it wasn’t often that viktor found himself alone, and alone enough to actually enjoy being alone. perhaps the scarf tied tightly over the bridge of his nose and the sock cap pulled over his silvery locks had kept him out of the public eye long enough to notice the snow beginning to fall.
he liked snow.
something about it seemed to stall time a bit. lately he’d found that time was passing all too quickly around him, and he fought that feeling for the umpteenth time. he paused just briefly, watching the flakes float from gray skies and savoring just how quiet the world could be, even if only for a moment.
about the time he felt the chill seeping through his many layers, he overheard the cheerful laughter of children and the crunch of the snow beneath their feet. he smiled a bit to himself as he continued trudging uphill back to the hotel, glad that even though the world was a dismal place, there were still children to laugh and snow to crunch.
as he neared the summit of that hill, he found the source of those giggles. nestled beneath the glade he stood upon and the next was a small pond, frozen solid enough to skate upon. it seemed that’s what the kids were gearing up to do, their skates already etching figure eights through the fresh dusting of snow.
the children weren’t alone. they were accompanied by a man that couldn’t have been older than viktor was, about his height and sporting a mop of blond hair. he helped one of the youngest with her skates, and viktor found he couldn’t resist the urge to stop and chat. truth be told, he liked kids! and of course he liked figure skating. so combining the two seemed like a good way to enjoy the last bit of time he had away from the public eye.
besides, what were the odds of these children knowing him? their teacher might, but even that was doubtful. after all, he was in canada. even if canada was a country devoted to ice skating and other winter sports, he wasn’t exactly on his home turf.
so he confidently made his way around the bank of the pond, watching the kids slip and slide on the ice, their knees buckling and wobbling as they eventually lost their balance. he then approached their supervisor, pulling his scarf down from around his nose and smiling kindly.
“ah, they make me wish i had brought my skates. or rather, wish that i was younger,” he chuckled, “maybe even both! are you their teacher? i thought for sure the students would be on winter holiday.” ❅
