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I awoke to a small girl packing my lower half of my body with frozen snow. I say it’s frozen because her tears are wetting all of the white snow.
With a little winter magic, I was suddenly born. Albedo the snowman.
“Klee! It’s time for bed, honey. Please come inside!” A woman with long, blonde hair and wrinkles covering her face calls out to the girl with a strained voice.
“... Sorry, mom!” Klee yells back as she wipes away her tears with her frozen gloves. “I’m coming in now!”
But she lied. She stays for a little bit, packing more snow onto the snowman. Cute black buttons are drilled for the eyes, an orange carrot snuggled into the middle and more buttons for the mouth. She placed a bucket on his head and traced a few details into the snow for his clothes. Because of her efforts, she made her snowman come to life! But Albedo the snowman knows that the real reason he came to life was due to her tears. A sudden motive triggered inside his heart. From the moment he was born, he felt a sort of attachment towards her.
“... Your name is Albedo the snowman, okay?” She looks up at him as she sniffles. Her head turns away to the empty street with only one lamppost illuminating light. “... Sorry to bother you, but do you mind if you hear me rant for a bit?”
Klee settles herself down, sitting on the soft snow like it’s a comfy pillow. She curls up her legs, adjusting her muffler and stares up at the sky. Her eyes become watery as the snow falls gently. Albedo the snowman does everything he can to listen.
“What are you doing here?” Albedo the snowman asks her, but she doesn’t answer. She can’t seem to hear him.
“... I told a lie to big bro Kaeya.” She continues on with her rant. Tears well up on her face. “I don’t like to cry, sorry… I’m not young anymore. But..”
Albedo the snowman realizes that Klee seems way bigger for a little girl. Yet, she feels so small. She may be nearing her teenage years. But he also notices her pointy elf ears. Someone of her race should be aging slowly. It must’ve taken several years for her to finally age up to a tween.
“Tell me,” Albedo tilts his head. “What lies did you tell him?”
“But I told him…” She still cannot hear him. She continues on, “I-I told him that I had good grades and that I was good at studying and sports… And that I have a lot of friends…”
“... I see.” The situation is sadder than the snowman thought. Klee is growing at a slow pace. She may find it impossible to make friends around her age. “This is a lie…?”
She stands up for a bit to readjust the snowman’s head. It almost looks as if it’s about to fall off. She tightly packs it again until it is stuck frozen. She can’t stop her tears. She is still sniffling from the cold and it is getting harder and harder to breathe under that muffler. It’s tied in a bow neatly around her neck, covering her mouth and nose. Albedo the snowman can only let out a hot breath into the cold air.
His heart aches. He does not want to see his creator cry. “Then, let’s make it during the winter season. We can help you do all of that. I can help you study. I can help you make friends.” He then stares at the pure girl with glistening, buttoned eyes. “I can help you… I can--”
“Ah, what am I saying…” She crouches down. Her forehead sticks to her knees as her arms wrap around herself. “It’s too late.”
……
“Big bro Kaeya will go away soon. S-so… I have to be a good girl. Or else he’ll…” She cried once more.
“... Klee…” The snowman caught himself muttering under his breath in shame.
“Mika and Noelle moved away… Bennett and Razor are on a long Knights of Favonius expedition… Miss Lisa already passed. Now big bro Kaeya… What will happen if Master Jean d-dies..? No one will be with me.”
… So this girl… She ages very slowly. So less so that her friends are growing up without her. And now, she is alone.
She sounds familiar. Someone like me has gone through the same. Though I was born just now.
“... No one..” Klee sobs. “... wants to be with me anymore.”
Snowmen are made of white. As the spirit of a snowman, it is Albedo’s job to take the darkness away from her heart. Because he is as pure as white snow. White snow is purer than any crystal or gem.
Albedo looks down. As the ambience of the swirling snow rides with the wind throughout the night, he can only comfort her with words she cannot hear. “I want to be with you.”
……
“ Klee! Please, come inside! You’ll catch a cold!” Her mother says once again, opening the front door for her.
“... S-sorry! I’m going now!”
And just like that, she titters away. Her huge boots leave thick footprints on the trail of snow. Albedo the snowman can see her going inside the warm house, displaying a happier expression to her mother. She lets her take her thick, red coat and hat, all covered in snow. She sniffles, then waves one last goodbye to her snowman before closing her front door. As much as Albedo wants to, he can't wave back. His brooms for arms can’t exactly move correctly, or else they will fall.
The bright yellow lights turn on by the left of the second floor of the house. It’s supposedly Klee’s room. She opens the curtains wide to take another look at her snowman built by the front. Albedo stares up at her, waiting to see if she’d do anything else. All she does is fog up her window and draw funny faces and messages on it. Then, she’s gone. The lights flicker off and the room goes black.
