Squeak——
late autumn,
The door of an abandoned cabin somewhere in the Land of Water was pushed open, and the wind carrying snow poured in, stimulating the boy huddled in the corner to wrap the blanket tighter. He subconsciously raised his head and realized that he was following There was a girl who came in with Xuefeng.
The girl tried her best to close the door against the wind, but was startled by the wooden door that suddenly jumped due to the wind, and quickly held the door tightly with her hands. She waited until the restless wooden door calmed down a little before she exhaled with peace of mind. One breath.
After brushing the snow from my hair, I turned around and realized that there was someone sitting in the corner in the darkness.
"ah--"
When I thought about all the people who had seen my funny behavior just now, I felt a little hot at the base of my ears. I blushed slightly and bowed deeply to the unknown figure to express my apology for bothering me. He shrank into the corner facing the young man.
"Are you hiding from the snow too?"
Although the dilapidated wooden house was barely able to withstand the snow, there was air leakage from everywhere. The young man's clothes were not too thick and he was only wrapped in a thin blanket. His teeth were chattering while he was talking, which showed that he was not equipped to deal with the cold. of.
"Yes, yes, I'm really sorry for bothering you."
The eyes of the young man who came in early were used to a little darkness, but he was not sure if he had looked away. After hearing the voice, he confirmed that it was indeed a girl about his own age, and he felt a little more at ease in this dark night.
"No, it's nothing. I just took advantage of the situation and hid in. But it was a miscalculation. I didn't expect it to snow so heavily in the autumn in the Water Land."
"Winter will come early in the north."
The girl seemed to be unaccustomed to being spoken to, and her answers were a bit at a loss, making it difficult to complete the next sentence.
Normally, you shouldn't disturb others here, but after all, this snowstorm probably won't stop until morning. With the darkness and strange people, the young man felt that it would make others feel more at ease to reveal his identity, but he himself I don’t have much experience in talking to strangers, so I can only speak bluntly:
"Ah, sorry, I should introduce myself first. My name is Haru, which means spring in my hometown. What about you?"
"I'm sorry......"
The girl's voice was too gentle, and with the snowy wind blowing outside, Haru couldn't hear what she was saying unless he listened carefully.
"Ah, it doesn't matter. How can a girl just say her name to a stranger? I didn't think about it."
"No...that's not the case...I...sorry..."
The words stopped after stammering for a while, and then there was no more.
But Haru didn't feel that the girl was resisting him. Maybe she was uneasy because she was trapped here in this terrible snowstorm.
He smiled. Although the other party couldn't see it in the dark, he felt that it was always better to smile than to cry in such a difficult time:
"Don't worry, this cabin is sturdier than it looks. And look, there's firewood here. I'll light it right away."
Haru stood up and found some damp matches from his backpack. He had fallen into the snow before and didn't know if he could still light them. He gathered the matches while praying.
There was firewood left by some kind person in the hut, but the quantity was not very large. He originally planned to wait until late at night when it was the coldest time to light firewood, but he noticed that the girl did not bring any gifts and only had thin clothes on her body. She would have frozen if she didn't light a fire immediately after coming in through the snow.
"Want...something to light up?!"
The girl's voice suddenly trembled a little, and there was still the slightest resistance in it.
"yes."
While answering the girl, Haru had already struck a match, but the match only produced some sparks but did not light. When the match struck with a sharp sound, the girl opposite her body trembled obviously, even though He could see clearly in the dark, and he seemed to be holding his head and shaking.
"What's wrong?"
"Yes... yes... I'm sorry, I don't like fire very much. It's scary."
"Is that so?"
Haru put down the match. The girl didn't seem to be shivering because of the cold but was afraid of the thing. This girl reminded Haru of his sister. The child had her hands burned when she was young. Even now, she is afraid of open flames. , this girl may have the same unspeakable secrets as her sister.
But the temperature outside is definitely below freezing. When it is quiet, you can clearly hear the noise of the cold wind. My hands and feet are frozen. In this case, I will not survive the night without making a fire. At least:
"Take this blanket and use it. I bought it in the Water Land. Although it is thin, it is very warm."
Haru took the blanket off himself, folded it twice and handed it to the girl, but the girl opposite didn't take it.
"If you care about me, I will overwhelm you..."
"No, no!"
Haru's words were interrupted hurriedly.
The girl's expression was unclear in the darkness, but her helpless figure could convey many things to Haru, the most direct one being that she was a very clumsy person.
The girl was sitting on the ground facing Haru and lowered her head, as if she had done something big wrong and begged for forgiveness:
"I'm sorry, I don't, I don't dislike it, I just... I, I'm not afraid of the cold, because, because I am a snow girl!"
There are only three words "I'm sorry" in the whole paragraph without stuttering and they are spoken clearly, which shows that they are used to saying it.
Seeing her like this, Haru couldn't help but laugh out loud, because his previous worries were unnecessary. It was great to grow up healthily without being burned by fire.
Haru put on the blanket again and leaned against the wall:
"Haha, I see. I heard rumors about the Snow Maiden when I was in my hometown. Ah, I have lived here for so long that I have regarded this place as my hometown without realizing it. I almost forgot that you and I have a relationship. It’s a little different, sorry, I was a little worried.”
"sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because, isn't it because Mr. Haru cares about me?"
I'm a little happy that my name was written down.
But this girl is real.
"This is not a word of thanks. People want to hear other words than saying sorry."
"Excuse me?"
In the darkness, the snow girl tilted her head.
Haru smiled awkwardly. This clumsy girl didn't understand what he meant at all:
"You still don't understand what I mean, but you will understand one day. Don't be anxious and take your time. In short, just don't keep saying I'm sorry now."
"Excuse me."
Haru laughed silently.
Really, maybe it would be better if she could explain herself more clearly, but for a clumsy child like her, it would be better for a child like her to let her understand for herself instead of telling her directly.
"that......"
"What's wrong?"
"Aren't you going to light a fire?"
The girl's tone was like that of a puppy begging for food. Haru thought this metaphor was very appropriate. His puppy was squatting at his feet like this, whining before he picked it up. The girl looks very much like the puppy she was then.
"But aren't you afraid of fire?"
"Yes, that's right, but since I'm a snow girl and I'm not afraid of the cold, why don't you just kick me out?"
"Usually, how could someone drive a girl out during a snowstorm? Even if you are not afraid of the cold, you will be buried under such heavy snow. Isn't that why you hid in because you were worried about this?"
"But this is not an ordinary situation, it is not..."
The question of the girl in front of her was a little funny but also a little sad. How could an ordinary girl who was loved by her family and obsessed with the boys around her ask such a question.
Maybe the girl under the darkness has a face that will be disliked by others, or maybe she has experienced a sad past.
"Do you like painting?"
Haru suddenly asked such an unreasonable question.
"Draw...?"
"Well, oil painting, I originally came to the Demon King Continent to paint, and then I was trapped here by the heavy snow, but this is such a beautiful place. In spring, there are flower fields everywhere, and in summer, there are sunflowers that are so beautiful that people are speechless. In the garden, you can see wild deer running for the winter everywhere in autumn. I have painted them all. Do you want to see them...Ah, I can’t see them now, but ah, winter is my favorite here. .”
"But why, it almost always snows here in winter, and everyone hides in the house, except me..."
"Because the snow is so beautiful."
Haru wrapped the blanket a little tighter, and sleep gradually came over him.
"Although many locals complain about the long snowfall in winter, and as they say, the snow here is manic and rapid, but no one must have noticed how beautiful these dancing snows are. They must be Too clumsy, too eager to let people discover their beauty, but they show the wrong side as if they can't express it, but one day they will find it, and then express their true feelings, revealing their hidden feelings. The beautiful vitality underneath, it’s precisely because of them that people fall in love with spring.”
The girl looked at Haru with her mouth open and couldn't say anything, astonished as if she suddenly owned the whole world.
His eyes became heavier and heavier, and the harder Haru tried, the more he felt powerless:
"Do you want to see...my painting of snow?"
The girl nodded fiercely.
"Really? Then... I'll show it to you tomorrow morning... now..."
I wanted to wrap the blanket tighter, but I couldn't.
It would be nice if there was moonlight coming through now, so that we could see her face clearly, so that we could draw a picture for her, and then we could tell her that she is as beautiful as this.
However, I feel a little sleepy and a little cold, and my eyes are extremely heavy.
"tomorrow......"
Haru murmured softly and slowly closed his eyes.
...
early morning.
Haru was suddenly awakened by the dream, but the moment he opened his eyes, he could no longer remember what kind of dream it was. Although it was still a bit gloomy, some sunshine had penetrated into this dilapidated small house. wooden house.
Looking around, there was no one except myself.
There is a pile of charcoal still exuding warmth next to him. He clearly didn't have it last night...
Haru suddenly remembered something, hurriedly opened the door blocked by snow, and rushed out desperately.
"Miss Yukionna!"
No one responded, but the snow on the wall next to the door was higher than other places.
Could it be!
Haru couldn't care less, and he tried to dig up the snow there like a fox digging for prey.
Then,
A very beautiful girl appeared, with skin as white and flawless as snow, long light blue hair as clear as the sky, and a quiet and pitiful sleeping face that made Haru stunned.
"Wake up, Miss Yukionna!"
Haru woke up after a while. He gently held Yuki-onna's shoulders and tried to push her gently.
Woohoo——
The girl let out a somewhat uncomfortable whimper, and after a long time, she slowly opened her eyes. Those eyes were as transparent, and you could see the blue sky inside.
"Mr. Haru, I'm sorry..."
Yuki-onna apologized to Haru with a silly smile, her clumsiness unchanged from last night.
"Why are you sitting in a place like this?!"
"Because I want to see Mr. Haru's paintings."
Really, really...
He misunderstood what he meant again, and there were still traces of burns on his hands that should have been as pure and slender as snow.
Haru felt a little wet at the corners of his eyes, and his vision was blurred by something unknown.
"Well, please be sure to take a look!"
...
Li Mo slowly opened his eyes,
But the happy smiles of Haru and Yuki-onna still stayed in front of his eyes.
Really,
The corners of my eyes are also a little wet, and my vision is blurred by something unknown, so I will only show you these happy pictures. I will quietly hide the following memories that are destined to be sad.
...
