Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.
Writing inspired by the following Sunday Writers’ Club prompt:
As The Ice Melts
Begin a story or a poem with a frozen river, pond or lake. then finish the story or poem when the ice has finally melted. Who or what witnesses the ice melt – a person or an animal? What significance does the melting ice have for them? Are they happy, disappointed, relieved or even frightened by the thaw?
As The Ice Melts
by Hebatollah Ashraf
Did I really owe her that promise?! I wondered, in pain!
I think I was lying on a sheet of ice, which used to be water in summer. Coming back to my senses, I realised I was bleeding. I must have jumped without looking. “What was I thinking?!” As I looked at her, she stood assured and stopped her meows.
“Ponds like these do freeze in December, Almond!” I cried. She was standing close, looking at me. Her look was different this time. She then came closer to my immobile body and started licking my face. I was a little disgusted but more intrigued. Almond never licked me before, for all the years we coexisted under the same roof. Her fur felt so warm on my freezing skin. “So you like me more when I make a fool of myself?!”
The ice beneath us started breaking, suddenly we found ourselves falling into freezing water, trying to float with our barely moving limbs. “Almond, are you ok?” Her meows were growing louder, but she sounded more excited than anxious. What’s possibly exciting that old crazy cat?! We’re drowning in cold water. I can’t believe I’m going through this! I came closer to her and she didn’t seem to lose her warmth, she was super focused and energetic in her swim, so I couldn’t do anything but follow her.
I’ve had Almond since I was a kid, but I don’t remember how and when she joined our household. I just know she’s lived with me longer than any of my family members did. She moved out with me when I moved out, and I can’t tell if it’s love or just destiny, but she’s always been there in the background. However, I always left her at home and never took her outside, and that didn’t really bother her. I thought she probably had no idea what she’s missing, but little did I know.
Almond is always comfortable in her own skin, and to tell you the truth, I envy the way she carries herself! I wonder if she ever failed in her life, or felt betrayed or even disappointed? I bet she never knew what it was like to lose someone in her closest circle of souls, over and over again. I mean, she always had me, and she didn’t lose me yet. I always go back to her at the end of the day. I rarely spend time away long enough to make her feel forgotten or unforgiven. So, of course, she’d be so in her element, all the time!
I think I’m not the only one who’s super jealous. My visitors are mostly intimidated by her demeanour as well, they don’t know how to impress her, so instead, they pretend she doesn’t exist, not knowing it’s actually their loss. I am the only one who knew her gift, but I kept it to myself. To keep the peace, and preserve her mystic energy, I stopped hosting people at home. Home is now for Almond, and Almond only.
Last summer I was unwell and took a break from work to spend more time with her. I also started taking her in my backpack everywhere I go: the park, the river, the café, and even the swimming pool.
On a hot August day, I spent hours in the pool and the heat wouldn’t let my anxiety cool down. Almond was sitting unamused, punching the thick air with her tail, and waiting for me to do something. So I asked her a random question that wasn’t so random.
“What do you think it’s like to swim in winter? Would it not be much more fulfilling than that? Cold weather always scares me, Almond. You know I never had a swimming class in winter. I never wanted to feel so paralysed and helpless. Winter’s depressing enough. Don’t you think?”
She gave me one of her looks. People would say those looks are totally blank and brainless. But I know my Almond on a deeper level. You probably haven’t experienced a cat that lived well beyond her thirties, so whatever you expect of her, you’ll be wrong. Better ask her owner.
I don’t really know who owns whom now, but I couldn’t separate myself from her anymore. I kept on taking her out with me every day, even when I went back to work in autumn, and when I visited my family overseas in winter. Bringing her to my outer world washed away my envies, as I found my way back to my element myself, slowly but surely. Nevertheless, the more time I spent with her, the more I couldn’t shake the idea of taking that swim in the icy winter. Her looks would always make me feel as if I owed her something. Like I have to do it before one of us dies, and God knows how soon that can be.
I hope she’s happy now. Look at her! She’s showering me with her warmth after all those years of numbing, and I don’t know if I want to bite her or hug her!
That small freezing pond drove us into a lake, and the lake into an ocean. She stopped her nervous meows, and found her flow. In the vastness of it all, I peacefully surrendered. I stopped swimming so hard with my head and arms, and turned onto my back to just float, watching the sky above, and not chasing Almond with my eyes anymore. I know we’re now in sync, she’s flowing by my side, keeping up with the pace of the tides. I’ve stopped bleeding, and start flowing as well. It’s chilly, but calm and fine.
“Maybe I’m more like me when I swim in winter, Almond.”