Winter Waltz
A story by Urban Cowboy
Disclaimer: No monkeys were injured during the making of this story. Humans on the other hand . . .
Thunk!
In the darkness of the predawn hours, the rock hit the ice hard, but not with enough force to shatter the frozen shell covering the lake. Instead, only a small impression was left, the rock itself skittered across the slick surface before coming to a complete stop next to a small pile of rocks previously used in a similar fashion.
Natsuki Kuga, the young woman who threw the rock, smiled in satisfaction. Puffs of breath escaped her lips with every exhale of air. The ice passed her first test with flying colors. For further testing, she stepped to the shore of the lake where the land suddenly sloped down into the water. With both hands firmly gripping the ground, she lowered one foot onto the ice. She paused, listening in the still air for tall tale sounds of ice breaking apart, but there were none to be heard.
Without further reservation, Natsuki stepped down from the embankment, putting all her weight onto the ice. Her trust was rewarded; the frozen water supported her weight. She made her way further out into the lake until she was about in the center. Stopping, she withdrew a Swiss Army knife (a birthday gift from her girlfriend of several years, Shizuru Fujino) and used it to cut a small hole into the ice. Peering down Natsuki was pleased to see that the ice was several centimeters thick, more than enough to support the weight of two people at the same time. A single word formed in Natsuki's head; perfect. If the weather reports that she had seen on the television the night before were correct, the water would be solid for the rest of the day. Folding back the knife, she made her way back to dry land and from there, to the one bedroom apartment that she shared with her girlfriend Shizuru.
Natsuki entered the apartment complex and passed the elevator, as even though her room was six stories above the ground floor Natsuki made it a point of honor never to use the lift unless she was sick or exhausted from work. Taking the customary two steps at a time, Natsuki reached her room quickly, snow fell off from her boots leaving evidence of her passage. She was in wonderful shape even as one as young as her. After unlocking the door, Natsuki quietly made her way to the master's bedroom down the hall.
As it was not even five in the morning on a weekend no less, Shizuru was sound asleep, lying on her belly, and had no intention of waking up if only she was alert enough to voice her opinion. Natsuki had other ideas, and without hesitation leaned over the sleeping beauty and gently kissed the older woman's neck not unlike what a prince would do for his own princess. Shizuru stirred in her slumber, but did not wake; Natsuki started to softly rub her girlfriend's back.
"Please wake up, I want to show you something," Natsuki whispered.
With great reluctance, Shizuru rose on her own accord. Shizuru was dressed in a long sleeve shirt, pajama bottoms and socked feet, Natsuki led the still sleepy woman by the hand to the window. Drawing back the curtains, she saw what Natsuki wanted her to see; the park across the street and the frozen lake within its limits the only footprints in the snow were Natsuki's but otherwise undisturbed by humans. Even with only the streetlights to provide illumination, she saw it all. While Shizuru was admiring the beauty of a snow in on the ground in the early morning hours, Natsuki made her way back to the bed, reaching underneath, she withdrew a large box covered in white wrapping paper, topped with a bright golden bow that was slightly covering a handwritten note.
"Happy birthday, Shizuru," Natsuki said, placing the gift into her surprised lover's outstretched hands.
Shizuru read the card out loud. "To an amazing girlfriend. Natsuki. P.S., I love you." She smiled at Natsuki and leaned over to give her a "thank-you" kiss but her lips were stopped by Natsuki's index finger.
"Not yet, open it."
Shizuru tore away the paper exposing the plain, brown cardboard box underneath. Her beautiful smile grew as she opened the box, revealing a set of new ice-skates. Natsuki recently learned through observation that Shizuru secretly wanted to learn how to ice skate. Natsuki saw her looking at online instruction videos on the computer that they shared so two weeks prior Natsuki went to the mall and bought two pairs so they could learn together.
"Now," Natsuki said moving forward, "about that kiss?"
Carefully setting the box down onto the bed, Shizuru wrapped her arms around Natsuki and kissing her on the lips, Shizuru demonstrated to Natsuki the depths of her gratitude. They stayed in that embrace for several minutes until Shizuru began to chuckle. Natsuki reluctantly broke the hold to face her girlfriend.
"What's so funny?" Natsuki asked.
"You put the gift under the bed?"
Natsuki grinned. "Well, I knew it was so obvious that I figured you never would have bothered to check." She pointed out the window to where the lake was. "It's still pretty early and nobody is out there yet. Do you want to try out your present?"