His body feels soft, all of a sudden. Due to his winding conversation with his creator, Albedo has leveled up! With a little more winter magic, his consciousness became a spirit, exiting the snowman’s body. He has a full body, yet people cannot see him still. Perhaps, it is best to express using the snowman’s form. It is made with love by Klee after all.
I want to help Klee. I will continue to watch over her from now on until she does not need my help anymore.
.
.
.
Klee does not want someone to die.
She claims it is because the person in question told her to be a good girl so that he can feel better again. This sounds like a terrible lie to say to a child. Especially since this child loves you.
Who is the one who told her this lie? I must speak with them. How dare they hurt her with terribly formed sentences. She said his name was Kaeya.
This ‘Kaeya’ person must be old, then. Like an old grandpa. Perhaps it is best that I don’t attempt to fight an old man. My broom hands can’t do anything besides brushing his skin. And I’ll melt if I try going inside a person’s house.
Hmm… Klee has told me this morning after she left the house that Kaeya was a Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius. I don’t know what that is, but it must be a flashy kind of job. He must’ve been a warrior.
Albedo leaves the snowman for a bit to watch over Klee. She goes inside a house and exits right after school. It must be Kaeya’s house, he concludes. He must be retired in that small house nearby the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. A young man, most likely the current Acting Grand Master, occasionally visits from time to time. Klee always brings her pictures and doodles to show Kaeya, who is bedridden. It is much more convenient to go inside houses while in spirit form, but as he thought, it is too warm inside for his snowman self to go in.
“This is my snowman, Albedo!” Klee shows the bedridden Kaeya her cute drawing. Albedo seriously critiques her artwork and says that she definitely needs more improvement.
“All those years of living, yet your art is still a bit…”
A jolt. Albedo felt sudden ripples through his spine, looking back and forth for what just happened. He looks forwards towards a certain someone staring at him. But they look back at Klee’s drawing, happily smiling. The piercing stare came from Kaeya.
That old man… Kaeya, right? I could’ve sworn I felt his diamond eyes stare me down…
“Okay! I’ll be a good girl, so please get better…” Klee says as he lets Kaeya caress her cold cheek.
“Of course, Klee. Thank you for your time again…” Kaeya says, his voice raspy. “There’s cookies outside in the jar. Take some…”
“No thank you! I am being a good girl, remember?”
“Haha… Yes.”
And just like that, Klee exits the door of Kaeya’s place. Kaeya can only watch her leave, his expression softening the more and more she disappears from his sight. Albedo takes the time to follow her as well, possessing the snowman once again. He listens to her ramble of what she did today and whatnot once again.
“Hi, Diona!” Klee waves as a tall woman passes by her. “Did you say hi to the horsies for me today?”
“Hey, Klee!” The woman, Diona, crouches down with her and the snowman. She is careful not to fall from her heels and even takes the time to readjust her long skirt. Albedo notes of her breastplate and armor all around her black, skin tight shirt. Not only that, but her cat ears and tail are very peculiar. “I did! They really miss you, you know? One of them even made a fuss about it, biting my arm and everything. Sigh… Being Cavalry Captain is tough, for the wrong reasons…”
“Kaeya told me to send you his regards! He really misses you.” Klee gently pats Diona on the back. Her back almost cracks.
“Misses my drinks, that is.” Diona scoffs, huffing out puffy fogs of air. “The spring fairy did wonders to my drinks, so I made a talent for bartending. Who would’ve thought I’d eventually make it my side-job now that I’m a Knight of Favonius?”
Klee jumps, pumping herself up. “Yeah, yeah! Look how far you’ve become! And you’ve even gotten taller too! And you have a mature voice! I wish I could be like you, Diona… But I haven’t changed at all!”
“... Well, sure. I’ve changed. But you know what doesn’t change?” She then picks up the small girl and twirls her around, giggling all around. “My friendship with you! You will always be my best friend, Klee!”
“Hehehe!” Klee smiles happily. This puts a wonderful smile on the cat woman’s face too. “Yay! I’m so happy!”
Your snowballed lies won’t break, won’t they?
Albedo the snowman can feel his creator’s feelings very well. She may seem happy, but her heart is breaking. Just what can he do to soothe Klee’s broken heart? He cannot make a smile with his artificial eyes and mouth. His buttons cannot curl or sway. All he can do is watch and ask her more questions about her world.
Soft snow covers their tracks. It’s been a long day.
.
.
.
Huff… puff… puff.. Huff…
Panting, crying and shouting. It was all Albedo could hear on this fine night of winter. Even as music played, even as the snow fell gently, even as the lights flickered. After yesterday, Albedo couldn’t help but ponder on what he could possibly do to help Klee. This morning, he helped her wake up by tapping on her frost-bitten window as a reminder that she needed to go to school. Luckily, she woke up and walked there just in time. Albedo couldn’t help but love feeling helpful to the girl.
