Review Summary: It’s snowing again.
It never used to be this cold. I mean, this city was gorgeous when I was young! A paradise! Blistering days, hot summer nights. I still remember when Pa would drive us down the street to the local beach. The bark of the palm trees that lined the road provided perfect footholds, and reaching the leafy crest of green at the summit was the ultimate achievement; from there you could see the blue gradient of the ocean as the waves gently lapped onto the sand, overlooked by the threatening big smoke on the horizon. Anna would be sitting right on the edge, building grand manors with her bucket and pale with more experience than what her age should have allowed. I used to chase a pack of seagulls like a dog, up and down the stretch of sea, until I would simply drop dead with exhaustion. In those days, half an hour outside left you with mammoth burns on your skin; I was quite paranoid about it and constantly smothered copious amounts of sunscreen over my arms and legs, just in case. When the day came to an end, the sky would bleed and my enthusiasm would fall alongside the hot sun. The cool leather seats of the car were as much a comfort as the soft rumble of the exhaust as I drifted off into the night.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like that! My nostalgia isn’t intended to be malicious; I’m just an old man reminiscing about contentment of times past, and of course, you’re the only one who’ll listen. How those days came to an end…so quickly too!
What? Oh yes, of course there were warnings. Dire warnings! There was a mountain of scientific research done into the matter, and ample evidence to suggest its validity too. There were campaigns, fundraising events – the whole box and dice – but the skepticism never ceased. I don’t understand it myself; I guess it was easier to bury your head in the sand then to face the truth at the time. But jeez, things could have been so different! It didn’t have to be a drastic change either: a new car, a power-saving air conditioning unit and some god damn green energy and we would have been set! Well…If there is one thing I can teach you, it’s that humans are cowards. We’ll almost always take the easy way out, because running from the problem is sure as hell easier then fixing it.
It didn’t happen slowly either; it was agonizing. Winter came and went as normal, but when the leaves never grew back…we knew something was wrong when that happened. The ice creek down south never melted into its summer flow, and no matter how long I waited, the geese never migrated back. I used to feed them every Sunday of my back porch, you see, because they loved the sunflower seeds I used to harvest. You’d think they’d remember that, hey? Just kidding, I don’t blame them one little bit. The cold season became longer and longer, until one year, summer simply never came. Everyone was absolutely devastated…the enormity of the situation hit us like a brick to the back of the head. What a dreadful realization that was.
Could you grab that jacket over there for a frail old man? The cold really plays havoc on you at my age, you know that? My arthritis is worse then ever, one little movement leads to a world of pain. You have to be careful walking outside too; with so much ice on the ground, it’s just so easy to slip and fall. Not that you’d want to go outside anyway, there’s nothing out there. Each frozen building is as dark as the next, that’s what I say. We’re better off here. Speaking of which, throw another log on the fire will you? Cheers. Yes, better off indoors we are. You and I mate, just us, in it for the long haul.
Let this ghastly city sleep.
