Long Lost Friends

Elegance was viewed from the lone bedroom on the second floor. A set of peeping eyes squinted past the limp curtain, marvelling at the shape gliding across the frozen pond which sat just meters away from the back gate The eyes belonged to the weathered face of an older lady. Her cold breath stuck to the windowpane like a stain, holding onto the essence of the images taking place below. With a twist and turn, the sound of scraping ice transcended through the air, becoming a tune for the watcher in the night to dance along too. Swish, swish, cut, cut, the skates danced in and out in patterns many would dream to recreate, making shapes in the ice reminiscent of hard work, determination, and a passion for the experience. The watcher in the night moved back from the glass, her hands trembling with excitement. Each stride defrosted her solitary heart. Sounds of lines painted on an artist’s canvas surrounded the older lady from all angles, replaying themselves over and over again. She began to move slowly to the mesmerizing sound, as if it was a tune memorised from one’s childhood. Swooning over the grace she had once moved subconsciously too, her feet memorized methodical paths, hands followed suit. The chill feeling of her ice rink back home turned the crackling fire in the background to ice. Her nimble feet glided past the bed frame, her toes filling the slight gap between her and the bed. Blood rushed over her body, heating her heart more than the flames of her open fire ever could. A slow spin with aged beauty replicated what was once a sharp finish. Her moves matched the books which settled on the shelf next to the fireplace, vintage pages with stories from yesteryear, ideas, passageways, places to learn from. A sanctuary which reflected the splendour of her moves, as the dance continued by the fire, her movements effortless. It was only until a machiavellian Tabby cat which had crept sneakily through the gap in the door disturbed her balance. The older woman slipped from the trance, but her legs worked into overdrive. Muscle memory kept her from any serious injury. “Jesus Buttons” she barked through trembling breaths. Her hands met the windowsill as her extended arms kept her balance. Her heart trembled, the exhilaration kept her body warm, as blood circulated around the body, pumping at an extreme rate. Her breaths matched it, heavy with each expiration. What was emitted from her mouth once again caught itself on the glass she looked through. There was no longer a shape on the frozen pond, her eyes searched, weaving through the moonlit forest to see any trace of what, but to no avail. Seconds passed as the beating heart which pulled at her knit slowly settled, before it sat, content.

...

The morning sunlight poured over the embanked pine trees. Little flakes of white powder slept amongst the trees, snuggling up to each other as the sun woke them in their bed of leaves. The old lady had made her way down to the pond, her timid approach marking signs of nerves. Standing centimetres from the edge her breaths began to increase again. She moved her left foot forward onto the ice. A slight wobble trembled her frame before her right skate settled, keeping the lady from tumbling forward onto the ice. The blunt blades kissed the ice longingly, it being some time since they had last met. Yet, like an old friend the distance which had grown between them did not take from what was a beautiful and fabled past. Within minutes the lady was gliding once again, the ice was her own as she became one with what was below her. A figure emerged from behind the trees, a slender body, one much tighter than her own. Pulling the guards off their skates one foot at a time the persons eyes locked with the old ladies, and a gentle smile was exchanged. It appeared to be a younger lady, one which began to skate around the ice. In and out of the carvings her predecessor had already made, the young ladies movements salivated over the etchings in the ice. As they came closer to each other the younger lady greeted the older, “Hi, I’m Anika” said the younger lady. “Hello, I’m Nancy” replied the older one. The two continued to glide in unison around the pond, like Siamese twins, their strides were inseparable. “I was watching you earlier, from a far, behind one of those trees over there. I know that may sound weird, but I was just nervous…..” she trailed off. “Nervous”? Nancy replied.

“Yeh, I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t embarrass myself”

“Embarrass yourself? Please, you do not look out of place at all”

“Thank you, neither do you”

“It helps living so close”. Nancy pointed to her humble abode that sat above the pond, her bedroom window facing the pond.

“So it was you watching me last night” Anika replied.

Her cheeks ran red as she looked away awkwardly.

“It’s ok, I mean, you should not be embarrassed, especially if you are who they say you are, I should be the embarrassed one I could barely nail …..”

“I thought you were very good”

“Means a lot coming from a former world champion”

Tears pooled in the aging eyes of Nancy. Last night’s warmth returned, spilling pond they gently glided across. Her smile reached from ear to ear, the morning sun highlighting the talented couple as they enjoyed the company of each other, and the ice.