Dancing Snow
–-:three.
\\.Tennyo
---
Serena didn't know how long they had stayed in the supermarket, but by the time they went back out, the snow was nearly a foot high. Serena was glad to find that the wind wasn't blowing as hard as it had before, that meant they could now play in the snow!
Darien, the impish child that he was, was miles ahead of the game. Before she knew what hit her (well she did know that it was a snowball), Darien was already making another one in his hands.
"Ha! Ha!" Darien laughed, "You didn't see that one coming did you?"
"No…" Serena glared at him, "But I bet you didn't see this one coming either!" Serena quickly tackled him into the deep snow, taking care to take the brunt of the fall.
"Ahh!" Darien giggled, "You got me!"
"I sure did," Serena smiled, "Now who is the Greatest Snow Fighter of all time eh?"
"I am!"
"What!" Serena exclaimed and began to tickle him, "Who's the Greatest Snow Fighter of all time?"
Darien laughed uncontrollably. "You are! You are!"
Serena stopped her tickle onslaught. "That's right. I am!"
"Not for long…" he said and hurled another snowball in her direction. "Haha! Got ya again!"
Serena wiped the snow away from her face and began gathering snow as well. "Why you little…" she packed a snowball and threw it at him, "Aha! Take that!"
Darien quickly dodged the snowball and began running towards Serena's apartment. "Bet you can't catch me!"
"I bet you I can!" Serena challenged and began chasing after him. Woo, they boy can run fast. Before long, Serena was huffing and puffing, unable to keep up with the energetic fellow. Damn, she was getting old.
"Darien!" Serena wheezed, "I give up! I can't catch you. You win."
Darien, who was a full block ahead of her, ran back. "Who's the Greatest Snow Fighter of all time now?"
"I am," Serena gasped, "Still!"
"No, I am!"
"No, I am!" Serena finally stood up and used her hand to indicate silence. "But you can be the Greatest Snow Runner of all time."
Darien thought about that for a second, and then nodded reluctantly. "Fine, but only if we get to have a Greatest Snow Runner ceremony. I want to have ice cream and pancakes!"
"Ice cream? Pancakes? Together?"
Darien nodded.
"Oh all right. But only if we get to have a Greatest Snow Fighter ceremony too!"
"Okay!" he agreed.
They walked the rest of the way to Serena's apartment in merry silence, stopping here and there to point out particularly large snowflakes drifting down to the earth. Darien had even attempted to catch a snowflake on his tongue, but Serena told him not to. Whatever was in our toilets went into the ocean. Whatever was in the ocean went into the atmosphere. Whatever was in the atmosphere is snowing down on you right now. And whatever's snowing down is best left uneaten.
That pretty much summed up what Serena told Darien, though he did get slightly confused on how the stuff in toilets ends up in oceans. Unfortunately, that is another story for another time.
By the time they reached Serena's apartment, the sun was almost past the horizon and the star-filled sky could once again be seen. Most of the time, the enormous amount of city lights, not to mention the pollution, obstructed the stars from view. It was the only silver lining Serena could see right now.
She sighed and looked at the little boy clutching her hand and looking back at her like she was all he had in this world. All of a sudden, Serena felt a tremendous ache in her heart. She was daunted by the amount of trust Darien had put in her. It made her all the more determined to find his parents. However, a part of her did not want to find his parents. She didn't want to admit it, but she was already growing emotionally attached to this young boy.
He was just the most adorable little thing with his innocent, cobalt blue eyes and his ruffed up black hair. And it wasn't just that. She saw the shining intelligence in his eyes, and an understanding wisdom that was hard to find for one so young. Heck, she knew people her age that were still highly immature. But beyond all of that, she knew that Darien had a heart of gold. Just by the way he trusted her; she knew that he'll make some girl's heart throb when he gets to that age.
Serena sighed whimsically as she opened the door to her apartment. She really was getting ahead of herself here. By tomorrow, Darien will be gone and she'll go back to work at the information ask. Everything will go back to its normal… boring… self.
She cringed. Never mind that! She had a Greatest Snow Fighter and Snow Runner ceremony to attend to!
Serena closed the door and quickly ushered Darien into the living room. She went into the kitchen and came out with a couple of candles and a lighter.
"Better?"
Darien nodded.
