That's my last one for today. I don't know if I'll manage anything tomorrow, but I'll try. I don't think I'll try writing a chapter on my lunch break again, I get many strange looks and awkward questions.
It was well into his second winter when a group of men came to his lake and started walking all over it looking like people on a mission. They probed the ice, hit it with large sticks and even jumped a little. Jack was very confused by their behaviour. When the men left, he flew after them, intrigued by what they had been doing.
Standing in the village square, some children waited expectantly for the adults. They ran up to them, meeting them halfway. Jack could not help but smile fondly at their enthusiasm. Whatever it was they were getting enthusiastic over.
He placed the end of his staff on the ground, landing lightly on it to listen to what the fuss was about. He managed to keep his balance for all of ten seconds before falling off. It did not matter; no one was seeing him make a fool of himself anyway. He would manage this trick one day.
"Can we go? Please, please, please can we go?" a small blond boy asked a man who looked like he could be his father.
"It should be safe. You can go skate on the lake, but be very careful."
The children cheered and ran to their homes, running back out moments later with strange footwear slung over their shoulders. The shoes with metal blades underneath looked ominous to Jack.
"Pippa are you coming?" one of the girls called out to a timid looking brown-haired girl peeking out from inside her house.
Jack felt cold when he saw the girl. He always felt cold, but this was different. This was the kind of cold that bothered him. The girl shook her head vigorously and slammed the door shut. Jack was left with a half-remembered memory of cold he could not quite place.
"Of course she won't come, you dummy! After what happened..." another girl scolded the first one.
"But they said it was safe!"
"Just come on already!" a boy shouted at them before running in the direction of the lake.
The other children followed, laughing. When they reached the frozen lake, they removed their boots and hurriedly pulled on the strange things they called skates instead. Jack watched with interest as they took a few tentative steps on the ice on the metal blades. Most of the children looked quite unsteady at first, but progressively started to move with more assurance. Jack joined them on the lake, easily sliding on the ice on his bare feet.
All day, Jack skated on the lake with the other children. He let himself forget for a moment that he was not one of them, that they could not see him or hear him laugh with them. He just let their laughter fill his ears and pretended that they were all having fun together. He could even ignore the few times that one of the kid went right through him while skating in wild patterns that he had not quite been fast enough to avoid.
He made sure that the ice was as smooth as it could be, after one of the kids fell because of a bump on the frozen surface. He could do that for them. He could be a good friend to them, even if they did not know.
His smile did not fade even when they had to return to their homes for the evening meal. He flew over them as they ran back to the village. The children were happy of a day spent in laughter and play and that made him happy too.
Only one child did not look happy that evening. Sitting on the low step in front of the door to her house, Pippa stared in the distance in the direction of the lake with a look of profound sadness and loneliness in her eyes. The children stopped laughing as they saw her, as if feeling guilty for being happy when she was so sad.
Jack stared at the little girl, leaning on his staff. Frost covered her eyelashes as if she had been crying and the cold winter air froze her tears. The girl rose to her feet as a woman voice inside the house called her name.
As the girl disappeared inside the house one more time, Jack wondered how she could be so sad and lonely when she had a home and a family.
