Every Experience Has A Silver Lining

Karissa huddled inside her thick, poufy coat, trying to curl into the small pocket of warmth it provided. Shivering, she couldn’t believe what Serena had coaxed her into this time. The wind bitterly blew frosty gusts at them, thrashing them disrespectfully with biting cold. Karissa enjoyed cooler weather; a pleasant fifty or sixty degrees was purely divine. This—this wasn’t cool. This was bone-chilling, mind-numbing cold that seeped its icy clutches into your very being. Karissa shuddered. It wouldn’t have been so bad without the wind chill. It might have even been tolerable. Karissa just did not do extreme temperatures. Serena’s logic had been that it was winter everywhere in the US, so why not go on a trip? It would certainly break up the monotony of everyday life.

“Cold is cold,” Serena had summarized lightly, yet she had failed to consider the brutal, frozen winds of “the Windy City.” Adventure was well and good—but no, here they were out braving the intense winter landscape. Karissa sighed, wanting nothing more than to curl up with a good book by the fire and a cup of steaming hot chocolate. She felt the energy seeping out of her, weariness replacing it as her friend cheerfully skipped ahead. There was no chance of retreat when her friend looked this pleased, and since they were there, Karissa tucked away her dissatisfaction and mentally envisioned herself on a warm, sunny beach, pushing forward.

Serena unfazed, kept the pep in her step. How the cold didn’t damper Serena’s enthusiasm at all was beyond Karissa. She just wanted to curl up in a bundle of blankets. Serena, contrastingly, seemed invigorated. Granted, that could be attributed to her natural state; more often than not, she was bouncing with boundless energy and enthusiasm. Karissa loved her friend, truly she did, but she just wished they could have ventured outdoors at a different time. Karissa drudged after her friend reluctantly, crisp snow crunching beneath their boots.

Karissa wished they’d arrive soon—wherever this mystery location was. The sooner they arrived, the sooner they could ice skate, and the sooner they could return to the cozy warmth of indoors. Karissa sighed. Serena had demanded that they go ice skating in Chicago (why that couldn’t be done back home was beyond Karissa, but she learned to pick her battles when it came to Serena and her whims). Serena was rather displeased with how crowded all the ice rinks had been in the Windy City, itself. It didn’t matter whether the rink was indoors or outdoors—they were overflowing with people. Karissa was satisfied with Serena’s choice to avoid the crowds; she couldn’t see how it was any fun to skate, or do much of anything, if people were packed together like sardines. It was madness. It was mindboggling. When Serena had announced that they would be going elsewhere, Karissa had initially accepted the idea. Now, trudging through the intense cold, her body disagreed. Karissa prayed they’d reach their destination soon… She wasn’t sure how much her body was willing to take. Serena seemed impervious to the cold. Karissa, on the other hand, was not.

Serena continued to traipse her way through the snowy forest trail, cresting the hill. Breaking into a huge grin, she proclaimed triumphantly, “We’re here!”

“Praise the universe,” Karissa thought, catching her breath. She took a moment to take in their surroundings. A quaint, frozen pond lay before them. A few other people seemed to share their idea of avoiding the city’s crowds, gliding across the crystalline surface. While Karissa would have preferred to have the pond to themselves (it wasn’t tiny by any means, but it wasn’t as large as the rinks in the city), she’d take the handful of people over the drones of masses back at the rinks.

The two friends walked over to a bench by the pond, shrugging off their backpacks so they could take out their ice skates. Sitting on the bench, they laced up their skates, ready to skate in relative peace. Karissa breathed a sigh of relief—at least they had actual breathing room here. The rinks in the city left her feeling claustrophobic. She stretched and admired the view. The tree branches, while bare of their leaves, were a glistening white. Powdery, shimmery snow dusted the branches with little ornaments of ice dotting the tips of each branch. The city had nothing on this view. While cities had their perks, they tended to fall short when it came to the sights nature provided. Mother nature had natural splendor that cities just couldn’t compete with. A soft smile graced her lips. Karissa took a deep breath of the crisp air. It might have been a hassle to get to, but she couldn’t regret the view and accompanying air of tranquility.

Serena, smile never having left her face, linked arms with Karissa. “Are you ready? Let’s go skate!” she declared happily.

Karissa chuckled softly and complied, journeying to the frozen pond. It would be nice to glide effortlessly on the ice rather than trudge through the snow for a while. Ice skating was rather liberating; they adored how freeing it felt to skim the frozen surface, whether swiftly racing, leisurely sliding, or gracefully performing tricks. You still used your own two feet, but it was so starkly different than walking or running. It was a miraculous feeling, leaving them enchanted.

