life’s work, the things she said to you? We don’t do that. We let the memories go. All the moments that you thought were so important … it all starts to vanish, the day you die.”
There was a touch of bitterness in his voice, and part of me couldn’t deny the truth of his words. What was the point of getting all emotional about things and people who were only going to forget I ever existed? But at the same time, he was wrong. I still remembered how my grandmother smelled, and how safe being at her house made me feel. Those things became part of who I was.
Theo made a frustrated sound. “I’m sorry, Delia. That’s a terrible way to talk. I don’t mean you shouldn’t care about people, or that your family—”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I don’t think I agree, but it’s okay.”
Still, my mood was undeniably gloomier than it had been a few minutes earlier. I kicked at a pile of snow and watched my foot go right through it.
Theo caught his breath. “Now I feel awful. I’ll make it up to you, if you like.”
“How?”
The smile that followed surprised me with its brightness—and I filed a mental note that his detachment was only a cloak for something that had happened. Something that had hurt him.
“Do you like ice-skating?” he asked.
“Um … I’m from Georgia. Not a lot of hard freezes down there. Also, I’m about as graceful as a swan with a broken leg. I’m not really the athletic type.”
“Well,” he said, taking me by the hand and starting to run, “the good news is, you’re not going to die out there.”
Keeping up with him was easier than I would have thought. In a couple of minutes we passed into a small stand of trees and reached the edge of a small, round pond. Its surface was a shell of pale-blue ice.
“I’ve never—” I started to say, but Theo was already pulling me onto the ice. I shrieked and started to slip, but he caught me and set me back upright.
“The other good news is that you don’t need skates,” he said, gliding past me. “No friction, see? Come on!”
I hesitated, and he circled back, executed a graceful spin, and then looked at me with that infectious smile.
“I thought you wanted more fresh air,” he said.
“Fine,” I said. “But if I fall through, you have to dive in and save me.”
“You won’t fall,” he said. “But even if you do, you could walk out. This pond has a nice gentle slope, and it’s only about twenty feet deep at the center.”
I didn’t ask him how he knew that. The thought of sinking to the bottom of the frigid, dark water sent a chill up my spine.
“You okay?” Theo asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Somebody must be walking on my grave, that’s all.”
“They’re bound to eventually,” he said. “Now see if you can catch me!”
He swooped away, and I pushed off behind him, wobbling a little before managing to find my balance. Then I was sliding, faster than I would have thought possible, across the slick ice. The wind cut through me, but it felt good, bracing, human.
We spent hours racing each other across the pond, and I got to be almost as fast as Theo. By the time the sun began to sink below the trees, I could spin just as well as he could.
“How many times can you go around without stopping?” I asked. “In theory, if there’s no friction, you could just spin forever, right?”
With a grin, he pushed off with one foot and began to turn.
Then he came almost to a screeching halt.
“Theo?” I asked. A moment later, I realized that time had slowed down again.
How long would I be stuck out here, alone in this slip of time? Without Theo to keep me company, the tall trees and pale sky felt like a terrible wilderness. But after a few minutes, I decided to ride it out. So I stood back and simply waited, watching Theo’s slow series of turns take shape in front of me, the delighted flash of his smile sending a trickle of hope into my heart.
If I had to do this—if I had to be stuck here
There was a touch of bitterness in his voice, and part of me couldn’t deny the truth of his words. What was the point of getting all emotional about things and people who were only going to forget I ever existed? But at the same time, he was wrong. I still remembered how my grandmother smelled, and how safe being at her house made me feel. Those things became part of who I was.
Theo made a frustrated sound. “I’m sorry, Delia. That’s a terrible way to talk. I don’t mean you shouldn’t care about people, or that your family—”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I don’t think I agree, but it’s okay.”
Still, my mood was undeniably gloomier than it had been a few minutes earlier. I kicked at a pile of snow and watched my foot go right through it.
Theo caught his breath. “Now I feel awful. I’ll make it up to you, if you like.”
“How?”
The smile that followed surprised me with its brightness—and I filed a mental note that his detachment was only a cloak for something that had happened. Something that had hurt him.
“Do you like ice-skating?” he asked.
“Um … I’m from Georgia. Not a lot of hard freezes down there. Also, I’m about as graceful as a swan with a broken leg. I’m not really the athletic type.”
“Well,” he said, taking me by the hand and starting to run, “the good news is, you’re not going to die out there.”
Keeping up with him was easier than I would have thought. In a couple of minutes we passed into a small stand of trees and reached the edge of a small, round pond. Its surface was a shell of pale-blue ice.
“I’ve never—” I started to say, but Theo was already pulling me onto the ice. I shrieked and started to slip, but he caught me and set me back upright.
“The other good news is that you don’t need skates,” he said, gliding past me. “No friction, see? Come on!”
I hesitated, and he circled back, executed a graceful spin, and then looked at me with that infectious smile.
“I thought you wanted more fresh air,” he said.
“Fine,” I said. “But if I fall through, you have to dive in and save me.”
“You won’t fall,” he said. “But even if you do, you could walk out. This pond has a nice gentle slope, and it’s only about twenty feet deep at the center.”
I didn’t ask him how he knew that. The thought of sinking to the bottom of the frigid, dark water sent a chill up my spine.
“You okay?” Theo asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Somebody must be walking on my grave, that’s all.”
“They’re bound to eventually,” he said. “Now see if you can catch me!”
He swooped away, and I pushed off behind him, wobbling a little before managing to find my balance. Then I was sliding, faster than I would have thought possible, across the slick ice. The wind cut through me, but it felt good, bracing, human.
We spent hours racing each other across the pond, and I got to be almost as fast as Theo. By the time the sun began to sink below the trees, I could spin just as well as he could.
“How many times can you go around without stopping?” I asked. “In theory, if there’s no friction, you could just spin forever, right?”
With a grin, he pushed off with one foot and began to turn.
Then he came almost to a screeching halt.
“Theo?” I asked. A moment later, I realized that time had slowed down again.
How long would I be stuck out here, alone in this slip of time? Without Theo to keep me company, the tall trees and pale sky felt like a terrible wilderness. But after a few minutes, I decided to ride it out. So I stood back and simply waited, watching Theo’s slow series of turns take shape in front of me, the delighted flash of his smile sending a trickle of hope into my heart.
If I had to do this—if I had to be stuck here
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