Jane's legs were folded into pretzel-like shapes, her eyes cast downward. Skye settled next to her with good grace and watched her sister watching the creek.

"It's not fair." Jane's vision was thick with dots of tear-stained light.

"It's not."

Skye kicked her sister's leg. "But we have to go anyway."

"I know." Jane wiped at her cheek. "I know."

Jeffrey called and I retreated away. Jane was in a happy place- drawing with magic markers in the middle of the carpet. God she was a train wreck. She looked up as I left. Smiled.

"Going out?"

"Miss you." I said, exasperated, my hand sweaty on the back of the phone. I hoped the thick sweatshirt could mask our voices. I blew her a sarcastic kiss and she caught it, her fingers thin with purple nails. I turned the light on on my way out.

"Hello?"

"Skye."

I exhaled on the way down the stairs; pulled on Jane's boots; stepped outside into the willowy air. Snow could be seen falling softly, but only in the silhouettes of light the windows made. "I'm here."

"I'm glad." God, I could practically see his eyebrows when he said it. "Were you not before?"

"It's far too early for this." I plodded through the white, pulling the sleeve of my sweatshirt down. "Only nine."

"This might come as a surprise to you- but for an honest worker like me- this is the hour of sleep. You know- piano, homework, snack, you, bed."

"I think you need to resort your priorities." Quigley woods was covered from head to toe in garlands of white. I smiled, kept on.

"Perhaps I'm saving the best for last."

"You're back in Boston, right?"

"Yeah." His voice caught on something. "I miss you."

"Thats preposterous." I shook my head, walked into the shadow of the first trees. The light here was dappled black and grey. Occasionally, a street light sent yellow onto Jane's boots. I shuffled.

"Almost."

"This sounds way too much like over-emotional-break-up-Jeffrey." I said, trying to clear my head. "Please. The night is quiet here."

"Really?"

"Yes, the trees are nice."

There was a pause. "Well you're no Jane."

I snorted. "That's very true. Wait, wait. I'll try."

I paused and leaned against a tree. My hand found the dark bark and I ran it lightly over, trying to be descriptive. "You know when someone wears a black shirt and the sunlight goes through it so much that it looks a bit like the sun?"

He made a noise of assent.

"That's what the bark looks like- only instead of gold, it's silver." I could do colors.

"You're in Quigley woods?"

"Yeah. And the light makes tessellations in the snow in front of me. I'm wearing Jane's boots."

I waited for the sarcastic reply.

"Sounds magical."

I grinned. "Yeah. It would be a nice walk any night."

"But-"

"God." I stood up again, brushed off my jeans, pulled up my sock. "I dunno."

"Well how about I tell you what I think."

I started walking again and smiled. "I'm sure you will anyway."

"I think that the city tonight is something like a monster. I can hear it breathing outside my window and I love curling up next to the beast. And even though any night right now would be great, because I'm sleepy and full and I can play some records and fall asleep hearing the noises of the world, it's even better. You know why?"

I blew on my hands. "Do tell."

"Because I know that, right now, there is also the perfect silence where you are. And my mind can know that, even though right now there's a siren and a homeless person and the 24 hour bodega across the street, there's also a woods somewhere where you're walking in rubber boots. I think, Skye, that because I called, all can be right in the world."

"That's quite the pronouncement."

"You're just jealous."

I smiled and turned around, headed back toward the house. "So?"

"Thursday?"

"Yep."

I waited for the line to close and turned again to the silence. The world faded out until the only things that mattered were the sounds of boots hitting snow and the thought of a Jeffrey with his phoenix heart safe and growing, lying on a mattress in Boston; miles and miles away.