Mystic Syn

You know that feeling of seeing the first snow fall? You’re filled with wonder, amazement, even awe. The snowflakes flitter down, sticking to whatever surface they can cling onto. Your breath fogs the window as you watch the snow fall peacefully on the drowsy world. At first, it’s like a light dusting of powdered sugar: Light, of course, but also sweet.

The feeling stays with you as you fall asleep, snowflakes drifting past your window. As you dream, you awake to a blanketed world of just white. Excited, you don’t even care to put on proper clothes; you strap on your shoes and rush out the door. As soon as you set foot out of the warmth of the indoors, you are hit with a chill, then a profound silence. All this time, you’ve been used to hearing the little things when walking out the door, but you don’t hear any of it when you walk out this time. It’s like the world is asleep; carefully tucked to bed with a white blanket and clouds as a pillow. You cannot remember what it was like to not hear this silence, but you enjoy every moment of it.

You keep walking, not even caring at the chill nipping at you. Everyone around you is nicer than before, even full of joy. They welcome you, though you don’t have the proper gear on. You spend time with them, and after noticing you shiver in the cold, they give you an extra coat. At first, you refuse, but they insisted. You pull it over your shivering body, and you gaze at it all again.

Of course, the snow has been disturbed over this time you’ve been out, but it still remains peaceful. You smile, truly smiled for what seems like the first time in forever. The world rests as the people are at play, the snow finally freeing them of the busy lives they were leaving; of course, they would have to return to it when the snow melted, but it was good to live in the moment rather than wait it out or let yourself be consumed by the schedule you forced on yourself. As the day comes to a close, you try giving the coat back to the neighbors, but they insisted they let you have it. You try again, but they just smile and say that it was a gift to you, as the snow is a gift to bless you all from your busy lives.

You blink as they leave. You stand out there in the snow, coat still in hand as the neighbors went inside to warm up and spend time with each other. Eventually, you find yourself walking towards your home, but it really doesn’t seem like your home anymore. You kick the snow off your shoes, hang the new coat up, and sit on your sofa, tears forming in your eyes. The one time of clarity from your life only lasted a few hours, but it was all you needed.

You look out the window again, snowflakes fluttering down again, and you smile as you let the tears stream down your face.