Happy Snow Day

A and I ventured out in the snow to buy whiskey and lemons. The snow crunched beneath our feet. The sounds of happy people throwing snowballs vibrated down the empty road. I started humming 'Winter Wonderland' and skipping like a child on Christmas Eve.

Steam floated out of mugs smelling of cinnamon.

I trudged back on my own. Three orange lanterns floated in the sky, above the snow. The stars shimmered and reflected off the white road while snow floated down like feathers. I had gone through a wardrobe and entered Narnia.

I was about to enter my house and turn on the TV when a magnetic force pulled me towards the sea. I turned around and changed direction.

I walked down the road like someone in a dream. Everything had been transformed. The snow continued falling through the black. There was something in the air. People were no longer walking through their lives asleep. The familiar had become strange and they actually saw it, as if for the first time.

Hundreds of black shapes on the grass. Running, skipping, laughing, jumping. Two dogs whirled around in a magical dust storm. The light from a firework illuminated their faces.

The pavillion ice rink glowed like a beacon. Purple haze shot out into the dark. The canopy above shook and snow fell all over my head. Innocent laughter filtered out into the dark like a dove.

I laughed. A boy with a red face and black ear muffs joined me as he walked past.

"I think they were aiming at you!"

I laughed again. "Yes they did a pretty good job!"

Some energy floated between us like a bridge, and for a moment we paused in the snow like characters in a dream. Then he walked on.

I slowed down so that I wouldn't catch up with him.

A man slid on the ice and fell flat on his back. Wine spilled on to the snow like blood.

A cheerful lesbian shouted "Happy snow day" as she walked past.

People were running across the beach hiding behind pillars and throwing snowballs. The promenade lights shone a yellow haze on the revellers, mixing with the snow like ink.

I went on to the beach and looked out at the sea. The wind was blowing snow against my face and my cheeks has lost all feeling. But I felt exhilerated. What was this dream?

I inhaled the fresh sea wind. I also inhaled the world.

What if it was like this all the time? What if people realised that other people were just other versions of themselves and were no longer afraid?

What if people actually opened their eyes and saw the magic all around them? What if every day was a happy snow day?

The snow continues to fall outside my window. The trees and rooftops are thickly spread with white. Time is on hold. Work has been cancelled.

Magic floats through the dreamscape. Once the snow disappears, and normality comes back, people will fall asleep again. Strangers will no longer talk to eachother on the street.

When I sat facing the sea, covered with snow, battered by wind, I saw an orange lantern floating up into the sky and I made a wish.

I like to think that each lantern I see represents a person breaking free from the structures imposed upon us, in this illusory reality, and becoming conscious of their true nature. Breaking free from this circus endlessly paraded before our eyes to see the truth.

But maybe they're just orange lanterns, and my thoughts are simply dreams.