The biting wind stung my face. The warm breath I exhaled quickly turned cold. The inside of my mask was damp, covered in a layer of ice crystals.
Cars drove past, their headlights lighting up the snow. The warm streetlamps shone dimly. The frost on the roadside trees had turned orange beneath their glow.
My feet crunched through the snow as I hurried into a coffee shop.
A wave of heat washed over me, and my frozen, stiff body slowly relaxed.
The manager greeted me from behind the counter.
His words didn't register.
I heard a strange ringing, like the crisp clink of ice cubes.
I turned around and looked at the roadside tree outside the shop.
Some frost had just fallen from its branches, bringing a broken twig down with it. It hit the ground.
A gust of wind sent snowflakes swirling, and the fragments on the ground flew up too, tapping against the window.
I looked away and was about to head to the counter when I heard another strange sound.
It was a faint, fragmented sound, almost like someone talking.
I turned and saw the sofa near the entrance. A man sat there, staring straight at the screen of his laptop without moving. He was alone, and didn't look like the sort of person who talked to himself.
I looked away.
In that instant, my body stiffened again.
For a moment, I thought I saw the man turn into a woman. I couldn't make out her face, but she was wearing blue.
I slowly shifted my eyes toward the man.
He was still a man, wearing a beige sweater.
That didn't put me at ease.
The manager called out again. "Hi there. What would you like to drink?"
I wanted to nod, but my feet felt nailed