Page 11 of Magically Generated
He bowed his head in a moment of silence for his poor wreath.“Are you ready to head out?Looks like it’s a fifteen-minute walk.”
It had been nice to make a snow sculpture nearby; he hadn’t needed to get on the TTC afterward.But on the way home, he’d been so tired that the trip had taken him twenty-three minutes.
They set out into the cold, and Nora walked at a brisk pace.Did she walk this fast in the summer, or was it only to keep warm in the winter?
When they arrived at the sculpture, there were several people standing around it.A small group of teenagers, all wearing clothes that didn’t look warm enough for the weather.A few young children.A baby in a blue hat with ears, securely held by an older relative.A middle-aged couple.
“Dada, it’s a hippo!”shouted a little boy.
Everett was glad he’d come.Seeing the reaction online wasn’t quite the same.
But for whatever reason, observing Nora’s response was the best part.He tried not to stare at her slow smile of wonder.He didn’t need to see the sculpture himself—he knew all the details intimately—but he turned to look at it anyway so he didn’t appear suspicious.Though it wasn’t like she’d suspect the truth.
“If I had to choose a favorite animal,” she said, “it would be the hippo.”
“Yeah?”he said.“Why’s that?”
“Because they’re mean.Not that I, personally, have come across a hippo in the wild, but they seem like they don’t take shit from anyone.They’re vicious.”
“Do you feel a kinship with them?”He tried to make his tone light.Teasing.
She rewarded him with another smile, this one rather different from the last.It was a smile that spoke of mischief, rather than delight or wonder, and he forgot to breathe.
“I do,” she replied at last.
“Should I be worried?”This time he knew he didn’t succeed in making his tone light.There was something about the way the fading light danced on her pink cheeks… it made him uncharacteristically serious.She was breathtaking.He wished he could capture her expression in a sketch or a snow sculpture, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it justice.
He also wished he could cup her cheeks and warm them.
When she took a tiny step closer to him, he couldn’t help wondering if she felt the same way.If she wanted to kiss him in the cold, among the small crowd of people who’d gathered to admire a snow hippo.
But she didn’t.She just said, “I think you’re okay.For now.”
And then he realized that she’d stepped closer to him because there was a family right behind her.It was silly to have thought she might want to kiss him.
“So,” Nora said, “what do you think is the story behind the sculptures?”
He shrugged.“It’s got to be…a well-organized group of people.They must have everything carefully planned in advance.”
She nodded.“Why do you think they’re doing it?”
“For fun?”
“Hanging out in the snow for hours at night isn’t my idea of fun, but I suppose it could be for some people.”
“Because they want to spread Christmas cheer?”
She rolled her eyes.“Maybe.I wonder if it’s meant to entertain the city at large—or if it’s mainly for someone in particular.”
He didn’t, of course, say that when he’d made this sculpture, he’d thought of her more than anyone else.
Well, most of the time, he’d been concentrating on the snow.But when his thoughts wandered for a second or two, it was mostly to her.
“Their children, perhaps,” he said instead.
“Yeah.Maybe they’re claiming Santa was responsible.”
“Did you ever believe in Santa?”
