In the Snow
Freak Weather Alert
“Miracle,” Ashley said out loud, knowing there was no one else there to hear her. The icy car park made it seem like she meant a Christmas miracle, but it was just late autumn. Even if it had been winter, the miracle lay in the fact that they never ever got snow in the area. It was rain or hail at worst, and sleet in winter. Nobody on the news had predicted anything about any snowfall.
It wasn’t snowflakes she had been praying for. She had hoped for some other sort of miracle, for her to sneak out in the middle of the night and suddenly know what her future was. She had wanted to look up at the stars and decide in a split second that she wanted to travel the world, or fall in love, or have an amazing job. But nothing had come to her. Nobody she had talked to thought it made sense to not know what you want to do with your life, and if she was honest she didn’t think it made any sense either. So she had come to find her destiny in a supermarket car park. At midnight.
She stared at her shadow which was lying at her feet, and pulled her hood up to keep out the cold. It hadn’t occurred to her to bring a hot drink or food, or to tell her family she was going out. She had told her friend earlier in the day, but most likely they had forgotten by now. Or wouldn’t notice her being missing at this time of night. She wondered what the worst was that could happen, from hypothermia to being murdered. She had even seen the people who worked late in the supermarket leave, so she was alone, defenceless and with no witnesses nearby, and nobody would miss her ‘til the morning. Sadder still, nobody would know why she was there. They’d think she had lost her mind and ran away from home in the dark. Midnight soul-searching would be the last thing they’d think of.
Ashley shivered and tried to shake off any distracted thoughts. She had come to find ideas for the future, not make up worst case scenarios about the present. What about the examples of dreams she had thought about? Having some great adventure seemed unlikely, and falling in love wasn’t a huge priority for her. And as for a dream job, she didn’t have much choice in her career. No matter what marks she got in the exams, after school she was going to start working in her family’s pet shop. It wasn’t that she didn’t like taking care of mice or telling people not to overfeed fish, it just didn’t seem like a dream job to her. It didn’t seem like a job at all, just a chore that she’d have to do when she’s older. She still didn’t feel like she had a plan.
She walked over to the footpath where the snow had gathered, and sat down by a tree. It was a young tree, not thick enough to properly lean on, but she leant on it anyway. Every tree around the car park had lost its leaves, and they looked almost lonely in the cold. Ashley started shivering even more, and thought to herself that sitting in the snow was probably a stupid idea when she was already cold. She could barely stop her teeth from chattering.
She flicked away bits of snow absent-mindedly. It was melting slightly around her legs, and she hoped she’d be alright after spending a few hours in the cold and now getting wet. She remembered the story of the little match girl dying in the cold, then reminded herself again that the worst case scenarios were pointless. She was going to stay in the cold regardless because didn’t want to go home now to have to explain why she had left. Especially seeing as it had all been a waste of time. She wasn’t even totally sure what she was looking for, but she certainly hadn’t found it in the black night sky. The bright streetlights over the car park were beginning to hurt her eyes, and she closed them just for a second. She hardly noticed herself falling asleep.
“What’re you doing, Ash?” someone said, she opened her eyes again. It was still dark and the snow wasn’t yet gone, so she knew she couldn’t have been asleep that long. “I brought two sleeping bags. One for you, one for me,” they said, and Ashley recognised it as the friend she had told earlier about her plan to come to the car park. She smiled and looked around, still shivering from the cold. They got into their warm sleeping bags and looked up at the sky, and once her friend was sleeping Ashley decided to give her destiny-seeking one last chance. “My plan for the future,” she said to the snow and her shadow, “is to see as many miracles as possible.”
The snow had melted by the time the sun came up. But there were other miracles.
It wasn’t snowflakes she had been praying for. She had hoped for some other sort of miracle, for her to sneak out in the middle of the night and suddenly know what her future was. She had wanted to look up at the stars and decide in a split second that she wanted to travel the world, or fall in love, or have an amazing job. But nothing had come to her. Nobody she had talked to thought it made sense to not know what you want to do with your life, and if she was honest she didn’t think it made any sense either. So she had come to find her destiny in a supermarket car park. At midnight.
She stared at her shadow which was lying at her feet, and pulled her hood up to keep out the cold. It hadn’t occurred to her to bring a hot drink or food, or to tell her family she was going out. She had told her friend earlier in the day, but most likely they had forgotten by now. Or wouldn’t notice her being missing at this time of night. She wondered what the worst was that could happen, from hypothermia to being murdered. She had even seen the people who worked late in the supermarket leave, so she was alone, defenceless and with no witnesses nearby, and nobody would miss her ‘til the morning. Sadder still, nobody would know why she was there. They’d think she had lost her mind and ran away from home in the dark. Midnight soul-searching would be the last thing they’d think of.
Ashley shivered and tried to shake off any distracted thoughts. She had come to find ideas for the future, not make up worst case scenarios about the present. What about the examples of dreams she had thought about? Having some great adventure seemed unlikely, and falling in love wasn’t a huge priority for her. And as for a dream job, she didn’t have much choice in her career. No matter what marks she got in the exams, after school she was going to start working in her family’s pet shop. It wasn’t that she didn’t like taking care of mice or telling people not to overfeed fish, it just didn’t seem like a dream job to her. It didn’t seem like a job at all, just a chore that she’d have to do when she’s older. She still didn’t feel like she had a plan.
She walked over to the footpath where the snow had gathered, and sat down by a tree. It was a young tree, not thick enough to properly lean on, but she leant on it anyway. Every tree around the car park had lost its leaves, and they looked almost lonely in the cold. Ashley started shivering even more, and thought to herself that sitting in the snow was probably a stupid idea when she was already cold. She could barely stop her teeth from chattering.
She flicked away bits of snow absent-mindedly. It was melting slightly around her legs, and she hoped she’d be alright after spending a few hours in the cold and now getting wet. She remembered the story of the little match girl dying in the cold, then reminded herself again that the worst case scenarios were pointless. She was going to stay in the cold regardless because didn’t want to go home now to have to explain why she had left. Especially seeing as it had all been a waste of time. She wasn’t even totally sure what she was looking for, but she certainly hadn’t found it in the black night sky. The bright streetlights over the car park were beginning to hurt her eyes, and she closed them just for a second. She hardly noticed herself falling asleep.
“What’re you doing, Ash?” someone said, she opened her eyes again. It was still dark and the snow wasn’t yet gone, so she knew she couldn’t have been asleep that long. “I brought two sleeping bags. One for you, one for me,” they said, and Ashley recognised it as the friend she had told earlier about her plan to come to the car park. She smiled and looked around, still shivering from the cold. They got into their warm sleeping bags and looked up at the sky, and once her friend was sleeping Ashley decided to give her destiny-seeking one last chance. “My plan for the future,” she said to the snow and her shadow, “is to see as many miracles as possible.”
The snow had melted by the time the sun came up. But there were other miracles.