Chapter Text
"Who wants to walk in this snowy dark evening after all?", he thought while holding his umbrella though she was the colder one, not him. They kept walking to the dead-end of the park nearby his home. Her eyes were glued to her phone screen as she was trying to focus hard on which route is the better one back home. Surely she could use the same way in which she arrived but she had to examine a bit. Peaking at the girl concentrating on something so intently, he peaked her face and asked, "What train you are planning to hop?"
"Ummm, let me look up a bit. Depends on what is the closest with fewer transfers; plus how much time I am willing to walk too!", she said brightly with some pinch of seriousness as if she is solving a mathematical task. He found it equally cute and funny to see how deeply involved she is in deciding her way back home. It made him smile a bit that she didn't seem to notice he thought.
"I will opt for this one. 17 minutes of walk to the station and then I can hop on the train......yeah, that sounds good. I can easily catch the train at 20:13", she seemed to be decided.
Him: You can just use the way you did when you arrived though. Just take the same trains perhaps? It will take less walking time to the station, isn't it?
Her: I know. But, I didn't think much earlier because I didn't want to be late. :D I don't have this timing thing going right now, so it is fine!
Him: Yeah, okay whatever. (with a faint smile) I will drop you at the station. Let me get the car.
Her: No, no. I can walk there. I will reach faster if I just walk.
(she smiled a bit as he could see her eyes squinting; yeah she had a big smile somehow.)
Him: It will take me a few seconds. Let me just.....
Her: No, no. I actually feel like walking tonight. Don't need a car. Seriously, I would be fine.
Him: Okay, I am coming too.
They kept walking. They have been friends for a while but have met only a couple of times. Just glimpses, small talks. Nothing that elaborate. Even during lunch at his place, their talks were mostly about random topics. With warm foods and not-too-sweet desserts. However, it was getting way too cold on a winter evening around 19:19.
He asked, "I never knew you liked walking this much. I learned something new." She could easily hear the playful tone in his voice and responded without looking back at him, "Well, I don't. (pause) In fact, I hate walking."
Her response got him like "EH?!!" inside his head. Nevertheless, it was almost like she heard his thoughts aloud and started to talk again after a pause;
Her: Well, I was never a big fan of walking. Before I would just choose to wait for the bus and then instead of walking even though walking was the faster option. (giggles a bit) It is so weird and not even about laziness. It's just I used to decide "Nah, I am not gonna walk whatever happens, huh". (She imitated her own self with a hint of fun which definitely made him giggle a bit too.)
Him: Wow. That's funny. Do you really have internal monologues on the topic of walking or taking the bus?
(anyone would sense the guy was smiling ear to ear while didn't fail to reach her as well.)
Her: Trust me, I do. Plus everyone has their own way of having monologues, isn't it?
Him: That's right. I have mine while I do laundry.
Her: Isn't that cute?
Him: No.... eh! (gets shy)
Her: I bet it is. (softly giggles)
Him: So, how did your mind change towards walking? Someone as serious for monologues; it would be interesting to know I guess?
Her: Aaaah, on that.....I, kind of, don't hate it now. Not exactly I like it; it's just I don't avoid it like I used to. These days I try to walk a bit, whenever I can.
Him: Oh, this is nice.
Her: I guess so? (a moderate pause)
When I moved alone, the first thing that bothered me was, how far places are from my area. I had to walk my groceries to my uphill shared house. It seemed daunting in every season, especially in winter. For someone like me, who doesn't feel like moving a lot, it was not a very pleasant task to have; that too with heavy grocery bags. I was still not a big fan of walking until my real moment of realization hit me.
Him: When was that?
