Dancing with the Snow

This day is also ending.

I thought, returning home tired after yet another boring day. Yes, by now i considered all my days boring, which were mostly made up of university and part-time work as a sales assistant.

Here it is, my little comfortable apartment, the place where i can relax a bit by myself. I had recently moved there, far from a problematic family and false friendships that had caused me a slight form of depression.

I prepared dinner and, immediately after eating, i went to the balcony to relax a bit. I admired the night panorama of shining stars and snowflakes that began to fall, until...

There she was, Mai Yukimura, former member of a very successful idol group. Every evening, more or less always at the same time, i see her dancing and singing in the building opposite mine.

I've never been particularly fond of idols, but news of it went around the world and so i ended up becoming interested in its story. It seems that this girl has been accused, unjustly, of a scandal in which she, however, was never actually involved. Despite her attempts to clarify, she was fired from her agency, estranged from her bandmates, abandoned by her numerous fans and, according to rumors, even her parents preferred to no longer have anything to do with a daughter involved in a scandal.

I discovered by chance that she lives in the building opposite mine, i saw her one evening and recognized her. From that time, a little out of boredom, or perhaps to have a little company, i began to go to the balcony every evening to watch her 'show' and she was always there, punctual. I admit i'm a little fond of her, can i consider it a sort of daily appointment? But yes, i like to think like this and carve out this little space of relaxation for myself in the company of a former celebrity.

Who knows if she will sing the songs from her latest album today too...

Normally she has always performed songs from her albums, in the last few days she sing those from the last album released a few months before the elusive scandal. Today, however, things seem to be different, she is on the balcony as always, but...

What the hell is she doing?! She's climbing the railing?! Wants to sing there? No, that's absurd! Too dangerous!

By now she's standing on the railing, she's even starting to move!

“STOP!”

I screamed in an attempt to stop her, she whirled towards me and for the first time i was able to see her straight in the eyes.

Wait, is she… crying?

I clearly thought i saw she sad, tear-stained face. As soon as she saw me, however, a beaming smile came from her mouth towards me.

"Beautiful…"

I murmured softly, becoming fascinated by his appearance.

The girl came down from the railing and motioned for me to join her. I wasted no time and, without even taking my coat, i ran out to reach the entrance of the building where Mai Yukimura lived.

I saw her there, outside the door and wearing only her idol dress. She was shaking, i don't know if it was from the cold or from the tension accumulated until recently, but i was in the same situation too. I approached her at a slow pace and still out of breath from the run i had just done, she looked at me with a satisfied smile.

“Look, i saw what you were doing and-“

He came closer to me and interrupted me, putting a finger on my lips.

“Don't say anything, i know who you are… you are the god of death who came here specifically to get me.”

Huh? What is she ranting about?

“No look, i don't know what you're talking about, the fact is that every night i-“

But once again he interrupted me, this time taking my hand and dragging me into the building in a seemingly endless race.

We ran up the stairs until we reached the floor of her apartment, the door was open and i could see numerous posters of her and her group inside. She looked around the room, looked down wistfully for a moment and then shook her head quickly, dragged me back out to go up the stairs again.

“Wait, where are you taking me? And you left the door open!”

“Don't worry, it doesn't matter anymore...”

What… what is this girl saying?

We climbed the stairs higher and higher until we reached the last flight, the one that would soon take us to the roof.

The air was even colder up there and the snow began to intensify, i could see Mai Yukimura's labored breathing forming a little cloud.

I started talking and this time i wasn't interrupted, i told her about all the evenings spent admiring her and how she had managed to keep me company in a dark period of my life.

“And that's it. I don't know exactly what you want to do on the roof, but i just want to let you know that i believe in you, as far as my opinion matters i'm of the opinion that a girl like you couldn't have done anything wrong.”

I took a break and then continued.

“And… nothing, i just wanted to tell you, i… i think i've become a fan of yours.”

She didn't answer, but her bright eyes and smile were worth a thousand words.

He took me by the hand and began to show me some dance steps with me, yes, me who had never danced in my life. We both began to smile, then laugh and laugh some more, more and more, laughing perhaps for no reason, like crazy people on a roof, but in that moment i felt i was truly happy for the first time in my life.

After a few seconds she wrote some words on a heart-shaped piece of paper and handed it to me inside an envelope, then gave me a playful push and winked.

“Enjoy the show and don't read the content until the end!”

She began to dance and sing a new song, one i had never heard before. All the while she was visibly excited, almost as if she were a novice idol auditioning.

Once she finished her beautiful song she took a few steps back and bowed, her trembling look crept into my eyes, i was taken aback by the unexpected gesture.

It is like...

As if she was waiting for the reaction of her audience, in this case from me, i smiled and began to applaud her in a very sincere way.

“It was the best show of my life, i feel really lucky to meet you.”

She smiled back and came closer to me, to be precise just a few centimeters from my face, i could hear her breathing and see her penetrating eyes up close.

Several seconds passed in absolute silence, then she came even closer and gave me a sweet and delicate kiss. Her lips, although cold, made me feel a certain unexpected warmth. I was speechless, she backed away again and dangerously towards the edge of the roof.

“You gave me one last moment of happiness, i'm grateful!”

At that moment the envelope came to mind, i opened it and realized what was about to happen.

No, wait, that can't be true! So she brought me to this rooftop for her last performance before calling it quits, what should i do in this situation? Damn, this is all happening too fast!

My mind was clouded by the whirlwind of emotions and madness of that cold evening, but there was one certainty:

I just know that i want to be with her.

I ran as fast as i could towards her, she fell backwards and i somehow managed to grab her hand, pulling her towards me in one last hug. With both of us already falling it was too late, but the knowledge that i had been happy together with her still brought a smile to my face.

All that remained for us was to descend further and further, like the snow on that freezing winter evening, like the piece of paper i still held in my hands and which read 'This is the song i have never been able to sing in public and it is called Dancing with the Snow, thank you for being my last and most precious fan!'