Then he disappeared like cigarette smoke on that night. I don’t know how that happened or why left but when the moon decided to shower its light upon me, his shadow was gone and I was left with nothing.

I was caged in my room for days when I tried to speculate as to why he left, leaving me struggling on that single thread. I counted the hours that would tick by in my mind as I watched the clock strike midnight: it was exactly two hundred eighty-three hours, twelve minutes and ten, eleven, twelve seconds when he opted to leave.

It was already past curfew, which means I cannot leave; but rules were meant to be played.

I pushed myself to sit on my bed and stretched a bit to relieve my aching back. My fingers grazed softly on the window and jerked them back at the sudden drop of temperature. My lips escaped a soft sigh as I leisurely gazed at the stars above, twinkling with delight.

Then I was reminded of Minseok’s golden red colored hair and his cheeky grin when a snowflake decided to show up on my window.

I was reminded of the day when I first met him. His plain dark blue shirt that was rolled before his elbow and his light blue pants that have been faded on the front. It looked perfect on him.

I tear the window open as the cold breeze brushed on my cheeks. I reached my hands out as the white cottony-like balls began to land softly on my palms. My body shook heavily as the cold wind entered the window; my fingers found its way to close the space between us. The warmth in my room welcomed me.

My feet touched the floor as I forced myself to stand up, grabbing the thick blanket along with me. One by one, my feet travelled down the staircase as I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my hat on the table beside my shoe rack.

I knew that I would be freezing to death after I step outside of the house but I would rather put my life on the line for someone who made me escape from this world.

Then I felt myself being punched right in the face. Why didn’t the snow melt? It should have melted when he left. Why did it stay?

Then my heart lacked blood to pump more and my lungs covered itself with an invulnerable gate.

I guessed that he didn’t leave me with nothing at all.

I wrapped myself in the blanket after I planted my hat on my head then I walked towards the door.

My fingers brushed the metal doorknob as I grabbed it and twisted it open. I was silently slapped by the freezing wind; I shivered.

I took a step and almost immediately, my foot was below the white blanket beneath me. I pulled my foot out, took an another step and the process continued. I would occasionally tighten my grip on the blanket or snap my hat back in head if the wind would aggressively whisper its icy cold breeze at me.

While I fought for my life on the never-ending white blanket around me, I thought of things that I didn’t think of.

Why would I care for a person whom I met for only a few days? What made me push myself out of my house and trouble myself to look for him? Why did he look lonely every time he smiled at me? How many years has he ever roamed around here? How did the people around him treat him?

But most of all, was I important to him that he would actually care to look for me?

I felt my world crash as soon as my eyes met the cathedral. It was covered with dark blue ice. I felt my lungs malfunction when the oxygen inside it began to freeze up.

There were icicles hanging on small branches and small drops of ice pellets on the flower petals. The ground beneath me would make a sound when my foot would land softly on it.

I took my time to swallow the sudden change of the cathedral. The pillars were covered in white frost as it escaped an amount of cold fog. The centerpiece—that was utterly magnificent to look at—was glazed with transparent ice and below it, draped a series of frozen drops of water.

I couldn’t enter the cathedral, that’s what I thought as I continued to stare at it.

The door was enclosed with stalactites that were found everywhere; it’s as if it was telling me not to penetrate its closed gates.

I hugged the thick blanket to make me feel warm as I kicked my foot on the ice, hoping that it would break. I saw a misty fog escaped my lips as I began to pant. I inhaled a good amount of air in my blanket—it was warm enough to be inhaled—then escaped them through my lips.

I gathered all of my strength to hit the ice with my foot and almost like slow motion, it became like tiny stars that twinkled as it fell to the ground.

I rubbed the thick blanket on me as I continued to walk into the cathedral.

I stopped in the middle of the aisle, just like the last time I went here. I stood there, gazing at the frozen-looking altar. The stained glass was covered transparent frost, but this time, it was in a color of navy blue.

I shut my eyes closed as I reminiscent the cathedral when its beautifully colored stain glass would shine at me, letting take its beauty and majestic view.

I remembered its perfectly carved pillars visible but now it was covered with white ice pellets. The floor beneath me wasn’t covered with frost but solid ice; I was still trying to find a reason as to why I am not losing my balance as I skate through it.

Then, white fluffy-like balls hovered above me but they weren’t falling. They were, like, suspended in the air, refusing to fall down. Its as if time stopped: frozen for a few moments.

“Minseok,” I said his name in a whisper-like tone, my lips quivered at the sudden drop of temperature.

Something flickered and I looked up: it was a snowflake. I watched it fall down slowly while the moonlight shone on it to make it look utterly beautiful. I reached my right hand out as my left hand clutched on my thick blanket, the only source of my warmth.

It landed on my palm and anticipated for something to happen. And that something was to melt but it didn’t.

“You’re here,” his voice rang in my ears as I gasped and twisted my body to look everywhere. I heard a loud thump to my left, which was where the altar was situated.

“Why did you leave?” I quicken my pace towards him, to his now icy blue eyes.

He blinked at me then his dark chocolate eyes painted over his icy blue eyes.

“I left because you never asked to stay,” he looked at me with fear and regret but I smiled at him.

“I still don’t know how you did that,” I whispered at him as my insides began to twist into inseparable knots.

He gazed at me with his eyes piercing through me; its as if he was capturing me into his never-ending world.

“Did what?” He asked me, took a step forward and shortened the gap between us.

“You’re making me fall deeper than what I have planned to do,” I continued to gaze at his eyes, twinkling under the moonlight.

“Well, some things were supposed to follow the plan,”

He took one step forward as he looked down at me, our faces inches away from each other.

“And sometimes, they won’t.”

His hands gently cupped my cheeks as our lips crashed into one another. The blood in my veins immediately became like a harsh river rapidly moving around my body. My heart throbbed uncontrollably hasty as my lungs closed its oxygen walls. Then, I felt warm all of a sudden.

We broke the kiss as Minseok stared intently into my eyes.

Then, I felt the blood in my veins become like solid ice as my body began to freeze into place. My hands trembled hysterically as I brought them to cup my ears.

“Minseok,” my eyes were tainted with fear as I looked at him.

He took a step back and his mouth was agape; his face was in utter surprise. The moonlight continued to shower upon us, as it became our only source of light.

“The snow,”—I looked around then locked my eyes at him—“why is it melting?”

Then, he started to disappear, second per second.