He loves Klee. He loves that she was the one who created him. It’s been a long time since he felt this sort of love for anyone at all.
Today, I’ll help Klee once more.
But tonight, something happened. A bad thing happened. As the sun rose down and the lights beamed with several colors of yellow, red and green, Klee rushed down to Kaeya’s house with several other children following her. Soft snow covered their tracks. She even slipped on some ice, concerning the snowman spirit. He let himself go, following the girl and her friends to her destination. She bursted the doors open and hurried into Kaeya’s room with all of her friends.
It’s okay, Klee. I’m right here, with you.
“... Oh.” Kaeya opened his eyes, viewing the distressed and exhausted little girl in red. “Klee… How are you…?”
“Kaeya! ” She gripped onto Kaeya’s blanket, crying at his bedside. “Kaeya! I… I heard you fell…!”
Kaeya frowns, relaxing onto the pillow. “Aw, Klee… I’m doing fine. See? Look at me..!”
“... Uuu..”
More sobbing. Some of the girls amongst the huge group started tearing up too. Some of the boys complained and whispered that they wanted to go home already. Naturally, the other boys lashed out on them for saying such things. They came with Klee because they actually cared about her. It was then Albedo realized that these are not Klee’s friends. She admitted to Albedo the other day that she did not have a lot of friends. These kids are her classmates. Klee is snowballing more lies, right in front of Kaeya’s face. Albedo wants to hold her hand, but with his artificial hands, he cannot.
Klee most likely told her classmates everything. Out of sympathy, they came with her to show the legendary old Cavalry Captain that Klee is not lying. She has a ton of friends. Perhaps after today, Klee will gain more friends. But it may come with a cost…
“Big bro Kaeya…!” Klee looks up, her nose spilling snot and her face smoking red. “I…! I…!”
… Take your time, Klee.
You’ve made it this far. Your frozen hands are now warm. You can repaint your darkness with white. I can guide you. I believe in you. You can do it.
Before it’s all too late.
“See?! I told you, big bro Kaeya!” She ducks to show her huge group of friends. All of her classmates, waving at the old man and smiling. “I have a lot of friends! It’s the truth! So please…”
She grips onto his sleeve, tugging in almost too tightly. Her entangled and piled up lies will only continue to grow even if Albedo tries to shake them off. Even if he tries to warm up her frozen fingers tugging at the one she loves, he cannot. His artificial hands cannot hold fingers.
“Please… don’t go anywhere.”
Kaeya can only stay silent at her cries. Some of the girls and boys are crying. Some are inching closer to the front door’s exit. And Albedo is staring in front of his bed. He cannot compute the scene in front of him. He couldn’t do anything for her after all. Her heart is broken.
His hands, wrinkled and delicate, unsheathe themselves from the thick blanket and inch closer to Klee’s face. She looks up, tears falling down her face. He successfully latches onto the sides of her face and pulls her even closer. She reaches in, hugging the old man. His voice sounded soft, as if he was young again. Klee rewinds herself back in time in her own memory. Big brother Kaeya, in her memory, was tall and snarky. He always complied with Klee’s antics. He had a handsome voice and a dashing appearance. Her gloved, frozen hands unconsciously took his wrists as he held her tight.
He held his dearest tight and nodded,
“I’ll always be with you.”
“...!”
……
Klee gulps and the rest of her friends cheer. This surely meant that he’ll stick around for more and that they don’t have to worry. Right? Klee wanted to believe so. Her classmates started leaving one by one and greeting Kaeya and his butler goodbye. Some left gifts, some left flowers. Klee stayed a little longer to talk to him more. But eventually, she had to say goodbye too. Albedo watches as she walks to the front door’s exit once again.
“... Bye bye, big bro Kaeya!” Klee waves and she sniffles. She does not take a cookie from the jar.
“... Haha,” Kaeya snickers. “Bye bye, Klee.”
She is gone. Now, it is only Kaeya and his butler. And Albedo. All alone. His butler offers to make more tea for him again, to which he unfortunately obliges. Kaeya gave up drinking a long time ago, so he cannot have a drink this time around. He rests his head a bit, adjusting his back a little. He can only stare up at the blank, cold ceiling. It doesn’t feel anything like home. He can only sigh and rest his eyes for a bit. A deep sigh comes from him.
And yet, Albedo hasn’t left to watch over Klee. He is still in Kaeya’s room, watching him. In a way, his heart couldn’t possibly take seeing Kaeya pass away. But he was also curious. In some twisted, horrifying way, Albedo wants to see it happen. He was born a few days ago with the consciousness belonging to someone else after all. He is still unfamiliar with this winter wonderland, but his consciousness is semi-aware.
And someone else is aware of his existence too. One… maybe two people.
