Snow Need to Rush

I watched my breath form a small white cloud as it puffed out of my lips and dissipated before my eyes. I rubbed my hands together, blowing into them with the precious bit of warm air that remained in my lungs. My leg bounced as I stared into the cold dark world beyond the windows of my truck as they remained partially fogged up.

It continued to snow outside my metal coffin, and the last rays of sunshine melted behind the horizon.

I clenched my jaw as I thought about the long walk home in the frigid darkness.

The dashboard read -35C, and I shivered to think that it was even colder with the windchill.

I pulled the collar of my coat up around my cheeks and did the winter shrug we all do when preparing to enter the deep freeze of nature. I turned my truck off and grit my teeth together as I whipped the door open and jumped out into the deadly cold street.

I slammed the door shut and locked it with a beep. Then, I madly scrambled to the front, dug through the still-falling snow for the power cord so I could plug my truck in. Icicles connected the prongs of the plug. I had to use the last of the warmth in my breath to melt them just enough to jam on the power cord and give my car a fighting chance at starting tomorrow.

Satisfied, I began my mad dash down a half block of knee-high snow, down the dark street toward my home. The crunch of the snow beneath my feet echoed in my ears as I trudged on, my keys clamped in my ungloved hand as I readied myself to use them.

I stomped up the front stoop and fumbled with the keys, dropping them in a small snow pile at my front door. I scrambled to dig them out as panic and frostbite threatened my senses. The cold metal burned in my hand and my cheeks stung with the icy wind whipping at them.

I continued in my panicked movements, trying every key on the ring as though I didn’t know which one belonged. I violently shivered until a key finally slid into the lock, but it wouldn’t click. Out of pure desperation, I yanked on the doorknob and that damn thing swung open.

It had been unlocked the entire time.

I stood frozen in the doorway, watching until it hit the wall behind it with a bang. As I stepped over the threshold, my wife appeared in the entryway with a scowl of bewilderment.

“What are you doing?” She asked with a furrowed brow.

I slammed the door behind me and leaned my frozen body against it. “Holy fuck, it’s cold out there,” I muttered as I kicked off my snow-covered boots.

“I know. That’s why I left the door unlocked for you.” She commented, “I heard you making a ruckus outside for a while. I thought someone was trying to break in.” She explained, still wearing a disgruntled expression.

“That was the longest minute of my life,” I mumbled, shedding my winter layers and giving one last shiver, before stepping further into my thankfully warm home.