The snow fell from the sky like feathers dropping off from a high up bird. Alicia danced in spun in the school yard, arms far outstretched, enjoying the cool breeze on her face, a smile spread across her cheeks. She hummed to herself, a happy, meaningless tune, and she could swear she felt the sun making a spotlight down on herself as she did so.
It was Christmas break, and as far as she knew, there was no one else on campus. Not that that would have stopped her from enjoying herself, but she didn't mind the thought of not being judged for doing what she enjoyed. As she danced, she imagined the sound of an acoustic band playing behind her, accompanying her dance and song. She sang meaningless words to the tune in her head, not meaning to make any real lyrics.
The more she danced and sang, the more real the band in her mind sounded, and the more she could feel that spotlight on her. She could feel her cheeks warming up from the joy of being herself so freely. But soon she began to realize that at least one instrument of her band was not only in her head. It was soft and distant, but she could swear she heard a guitar playing. She stopped and listened, and as she felt herself returning to the real world, she was assured that that was in fact the case. Somewhere in the distance, there was someone else on campus, and they were playing a guitar.
As she began to follow the sound, she thought to herself how strange it was that someone would choose to play their guitar while it was snowing. Surely the snow would be bad for the strings and the wood of the instrument and make it unsuited for playing before long. But perhaps the mystery player had found a spot under an awning where they would not be hampered by the weather in such ways. She tried to think of such awnings as she followed the sound, but she could not think of any.
Soon she found herself fitting herself between two buildings, taking a thin pathway into an opening behind the school buildings. In the middle of that opening, atop a mound of snow, sat a boy she recognized from class named Jake. Alicia couldn't think of many times that Jake had spoken out, but he had always seemed like a distant, almost cruel person. She had never been sure if that were true, or if he were simply uncomfortable being around people.
Beside him sat a guitar case and a blanket. The guitar case was empty, as the acoustic guitar it had once held now rested in his hands, which he played almost gracefully. His fingers danced along the strings, and a soft melody seemed to float from it to Alicia's ears. It had been a long time since she could remember hearing anything so beautiful. As she silently watched him play, it began to occur to her that the snow never seemed to land upon him, as though some invisible heat reached out from him and melted the snow before it could touch him and his guitar.
Without thinking, she took a step forward, and a stray leaf crunched beneath her feet. Jake opened his eyes for the first time since she had arrived and froze upon seeing her. A brief moment later, the snow began to drift closer to him than it had before, and he swung wildly for the blanket and draped it over his guitar. "What do you want?" he cried out, his voice nearly breaking. Alicia stuttered, unable to find the words she needed. "Get out!" he screamed.
Not knowing what he would do, she turned around and ran.
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