Winter

Louis took a deep breath in through his nostrils, “Can you feel it?”

“Feel what?” Hannah replied, shivering.

“That winter air! Isn’t it great?”

“You mean the biting cold? The wind that blows straight through you no matter how many layers you’re wearing?”

“The delightful monochromatic ambiance,” Louis continued, “The absolute stillness of the landscape.”

“The gloomy, dreary sameness of it all?” Hannah retorted. “The strange sensation that nothing is alive and never will be again? The lingering doubt of your own mortality?”

“The long evenings! Hot chocolate by a roaring fire!”

“Limited daylight! Vitamin D deficiencies! Frostbite!”

“Snow,” Louis smiled.