Abigail Goes Ice Skating

It was one of the rare weeks on Haida Gwaii that the world was cold enough to freeze. The small inland lakes were for a brief time solid enough to skate on.

Abigail didn’t mind the cold. It meant a break from the mud. She always felt if one had enough warm clothing the cold be tolerated.

With the world covered in ice, it was not safe to ride Apple, or drive Magic so she decided to go ice skating. After all there would be other people around. If she fell she was sure someone would call her an ambulance or help her off the ice. It was the perfect opportunity to be around people without having to be social. This could give her the feeling of connection she had been craving.

It may be cold but it was sunny. Thinking of all the sunny days stolen from her she decided no matter what she was going to go skating.

Fully bundled and ready to hit the ice. She laced her skates using one of Apple's hoof picks to ensure she had a good snug fit. Ankle support was a must with her heavy-set body. Preventing more pain was a high priority.

Her legs screamed in protest as she glided onto the ice. Ignoring them she embraced the feeling of floating. Abigail took in a deep breath of the cool air as she slid across the rough surface of the frozen lake.

At first, she only looked down at her skates. Watching for deadly sticks, and other such gravity enhancement devices. Anything that might cause her 215-pound body to come crashing down was a potential threat. Fear of landing on the hardened surface of the frozen lake almost overtook her. When she finally gained confidence in her feet below her she looked up.

The lake was white with ice and streaked with the joyful curved markings of people on skates. They told the stories of children on new adventures and lovers tangled in the arms of fantasy.

The frost-tipped forest was rich with earthy greens and browns. The slumbering woodland was rich in the color of winter comfort.

The sky was a deep clear blue. Abigail called this color "cold blue". Only in the winter on the coldest days was it as deep of a blue as it was today. One of the few perks of winter in Abigail's opinion, and she made sure to soak in every inch of that extra blue sky.

She found peace in the imperfect perfection of the raw nature that surrounded her.

A small green thing buzzing in and out of the brush by the shore caught her eye. It looked as though it had been spying on her and fled when she looked towards it.

It reminded her of a mutant firefly.

What was a mutant firefly spying on me for? She thought to herself, allowing her mind to wander. Dipping into a world of fantasy she escaped reality and limits.

Abigail stared for a moment still in her fantasy land. Then her skate hit a pebble frozen in the ice. She tumbled forward. The beating of her heart quickened as she scrambled to keep her feet under her. The sudden threat of falling snapped her out of her daydream.

What was that thing? She thought puzzled at how weird the whole thing seemed. After all, it was far too cold in Haida Gwaii for fireflies. Even mutant ones. She told herself.

As quickly as she had noticed it, she brushed it off.

Her imagination had a tendency to wander. It probably conjured up some mutant firefly merely for her entertainment.

The pain in her legs was becoming almost unbearable. Not wanting to go home yet, she dug a little deeper, finding new strength to push through it. There was no way she was giving up. This was her day and she was going to enjoy it no matter what.