it right now, falling from the sky."

And I meant that. I spent our walk back to the school watching the snowflakes dance around us. It was truly magical. Under the light of the street lamps, they glowed golden and reminded me of fairies, as if each flake had a life of its own. Slowly, the started to remain on the ground instead of melting, which looked like the streets were coated in a fine layer of powdered sugar. The snow on us looked similar. We hurried to lock our equipment up safely before it got wet.

When we went outside again, the snow was still falling down, and everything was dipped in white.

"Beautiful..."

I couldn't stop staring at it. Not only was it beautiful, it only grew more magical by the minute. Our footprints remained by the school, but in front of us stretched untouched snow as far as the eye could see. It almost felt like I entered a new, fantastical world. But the cold slowly made its way close to me, and so I was happy when we finally arrived back at home. Even Arisu was shivering slightly. It was time to warm up again.

"I'll make us some hot cocoa," I offered.

Arisu nodded, wringing out her hair at the doorstep. Silently, she went up to my - our - room, while I made two cups of cocoa, praying that my parents didn't wake up from that. Outside, I could still watch the snow fall.

But in our room, with our hot drinks in our hands, we warmed up, and slowly, I drifted to sleep, just like the snowflakes did.