Snow

Post

As much as I want to pretend that this is one of those sappy Christmas movies, it’s not.

For one, it doesn’t snow here. I’ve never seen snow, and it doesn’t even snow herein Barbados. Second, this story isn’t even about Christmas. And third, happy endings are hard to come by.

This story starts when my neighbor, Ferdi, showed up. He knocked on our front door and I opened it. I was quite surprised — pleasantly, might I add — to see Ferdi standing at my doorstep wearing only shorts. I avert my eyes from his chest as fast as I could and lean against the door.

“Merry Christmas, Ferdi,” I say as I give him a gentle smile.

He doesn't smile back; "Kela cheated on me." I glance behind me to see my mom standing there with the baby on her hip. She gives Ferdi a small nod before glancing at me. “We’re leaving in a bit, okay, Jamal?” she murmured.

I nod and close the door behind me. Ferdi and I stand on my front steps in silence for several minutes before I ask, “What happened?”

Ferdi shrugs and gives me a very vague explanation. Apparently his girlfriend, Kela, had been seeing an older guy for about two months now but finally came clean to Ferdi this morning. As his Christmas present. In the form of a teary apology. Through a phone call.

Though I am disgusted by the situation, I can’t help but feel a low buzz in the base of my stomach. Is this a sign? Is this my Christmas present? To tell Ferdi how I feel about him before we graduate high school and go our separate ways?

I blink away my thoughts and rock back onto my heels. “I’m really sorry. What are you going to do now?” I mumble, staring at his blank expression.

“I’m actually not upset, as crazy as it sounds,” Ferdi sighs and lets out a sudden laugh. “It sucks, but at least I know now, you know?”

I nod slowly, understanding where he’s coming from. Though I’ve never had a girlfriend, nor would I ever, I do understand the relief that comes with knowing.

I give him a small smile and hit his arm gently. “Did you have any plans? We’re going to Queen’s Park in a bit and you’re welcome to come along,” I offer.

Ferdi looks me up and down and smirks. “In that, Jamal?” he asks, gesturing to my green pajama pants and fuzzy red socks. I roll my eyes as he lets out a deep breath. “I’ll be here in twenty minutes, then.”

I watch as he walks away from my house and down the street, wishing that I told him. I can only imagine how he’d grin and profess his affections for me too. I mean, weirder things could happen, like snow falling from the sky.

---

Published December 26, 2020

Edited by Alex Truong ~ Graphics created by Samridhi Verma