Cold Enough for Snow

by Jessica Au

Maybe it’s good, I said, to stop sometimes and reflect upon the things that have happened, maybe thinking about sadness can actually end up making you happy.

The girl knew so much without seeming to try, and she seemed complete, defined in some way that I wasn’t.

I realized how insufferable this was: the need to make every moment pointed, to read meaning into everything.

Somehow, it felt like I was living my life from the outside in.

As I approached, she saw me and made a gesture with her hand. Could you help me with this? she said, and I saw that she was unable to bend down far enough to reach her shoe. I knelt and, with one swift tug, helped her pull it on.