My hands were numb and I had long since

lost feeling in my toes.

The wind was an icy breath on my cheeks

but I continued to sit, immobile, clutching my knees.

Frozen sugar crystals clung to my hair and eyelashes,

pouring down from a darkening sky.

It was too bitter for tears, but

they were present still.

Something was resting on my head

(What was it still doing there?)

so I tore off the lacy contraption

and threw it to the ground, feeling pieces of hair

fall out of its complicated styling.

My hands rose out in front of my face

and I could scarcely recognize the purple digits.

The long, delicate sleeves of my gown paled

to ivory in the surrounding resplendent white.

A glittering caught my eye, and manicured nails

attempted to attack my left hand

(Get it off! I have to get it off!)

but I was no longer in control.

Any feeling I had left, vanished and

as darkness crept into my vision,

something heavy dropped to my shoulders.

I dimly registered a black jacket as I gazed

unseeingly into the face of the man I saw as my brother.

Vaguely, I could sense concern on his face as

he said something I couldn’t understand.

The darkness crept further, and the last thing I felt

before surrendering completely,

was that things might not be so cold anymore.