There was a slight chill in the air and a cloudless sky full of stars as she made her way to the ice rink, her fingers clenched round a cigarette on which there was an elongated tip of ash which threatened to crumble off at any moment, as though the object itself were the safety and not the act of smoking itself.

She came upon a darkened pond, ripe with the sound of skaters striking the ice with their blades and the crack of hockey pucks being expedited to darkened reaches of the frozen water. There was a crowd of hot blooded young men chasing one such dark orb and she approached warily, unsure who was the one she sought. They all looked the same in their hooded garments and no light from nearby houses was strong enough to illuminate their sporting faces. she sat and did her skates, then helped a small child, the daughter of a friend, who’s rosy cheeks and excitement over the simple act of going skating reminded her that she too, once was young. she saw him approach, though dark she thought she recognized his laugh and as he came closer to tussle with a passing friendly canine, she saw it was indeed the man she was there to meet.

She called his name, above the sound of cold activity, it rang out loud in the night air. he turned.

“Hello.” they crossed to meet each other, each unsteady on their sharp transport. They met in the middle and hugged ferociously, he momentarily lifting her and they both laughed as they nearly fell. they passed a puck between them, skating deeper and deeper into the dark recesses of the pond, til eventually no light fell upon them. as tension began to fall over them, a small voice rang out..the child. she skated slowly up saying “please hold my hand” they obliged, on either side, and skated in a slow circle, talking above her head about their days and lives. as the night wore on, he told her of his plans to buy a house in that very neighborhood, he had more plans too, a ten year layout, which for once, these words from a man rang more true to her than they ever had, sounded like more than mere pipe dreams from the lips of a daydreaming man.

Slowly the skaters filtered out until there were but the two. they sat and pointed out the constellations they knew, he knowing the sky far better than she, though both seemed to love itequally. there came a hush fallen over them as they venturedinto territory previously uncovered, but alas no resolutionto the endless possibilities that seemed to fill the night air.

They skated until abruptly he announced his intentions to leave. she was flustered, was it something she said? they briefly bid adieu, a chaste hug in a parking lot, then disappeared to their separate vehicles. She smoked and wondered what the night had meant. a friendship forming, or perhaps more, caught in the crevices and cracks of the words left unspoken. She would never know the truth.