Getting back

Tell me, are you ever cold? You're quiet…
I have moments when it seems that a huge ice block is slowly crumbling and small pieces stick into my skin. And around, there is such a cold, unbearable silence ringing in my ears.
In the darkness, I grope around for matches. In this house, where no one has lived for a long time, there is probably a problem with the wiring. Today, there isn’t even enough heat for a moth.
Somewhere by the fireplace there was a candlestick.
My eyes began to get used to the darkness, and the recognizable outlines of the desk, fireplace, and old picture already appeared. Putting my hands forward, I reached the hearth. On the shelf there were some battered matches.
Wow, they are not damp! I also saw some faded, torn newspapers. I folded and lit them.
I wonder if there are little logs here?
A spider web in the throat of the fireplace enveloped my hand like a soft glove. While the firewood flared up, fragrant smoke spread around the room, and the darkness was replaced by a milky fog. I lost sight of the surroundings.
Wait a second, when was this fireplace burning last? - One. Two. Three years ago …
Where is the candlestick?
“Here it is,” now your voice has brought me back to reality. Memories and this pitch darkness completely took me away from the thought that you were near.
And you did not interfere; you just silently stood at the door, as if afraid to break the unexpected harmony between me and my past. And then you handed me a candlestick. The candles, for some reason completely new, burned brightly. Naughty lights from the wicks winked at each other and played on your face. I smiled, remembering how you drink steaming-hot coffee, comically squinting from the coffee haze.
The fire burst into life in the fireplace, lighting up an old chair with a folded checkered rug, a half-century-old grandmother's chest-of-drawers, and a dusty picture of Kivach Falls.
I went back to my past, but I was not alone. I stretched my arms to the fire.
“Are you freezing?” - you said softly.
Now you are here, very close.
You hugged me and put your warm hands to my cheeks: “Remember, it will be Christmas the day after tomorrow” - you smiled.
And I wanted to stay in this moment forever.


© JJ