"Now you wait right here while I prepare a grand feast for our Greatest Snow Runner festival!"
Serena went into the kitchen in search for the pans that she rarely used. The only reason she had it there in the first place was because her mother had insisted that she learned how to cook one day. After all, how was she to please a man if she did not know how to cook?
Serena's answer was simple: she would get him to cook for her.
Nevertheless, her inability to cook had a restrictive impact on her life. It reduced her to eating canned foods for the rest of her life (which she heard was terrible for one's health), and caused her to light up another candle so she can read the instructions on her box of pancake mix. Yes, it was true: she did not know how to make pancakes either. In fact, one can safely assume that her "knowledge of cooking" only included instant noodles and other microwaveable substances. Anything else was moot.
Serena was pleased to find out that when they said instant, they really meant instant. It took her a few tries to get the pancakes done just right, but she eventually perfected the art of pouring the mix into something that resembled a circle. Meanwhile, the other half of their feast was sitting in the freezer. Even though it wasn't working, it still retained most of its coolness.
"Here we are!" Serena smiled proudly as she walked into the living room with a plateful of steaming pancakes in one hand and syrup in another.
"Mmm…" Darien remarked, "Smells good!"
"Yeah," Serena muttered, "Let's hope it tastes good too."
"What?"
"Never mind," she said, "Now! As with any ceremony, we must begin with a march down the aisle before we make a speech and proceed to the banquet. Since we don't have an aisle, we'll just have to make do."
"March? What sort of march?"
"Here," she pulled Darien off the couch, "I'll show you."
Together, they tried a series of walks until they finally settled on the penguin walk.
"Wait! Before we march," Serena exclaimed, "We must have some music!" Serena hurried into her bedroom to dig the old radio/tape-player back out. She stuck the batteries in and hit the play button.
Lo and behold, the first music that came blaring out was one of her favorites from "The Lion King" soundtrack. God, she loved that movie.
Serena placed the radio next to the pancakes on the coffee table and reassumed her position next to Darien. She offered her arm and Darien took it. Together, they marched the short distance from Serena's front door to the end of her couch.
Serena turned off the radio and cleared her throat. "Now, we will continue with a speech from the recipients of these two honorable awards."
"A speech?" Darien asked, "How will I do that?"
"Just watch," Serena said. She winked at him and proceeded to move behind the podium, also known as the back of the couch.
"Ladies and gentlemen," she paused and waved to their large audience of stuffed animals, "Thank you for voting me as the Greatest Snow Fighter of all time. I am extremely honored to receive this award. I know it's difficult to obtain this award, since it is only given once a millennium, but I am glad that you have bestowed me with this honor."
Serena bowed and stepped off the podium. She waved for Darien to take her place.
Darien cleared his throat nervously. "Ladies and gentlewomen," he said, "Thanks for electing me as the Greatest Snow Runner of all time. I'm actually not that great of a runner, but my only competitor, Ms. Serena, couldn't keep up with me. So, thanks."
Darien stepped off the podium and bowed gracefully. Serena applauded enthusiastically. "Good job Darien," she patted him on the back, "You can become a world famous orator one day."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"What does an orator do?" he asked.
"Go around and make speeches, I suppose."
"Oh, naw. I don't like doing that."
"Oh, okay. Wanna eat?"
"Sure!"
Quickly, they dug into the lukewarm pancake, taking care to use great amounts of syrup. Since it was Christmas, they concluded, it was only fair to eat generous portions of food and use generous amounts of syrup. It was crucial, especially during the holiday seasons, to be generous in all aspects of life- not just in gifts.
"Finished!" Darien exclaimed, "What's next?"
"Ice cream!"
"Yay!"
Serena got up to retrieve the tub of chocolate chip ice cream that she had bought last week. Ice cream, if anything, was what kept college students going. That, and pizza too.
She grabbed two spoons on her way out, and the two were chomping down in no time. It was amazing what a college student and a little boy could accomplish. Before long, they had finished the whole tub, and were sitting back on the couch with a satisfied expression on their faces.
"What are we going to do now?" Darien yawned.
"I think we need to get you into bed kiddo."
Darien slumped further into the warm couch. "I don't wanna get up," he slurred.
Serena got up and offered her hand. "Come on, you have to get up. Sleeping on the couch like that is bad for your posture, not to mention extremely uncomfortable."
