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Those who do not like you fall into two categories: the Stupid, and the Envious. The stupid will like you in 5 years, the envious will never like you.
-- Rochester (From the Libertine)
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Berlin
Cambridge
Cambrige - Snow
China
Dublin
Far North Queensland
Geilo
Norfolk
Paris
Stockholm
Woolacombe
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Dawn is just breaking, and the sunlight filters slowly through the windows...I stir slowly in my bed, and open an eye lazily...beside me, he is still sleeping soundly, his breathing is the loudest sound around, and I smile contentedly to myself, and turn over to look at him...he is like an angel with slight red flush to his cheeks...I get out of bed and add another log to the fire and go into the kitchen...there, I put on the kettle on the fire-wood stove and start to prepare a hearty English breakfast....he stumbles into the kitchen when the eggs are almost ready, bleary eyed and with tousled hair...he manages a small smile while helping himself to the coffee on the table...which has an instantaneous effect on him...he is awake now, and volunteers to help with preparing breakfast...all goes well at first till he burns himself on a pan and almost sets the house of fire...he is banished to sit at the table and read the papers while I finish up...
After breakfast, I start to clear up, but he doesn't have the patience to wait any more...like a little boy, he grabs my hand and pulls me away from the dirty dishes...."the dishes can wait..."...with that he pulls me to the front door, and forces layers of clothing upon me...he grabs the picnic basket packed the night before and we go out...there is a newly covered layer of snow on the garden, pristine and untouched, and our breathes form little clouds of mist...there is a sudden twinkling in his eye, and "SPLAT", my face is full of snow...."SNOW FIGHT" he yells at the top of his lungs, and starts raining snowballs down upon me....when I recover from the shock, he is already behind a tree, piling up on snowballs...we fight with each other till we are blue in the face, and collapse on the ground, side by side, staring up at the clear blue sky and try to catch our breaths..."well, it looks like we didn't manage to get too far, did we?" he asks...laughingly....
We are finally on our way after catching our breaths to the forest behind the cottage...and spend time walking around, marvelling at the winter wonderland that we see at every turn...the paths are covered in snow, but he knows his way around like a seasoned ranger...at midday, we stop and have lunch from the picnic basket, cold ham sandwiches...we walk around a little more, him pointing out the different tracks on the ground made by different animals, and the different trees, before we reach the climatic part of the track...the view of the Loch explodes into view...the snow-covered trees surrounding it, the vastness and remoteness of it all is evident as we stand looking down from the cliff..I exhale slowly...nothing has ever prepared me for something as beautiful as this...."it's beautiful..." I murmur softly..."Yeah, it sure is..." he whispers back...
We make our way back to the cottage from the Loch, and get into the car...he has decided that we should go down to Edinburgh for the night, and if we hurry, we'd get there by evening...along the way, he sings silly songs at the top of his voice, and we get there just as it is starting to get dark....we wander around the beautiful city, taking in the peacefulness of it all, and head for Princes' street...the bridge overlooking it has always been one of my favourite spots, and we stand there, looking down at the Christmas shoppers flitting in and out of shops doing their last minute shopping...the twinkling lights of the shops, together with the snow on the ground makes me feel so warm even though the temperature of the air is freezing....it starts snowing lightly again, and we make our way to a cosy little restaurant for a nice Christmas dinner....after a long, leisurely dinner, we take to the graded streets again, looking through all the shop windows, admiring the decorations, and soaking in the atmosphere....looking up occasionally at the Edinburgh castle that stands above the whole city....
It is soon midnight, and the church bells start clanging...people around me are merrily wishing each other Seasons' Greetings and all, but I turn to him, sadly..."Merry Christmas," I whisper...he smiles sadly..."Merry Christmas to you too..."...as the last bell rings..the whole world starts spinning around, and the last thing I see is him standing there in his trench coat, waving good-bye....
Copyright Roux 2001. No part of this may be reproduced without prior written permission of the author.
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