They slowly warmed up, lazily completing figure eights together. Serena considered doing a friendly, little race, but they decided that it’d be best to do so when more (if not all) the other people left. While not crowded by any means, they wanted to be respectful to the other skaters. It’d be rather rude to try to monopolize the pond’s icy surface, especially since they had arrived after the other guests. They could wait. Serena decided to skate backwards in front of Karissa in a friendly taunt. Karissa merely rolled her eyes, well accustomed to her friend’s antics. They enjoyed themselves thoroughly, laughing together and enjoying the fresh air and open space. It couldn’t be much more perfect than this. As the day continued, more and more of the other skaters left, usually with remarks of wanting some warm soup and hot cocoa.

Serena was in the middle of explaining one of the kid’s she babysat latest escapade as they glided around the pond, giggling at the antics, when suddenly something, or rather someone, zoomed past them, knocking them both to the ground. They collided with the ice’s surface with a wince. They picked themselves up slowly, thankfully not too hurt, but it definitely wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Pulling herself back up, Karissa growled after the guy, “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

The guy, heck, it could have been a teen for all they knew, didn’t even stop and just continued forward in his frantic pace. He didn’t even seem to have heard Karissa and quickly shoved on his shoes before racing off into the distance.

“Rude much!” Karissa called after the guy. “He didn’t even check to see if we were okay. What a jerk!” she grumbled.

Dusting herself off and gently testing her limbs to see if it would be painful to start skating again, Serena offered, “True, but maybe he was in a rush for a good reason?”

“A good reason to plow over people and then leave without looking back?” Karissa huffed.

“Well,” Serena corrected, “maybe an important reason for him. Like maybe one of his loved ones is in trouble. Maybe he found out that they’re on death’s door and only have an hour left to live or something. I’d probably be in a rush if I found that out.”

Karissa snorted. “Even if that is the case—and that’s a stretch—that doesn’t make it okay to disregard and harm others before fleeing the scene.”

Serena hummed her agreement but was willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. She understood Karissa’s point—he had been inconsiderate—but they didn’t have his side of the story. It didn’t feel right to cast judgment. It didn’t make the man’s actions okay, but he might have a justifiable reason for rushing. Serena shrugged. It was all in the past now; she didn’t see a point in fixating on it. They were relatively unharmed (they might be sporting a few bruises later), and they now had the pond to themselves. It could be worse. She inspected the pond’s surface. There wasn’t even a crack, so they could continue skating as they pleased. Serena smiled before noticing something lying on the icy surface. Crouching to pick it up, she realized the guy had nicked her ice skate in the collision, slicing through one of her laces. She lifted the piece of lace to her face, cocking her head to the side.

Seeing what Serena now held in her hand, Karissa glanced down at their skates, recognizing what the guy had done, and snarled, “That jerk! He ruined your skates!” She started heading to the bank, enraged. “I don’t care where he went. I WILL hunt him down, and he WILL get you new skates! Those were brand new! I can’t believe him! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!” Karissa was seething.

Serena pulled her friend into a hug in attempt to calm her, reassuring, “They’re not ruined, Kari. Sure, the one lace is a bit shorter, but they still work!” She gave her friend a genuine smile. “I appreciate your righteous anger, but we’re okay. Sure, maybe we’ll sport a few new bruises, but we’re okay. My skate now has character!” Serena insisted. “Besides, now I have a special souvenir from our trip!”

Karissa raised a dubious brow at that, retorting, “You want that as a souvenir? A reminder of that jerk??”

“No, silly,” Serena giggled. “It wouldn’t be a reminder of him. Sure, he may have created the souvenir, albeit unintentionally, but it’d be a reminder of you. A reminder of how much you care—you’re willing to track down a stranger just for me and my ice skate.” She cuddled Karissa, adding softly, “I’m touched, really. Thanks for caring.”

Her rage soothed by Serena’s words, Karissa accepted Serena’s reasoning. Her anger would be put on the backburner for now—if she ever saw that guy again, ooohhh, he’d pay alright. She might not have seen him for long, but she committed the disheveled brown hair, hazel eyes, average build, and gait to memory. She surmised he was about 5 foot 6 inches tall, give or take. She wouldn’t actively hunt the jerk down since Serena didn’t seem to wish for it, but if she spotted him again, he was her prey. She wouldn’t forget; she tucked his appearance in the back of her mind in case they’d ever cross paths again. One didn’t cross Karissa or harm those she held dear. If you did, she’d take names and kick butt. Her black belt and mastery of all forms of self defense were quite useful in that regard; she didn’t actively pick fights, but like hell she’d let other people walk all over (literally or figuratively) her or her loved ones. She had her limits. She set her boundaries. Respect them or repent, plain and simple.

“Truly, thank you, Karissa,” Serena emphasized, stroking her friend’s hair. “You’re the best friend I could ever ask for. There’s no one else I’d rather be with right now. You make this trip and every other so special.” She nuzzled Karissa before adding, “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Karissa smiled softly. “Hmm, I wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else either. You’re a strange one, but you’re my strange friend.” She chuckled before adding, “Let’s go back and get some hot cocoa. It’s too cold to stay out here any longer.”

Serena grinned. She pocketed her latest treasure before following Karissa back to their backpacks. Trips with Karissa were always the best.