Darien reluctantly got up and took her hand. Together, they walked into Serena's bedroom. The only thing she was proud of in there was the queen sized bed she managed to get on a discount. In fact, the bed took up most of the space in the room, and was the only thing that wasn't covered in clothing and whatnot.
Someday, Serena decided, she'd dedicate a week to cleaning up the mess. Meanwhile, all she had to do now was clear a path towards her bed. As long as her bed was accessible, then everything else got put in the back burner.
Serena looked at Darien's slacks and dress-shirt. "Um… are you comfortable in that?"
Darien began to look a little suffocated in that dress shirt. "Yeah… a little," he said while tugging on his collar.
"Here," Serena waddled her way into her closet and took out her old gym shorts and an old t-shirt, "Put this on."
Darien, for the first time, felt slightly uncomfortable as his pudgy fingers fiddled with his buttons. "Um… can you help me?"
"Sure," Serena said automatically and unbuttoned his dress-shirt in no time.
"Wow!" he exclaimed, "Can you teach me how to do that?"
Serena patted his head. "It's not something that you learn, Darien. You just need to wait until you get older and your fingers grow longer."
"Oh," he said disappointedly, "Okay."
Serena left for the bathroom with her own cotton pajamas that had reindeer patterns all over them. Her mother had gotten it for her last Christmas. At first, she was a little embarrassed by it. How long had it been since she was told that reindeers truly existed? Eventually, however, it became her favorite pajamas. Not because she adored the reindeer patterns (no, she'll never admit to that), but because cotton was just so utterly comfortable.
Serena emerged from the bathroom with her bundle of clothes under one arm. The sight before her was truly… hilarious.
Little Darien had gotten a little confused when it came to unbuttoning his slacks. Or maybe he just didn't know how to do it at all. Whatever the case, he was standing there in Serena's t-shirt that was obviously too big for him, and her gym shorts were worn over his slacks.
"Darien!" Serena tried not to laugh, "You need any help there?"
The stubborn streak that Serena was beginning to see more and more flashed for a second in his eyes. However, he looked at himself and relented.
"Yes," he muttered.
Serena tried to stifle her giggles as she bent down to help him out of his slacks. Then, she helped him into her gym shorts.
"Better?" she asked.
"Much," he nodded in agreement and smiled at her, "Thanks."
"No problem," she replied, "Now, off to bed you go!" She ushered him towards her bed and tucked the blankets in.
"Where will you sleep?" he asked.
"In the living room," she said, "I need to find out what's going on anyway."
Darien grabbed onto Serena's wrist, pleading with his eyes for her not to go. "Don't go… Please?"
Serena was confused for a second. What was he afraid of? "I'm only going to be in the next room sweetie. If you need anything, just call me and I'll be here."
Darien wouldn't let go of Serena's wrist. For some reason, he desperately wanted her to stay. "Please? I don't want to be alone again."
"Again?" Serena sat down next to him on the bed, "What do you mean sweetie?"
His eyes closed for a moment, and his face filled with pain. Something that was too painful for him to remember, or something that he didn't want to remember.
He opened his eyes again and said, "I… don't remember."
Serena closely examined his face again, trying to decipher what had just happened. For an instant, Serena had thought that he would remember who his family was and… leave her. But first and foremost, was her growing concern for this child. What had happened to him that caused him to have this… amnesia?
After studying his face one more time, Serena came up with nothing. Whatever was there had left, and all that remained was his will to make her stay.
"All right," she nodded, "I'll stay."
Darien smiled in relief, and all the fierce energy that was there immediately dissipated. Serena smiled back and fixed his hair.
"Just let me take care of a few things first, okay?"
Darien nodded and snuggled deeper into the blankets.
Serena left the room to gather more blankets, noting how considerably cold it was getting. She tidied up her living room, the only place that she made an effort to keep clean, and went back to her bedroom.
She laid the extra blankets on top of the one already on her bed and climbed in next to Darien.
Darien, who was watching what she did the whole time, moved in closer to her and leaned his head on her shoulder.
Serena leaned over to turn blow out the candle, and then snuggled into the blankets as well. She felt a peace settle over her as sleep edged closer to take her consciousness.
For the first time in months, the two slept peacefully, knowing that nothing in the world could disturb them from their slumber.
---