1 It Begins

"'Snows, snows, and snows. Nothing else but snows. Trudging through the deep drifts, I find myself gasping for breath, my legs feeling as if bound by stone. Everything is covered in white, cloud-like snow, leaving not a single hint of direction– east, west, north, or south. Completely lost and confused, I search for that one drop of a hint, the hint that may save my life.

Wait a minute, I can see something. Is that a person? Yes, I can see his shadow. Trying to pace up my speed to reach out, but in vain. One step, yes, one more. Almost there! But the more I try, the farther and farther away that place gets. Eventually, I could see that man's body starting to engulf with fog. And suddenly, I find myself as an ice statue that begins to crack, crumbling into powder, and then vanishing without a trace in the snows."'

"Huff…Huff…what the fuck was that dream?? It felt so real. Damn it!"

The room seemed quite cold. As long as I could remember, it was too hot yesterday, so I kept my air conditioner on.

"Pfft!!!! So that's the reason I was in snows."

An alarm clock could be seen while waking up from bed.

"It's only 6 am. Still got some time for school. I guess a little nap won't do any harm. "

Crack…Crack…

"Wait! Wait! Wait!!! Did I just break something??"

Dad had bought me a pair of glasses– just last week.

"You better take care of these." was what he said...

"Did I just break those glasses? I am totally DEAD!!!!"

Fortunately, it was not the glasses. A sigh of relief was there.

"Phew…safe then…"

A few days ago, I found a stone that looked like a diamond. Of course, it was not that. But it looked beautiful. So, I kept it with me. The cracking sound was from it breaking into pieces. But should a stone break so easily like this?

"Ok, let's clean up. "

As my hands touched the pieces, I could see a flash of light.

"Ehhh? Did I see it wrong?"

Touching again to be sure….

"Yes, it glows!"

And there was a faint scent in the air.

"It's coming from these…Sniff…Sniff…Such a sweet smell! It feels so addictive somehow. Why are these pieces crumbling to powder? Wait, I think they are getting into my nose…"

I couldn't see anything due to the bright flash emanating from these pieces.

"Stop!!! I can't stop these…Ugh! This light!!!"

The stone disappeared.

"Did I just absorb the stone? I don't think I can keep my eyes open any longer…."

I fell asleep again, unaware of how long I was out, or if I had even fainted. A voice from Mom helped me wake up from my slumber.

"Ref! Oi, Ref! Wake up! Didn't you say you have assignments today? Wake up already!" 

I crawled out of bed, rubbing my sleepy eyes.

"Nngh... Huh, Mom? What time is it?"

"9:30 AM. When is your school?"

"Oh crap! I'm late!!" I screamed.

In a hurry, I got myself ready for school, wondering how I could fall asleep right after I woke up. Was it because of that stone? I glanced at my bed to look for the stone, but as I thought, it was gone. For the first time, something like this happened. Should I tell Mom?

Nah, never mind. She would worry too much, or she might not even believe me.

"Mom, I need to go. Bye-bye!" I let her know while putting on my shoes.

She rushed to the door, where I was, and yelled in response, "Ref, eat something before you go!"

Looking at her worried face, I assured her, "Sorry, Mom. I will after I come back! Bye-bye!"

I have no time. I'm already 30 minutes late, man! But Mom fretted, "Hold your horses, boy! It's getting chilly today. Take some warm clothes. And are you sure you won't be hungry?"

She just worries too much.

"Huh, what are you talking about? It's summer right now. I'll be okay, Mom," I argued.

With a slight smile on her face, Mom brought a coat and muffler with her. "Just take them. It's going to be chilly today."

"Graah! Okay." I sighed a little.

I mean I did feel a little bit chilly. So couldn't continue to argue about it. As soon as I put them on, I started for school quickly as I was already late.

Clank...click...

I am Ref Ishaam, currently studying at grade 10 at the same school where I completed my primary and junior secondary. You could find me as a normal guy with no seemingly special skills or anything like that. I can't draw, I can't swim, I can't sing and no experience in romance, of course. Well, it wasn't like I didn't try anything, but all of it was in vain because I could never be serious in doing anything. But don't think that I was a loner. I had quite a few number of friends, my childhood friends, actually. I had been studying with them almost for 10 years, you know, you could say we had a great bonding. If it was not for them, I would probably be the lowest of my class for sure.

When I arrived finally, I got a good scolding from the teacher. Well, however, I managed to submit my assignments, so we could call it a win. It felt colder than before. And almost everyone was dressed in warm clothing. I couldn't help but think to myself, "I guess, I did a good thing listening to mom. "

"What's up? Did you see the news today? "

It was Sanid, one of my close friends as well as my neighbour.

I laughingly gave him a friendly choke, "You bastard! Why didn't you call me today? We were supposed to come together." 

He yielded, laughing as well, "I give up- give up. Sorry bro I had some works to do. So, I came alone."

 "By the way, what did you mean by the news?" I returned his question.

"Just where on earth were you? It says it may snow today."

"Pfft... are you serious? Why the heck will it snow now? It's summer na? And we never had a snow before in our country!! And now it will snow in summer? Bro, your jokes are too much!"

"Well it's not a joke, just ask others if you don't believe me."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Basically, they must be out of their mind, making a forecast like this. Just when I was thinking how this news seemed so unreasonable, the world proved me wrong. Shattering reality, it really started to snow . Back then, I did not yet know what was yet to come. But soon I would realize how much I was oblivious to my fate.