(seemed engrossed and curious with his eyes glistening in sheer curiosity)
Her: When I travelled solo, on my own. I planned that trip suddenly and decided to go by myself. Okinawa. I always wanted to go there and I felt, I should have the experience alone as none of my friends wanted to tag along at that time. Mainland Okinawa is easily accessible by cars compared to buses. However, at that time, I neither knew to drive nor had a license. Buses and my legs were the only options; honestly. (he laughed a bit) I travelled to places far away from there by bus; even after that, I had to walk at least 2/2.5 kilometers just to reach the actual locations. That too at the end of September, the typhoon season there (fewer tourists and cars around), and yet extremely hot and humid. Somehow, I ended up walking at least 5/6 kilometers on average during my 5 days long stay there. I don't know why, but I loved those long walks passing the wetlands, capes, or just the neighborhoods.
Him: Ow. (surprised) That sounds like a lot of walking. and you seem to enjoy it.
Her: I do. I felt like during those walks I used to talk to myself a lot. You know, internal monologues. (giggles) Umm, comforting; it was really comforting to me. Even at times when I had fears/worries about something, they used to disappear at least for that moment. I like this feeling of comfort but hey, I still don't like walking okay??
Him: Ohhhh, I actually think you like walking now when I listen to all this.
(he was almost laughing at this point.)
Her: No, I don't. Aaah, come on.
They kept walking for a while without any small talk. Just then, the unconventional introverted chatterbox started, "Umm, well, what exactly do you find comforting about walking?" He stated as if he was thinking hard about it during the silence of their walk.
Her: Ah, that's so. (a small pause; it actually got her thinking.) Sometimes, I feel like I have been walking just not to end up anywhere fixed, you know? Ummm, how do I put that into words? (thinking) For the longest time of my life, I didn't know what I wanted to do. It used to bother me a lot in the past, but now it somehow doesn't? or, it's more close to some feeling that I don't want to know anymore. That is why I think I should just keep walking and walking as long as I can. Even though I don't get anywhere eventually, I end up enjoying the walk nevertheless. No destination in mind but at least I will reach somewhere? Yeah, close to that. Very aimless for thought, but this is what I feel about walking. I get my own time with myself. It's either very silent or I have a good conversation. It's fun to be within myself.
He was carefully listening to her words while managing to steal some glances at her eyes in between. She looked calm and....a bit sad too? Like sadness with happy nuances? He took a mental note of her eyes along with her mentions of "comfort" and "aimless walking". What will he do about these notes; he would decide that later.
Him: Umm...so, this is why you were bent upon walking on this snowy cold evening?
Her: Kinda. It's been a long since I walked during snowfalls. I wanted to have that today. :D
Him: Aren't you the cold one? You can actually turn into a human soft serve even before we reach the station.
He started laughing so hard and they had to stop. She turned to him and said, "You think you are extremely funny, don't you?". (with slightly friendly annoyance)
Him: I am funny though.
Her: Huh. Anything. (at this point she was smiling hard too.)
Him: By the way, are you cold?
Her: Me? No. I am warm.
Him: Okay. I am just making sure that you aren't served into ice cream; we have 5 more minutes to the station.
(he mentioned while peeping at his lockscreen)
Her: You just noticed that I was cold once in the studio and never looked back again, don't you? (so unserious -_-)
Him: *laughs cutely*
Her: By the way, we are close to the station. There you go. Isn't it the station? (points to the station peaking with night lights)
Him: Ah, yes, that one. Wow, how the time went by so quickly; did it fly?
Her: Maybe it always had wings and you never cared to notice, huh.
Him: Wow, I am actually funnier than you.
(after a while)
Her: Hey, you can actually go though; it's getting darker too. I think I can go by myself. It's very close. You should head home before it snows more.
She sounded sweet and concerned too. He could tell. "No, let's get into the train and then I will go back." , even after his assurance she insisted, "Trust me, it's fine. I can manage." "Okay, little softserve, don't lecture me. I am hotter than you so I can go home nicely after I see you off. It's no big deal."
She chuckled at his words and proceeded with a little "Fine!". Meanwhile, they reached the station generously covered in snow. It's been snowing for a while and to be fair, it didn't seem to slow down a bit since they started from the park. Heavy snow often delays the train schedule so he was wondering if the timings are still fine. "Would she be okay?" (this is what he thought inside his head)