"I would love to, but what about you, Natsuki?"
Instead of answering, Natsuki got back down on her hands and knees and brought up another package of similar size to the one she gave to her girlfriend. Opening it, Natsuki revealed a second pair of ice skates sized for her own feet. "Get bundled up so we can go."
During the next twenty minutes, both women dressed for a day of being outside in cold, snowy weather. For Natsuki this amounted to mostly adding additional layers of clothing to her body. Shizuru traded in her winter sleepwear for something more appropriate. Inside the bathroom, she rubbed sunscreen on her face. She smiled briefly as she applied it, remembering how silly it sounded when Natsuki first told her to do it the first time they went downhill skiing in Niseko. Natsuki won her over though when she reminded Shizuru that the snow reflected harmful UV rays thus making sunburns much more likely during the winter season.
As they exited, the apartment complex, Natsuki insisted on carrying all four ice skates earning both Shizuru's gratitude and a kiss on the check. The feel of her girlfriend's lips on her face warmed her up, or maybe it was the blush that did that. Yes, it was certainly the blush.
A few minutes later they were at lake, right about where Natsuki was earlier that morning. Under the heavy soles of their thigh high winter boots the snow crunched nosily. The air was so cold that both women could see their breath erupting from their mouths with each breathe they took. But neither one was cold, for they had bundled up appropriately for the current weather but more than that was the empty lake for them to enjoy alone.
To stay warm, both Shizuru and Natsuki donned heavy winter coats with sweatshirts underneath, leggings under jeans. In addition to the wool hat on her head, Natsuki also wore a scarf around her neck. This scarf was important to her because it kept her face and neck warm, and had wolf designs sewn on, but the main reason for its value Shizuru made it for her by hand.
Next to the shore was a fallen tree that severed as a bench. Here, Natsuki and Shizuru pulled off their boots and put on their ice skates. They held hands as they slowly shuffled onto the ice and moved towards a tree with thick, overhanging branches. Both of them grabbed onto the branches and moved their feet forwards and backwards, not going anywhere but getting a feel for the skates. Since Shizuru considered herself the most knowledgeable of the pair, she had seen more videos on ice skating, she was the first to put her skills to the test.
Shizuru moved away from the branches leaving Natsuki to watch her. Keeping her arms out to her side, her feet parallel, she used her left leg to propel herself forward. She got a good distance going straight, but while trying to turn she slipped and landed on her butt. Natsuki couldn't help but laugh at this, and Shizuru shot her a feigned, hurt look. Ever the guardian, Natsuki moved to help her princess, only to fall herself. They both laughed at this.
The women learned quickly from their mistakes and were soon racing each other across the lake. Suddenly, Shizuru started to chase Natsuki, their laughter breaking the silence, Shizuru took sharp turns but Natsuki always seemed to be just beyond her grasp gaining speed on the straight ways. Shizuru refused to give up and wore her girlfriend out enough to the point where she finally caught up to Natsuki.
"Congratulations, now what would you like as your prize?" Natsuki asked.
"I already have what I want." Shizuru answered. Natsuki took the hint and tilted her head up and kissed Shizuru's lips, warm even in the dead of winter. They stayed in each other's arms for several blissful minutes keeping each other warm. When they finally broke apart, they silently agreed that it was time for them to head home. Snow had started to fall an hour before and they were both fairly hungry. After changing back into snow boots, they held hands leaving in the same direction from where they came so many hours ago. As they left, they noticed the footsteps that they left hours ago were quickly disappearing, filled up by the new snow.
The light retreated as the sun set but there was still plenty more time to enjoy Shizuru's birthday. Natsuki was going to cook Shizuru her favorite meal and then after they had eaten the main course, dessert.
"Did you enjoy your present?" Natsuki asked.
"I did, yes."
Natsuki grinned. "Best birthday present ever?"
"No." At Natsuki's crestfallen face, Shizuru elaborated. "The best gift I ever got was given to me two years and four months ago. You gave it to me, Natsuki."
"Hey, isn't that the day-"
Shizuru nodded she stopped, bringing Natsuki to a halt as well. Facing her girlfriend, Shizuru continued. "That was the day that you told me that you loved me, and I will always treasure that gift above all else." The days would come and go, seasons would pass and the weather would change but Natsuki and Shizuru would always have each other.
The End.
Thank you for reading. For those concerned, Tokyo Rose will be updated soon. I swear.