Hi, Tesh here. I wrote this story for my creative writing class this semester. Enjoy! : )

Warmth

I headed to the public park, watching my booted feet make footprints in the crisp snow. I pulled my coat tighter around me, my breath coming out in thin wisps of vapor.

The cold became the furthest thing from my mind when he came into view. His face brightened as soon as he spotted me, causing me to smile. Walking quickly toward each other, we embraced, warmth spreading throughout my whole body.

He said hi to me and I returned the greeting. His hand closed around mine and we went on our way.

“You said you wanted to show me something?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. We'll be there in a minute.”

Walking through the park, we noticed that not many people were outside, being the middle of winter and all. Only the skeletons of the trees welcomed the white powder on their arms. The few people who were outside bent their heads down, leaning against the wind as they hurried to their destinations. We avoided colliding into them as we talked and joked.

We ended up standing near the pond, which was a complete sheet of ice. Seeing nothing but snow, I stared at him quizzically.

“The bench, right there,” he said with a grin.

I finally spotted a large lump of snow which I assumed covered a park bench. “What about it?”

“Remember when we would look at the pond in the spring?”

I smiled at the memory. We would sit on this very bench, my head on his shoulder and his arm around my waist, watching swans and geese glide by on the crystalline water.

I turned to him, saying, “Thanks. I remem—”

His soft lips enveloped mine. I was initially surprised by the sudden contact but then I closed my eyes as the warmth once again coursed through me.

I have never been as happy as I am when I am with him.

--x--

Later, we walked down the city streets, holding hands. Snowflakes began to gently fall, swirling in the slate-colored sky. I mused about how the snow contrasted with my skin, yet complimented his. I forgot about my thoughts when I glanced over at a middle-aged man leaning against a wall reading the local newspaper. He looked up at me, his gaze slowly traveling from me to my companion and down to our clasped hands. His eyes narrowed, a sneer curling his thin lips. The man snapped his newspaper into position and let the bold headlines separate us from his view.

“Did you see the way that guy looked at us?” I asked after we walked by.

“Yeah. Dunno what his problem was.”

A part of me wanted to walk back over to that man and stick out my tongue, but it seemed far too childish for a university student. So instead I shook my head and said, “Whatever.”

--x--

After classes that day, we headed to my apartment via the subway. The train sped through the snow-covered city, underneath tunnels and past buildings. We sat next to each other, and I leaned against his shoulder.

I looked down at my hands and said, “I need to talk to you about something. I've been thinking about it for a while.”

“What is it?”

“Well... have you come across any problems since we started going out?”

He thought. “No, not really.”

I sighed. “Well, you're lucky.”

I thought back, remembering certain incidents. My mother had been as excited as I was when I had first told her about him. But when I described him, including his cream-colored skin, I saw her frown slightly. Exasperated, I asked her what was wrong, and I wasn't pleased with the answer.

Then there was the time later on when I invited him to meet my family. I had looked down at my dinner plate nervously as we passed around the food. I expected a cliché sort of thing where my father would demand to know everything about him, but that didn't happen. He just made casual, yet stiff, conversation. My mother just smiled politely, or so I thought. My siblings laughed, but it didn't feel genuine. Everyone was not acting like themselves, and I didn't like that. I wonder if he had noticed.

Why does everyone act so weird when I tell them about him? I had thought to myself. The obvious answer came to mind, but I shrugged it off. People still can't be so stupid. It's 2008, for crying out loud. What happened historically was horrible, yes, but it should stay there.

After I explained what I remembered, he hugged me. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, his face buried in my dark hair.

“It's all right. It just annoys me.”

“Well, I can't say I know exactly how you feel, but I'm trying to understand.”

I watched the city whizzing by outside the window and smiled sadly. “Thanks.”

--x--

When we arrived at my apartment, I tossed my keys and train pass on the small kitchenette counter. I moved over to the couch, and he plopped down next to me. It had been a long day at school.

Shrugging off my backpack and coat, I leaned back with my eyes closed. I instantly felt his arms around me, and the tenderness of his lips on my cheek. I glanced at him casually.

“Did you come here to study with me, or to just give me huggins?” I asked with a grin.

“Mm, yes.”

“Yes to what?”

Grinning widely, he continued to hold me and kiss my cheeks. Laughing, I kissed his cheek as well. He shivered quite visibly, and then smoothed my hair back to kiss my neck. My eyes fluttered closed.

How long this continued, we didn't know.

Sometime later, we were doing what we originally came to my apartment to do— homework. Even then, he couldn't stop hugging and holding and kissing me. While I marked my notebook and sipped my hot chocolate, he rubbed my arms and held my other hand. I shivered when he whispered in my ear, “Your skin is so smooth.”

I looked down at my skin tone which matched my beverage as his arms slowly encircled my waist.

“Thank you so much,” I whispered back.

Whenever people I know or strangers on the street find my relationship odd, I think of moments like these, when he holds me close. I lose all knowledge of the world and its cultural restrictions.

He gently lifted my chin, drawing our faces closer. He had told me his eyes were hazel, but they looked more greenish to me. Greenish-blueish-gray. I loved those eyes.

Our breath mingled.

As our lips met, I visualized a world with people strolling down city streets, hands clasped, unconcerned about their contrasting skin tones.