“... How long are you going to keep staring? I’m quite shy…” Kaeya suddenly speaks, frightening the snowman spirit.
“... You can see me?” Albedo points to himself, dumbfounded.
Kaeya slightly nods, “I have since you first visited… I must say, for a spirit, you are quite good-looking..”
“Keep that to yourself, old man.” The snowman spirit rolled his eyes in disappointment. “How can you see me? You’re quite a peculiar one.”
“Hm… I don’t know. Perhaps it is because I am dying…?”
“You’re… dying?” Albedo tilts his head once more. “Why? Even when you told Klee all of those promises… Why did you even tell her all of that? To bring her hopes up only to drag them down?”
“... Haha. Yeah. I’m awful, aren’t I? I’m not a good brother at all…”
Kaeya can only watch Albedo with his minimal eyesight. His blanket is covering his whole entire body. Albedo wouldn’t even notice that under that sheet would be a frail, small body laying on such a comfortable and plump bed. The wind outside blows the snow roughly. It creeks the windows, making eerie sounds.
“‘I’ll always be with you,’ you said…” Albedo almost snarls, feeling a bad taste in his mouth. “That was a lie. A lie as white as snow.”
“Indeed…” Kaeya agrees, nodding again slowly. He couldn't let the poor girl know.
“... Why..” Albedo can’t put his finger to it. He’s always struggled to understand humans, but his heart sympathizes with them. He feels as if he was meant to be human himself. Instead, he is stuck as a snowman. “Sigh. Why must you die…?”
“Because all humans die,” Kaeya gives an answer straight away. “As time goes on… Fate is very cruel. I sometimes wish that Klee hadn’t met all of us at all. But at the same time, I am grateful that fate gave us the opportunity to meet her.”
“... So?” Albedo questions. Blank face as always.
“So… I am glad Klee was born into this word. My only wish is that she’d grow up to be a healthy girl who had fun playing with her favorite and idolized Cavalry Captain.” He inhales. “As she grows up to be the Knights of Favonius’ only Spark Knight… I want to see it.”
… Ah. So this is Cavalry Captain, Kaeya? Huh…
This is the person Klee looks up to and loves. I see…
… Why does my heart suddenly hurt?
“... Do you..” Albedo asks the old man in bed. “... have any regrets?”
Kaeya takes a surprisingly long time to answer this winded-up question. Life is long, so he may need some time to recount anything he may feel sorry about. Albedo lets him take his time, just as he was patient with Klee. After some thinking, Kaeya looks at Albedo again with the same damned smile. Albedo blinks, waiting for his answer.
“No, I don’t believe I had any regrets at all. Fate put me in my place.”
… No.
I want to be with you.
“... I see. You can laugh or cry now. I won’t tell anyone.”
“... Haha. You caught me. You’re very interesting, Albedo the snowman. I do actually have one regret.”
Albedo takes notice of how Kaeya was able to pinpoint his real identity. Perhaps he looked at Klee’s drawings, then back to his spirit form and made a deduction there? But in any case, Albedo wants to hear him out. The person Klee adores the most is him. The old Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favionius, Kaeya. This is him. And his wise words have already pierced through Albedo’s cold and naive heart. Kaeya can barely keep his strength as his old eyes begin to blur, staring at the same old empty ceiling.
“I regret… not being able…” He nearly gasps for air, inhaling, “... to pass away.. at the Dawn Winery… My home. ”
“...”
……
“Kaeya?”
He does not respond. He smiles softly as his head rests onto the same, soft pillow.
Rest well, Kaeya.
.
.
.
One month has passed since that day. It is starting to get warmer. Most of the snow is starting to melt and several popping rocks of salt melt the sidewalk’s frozen snow. It helps get rid of the unneeded ice.
Albedo is melting. His bucket cap has fallen off and his buttons forming his smile are sliding with the melting snow. But he does not mind. It is fate after all. Once the sun comes out, it is his time to go. All snowmen must melt once faced with the burning and hot sun, even as the snow falls gently. The rays of light are more powerful than delicate, pure and white snow. Klee can be seen playing with her newfound friends, throwing half-melted snowballs at each other. She’s okay.
Albedo does not mind melting. Because he will, one day, meet Klee again. Perhaps even Kaeya too. As he melts, he can disappear happily knowing that Klee will be alright. After all of this, she will continue to grow as healthy as Kaeya wanted her to be.
I am watching over the two of them now, with this melting body.
Thank you for being there for Klee, Kaeya. I hope you can rest. I believe in Klee. I believe that she will be alright. Because I will always come back to comfort her, even if my artificial body is unmovable.
She will be alright now.
Because I can always be rebuilt again. I can always listen to her as time goes by. I will always see her again year after year until she grows old to stop caring for snowmen anymore.
After winter, there is always spring.