Time covered in snow

After what felt like an eternity, Shin's consciousness slowly returned. His body was weak, his limbs heavy. His vision remained blurry, and his head throbbed.

Even though his eyes were still closed, he felt something light on his right shoulder. It was soft, almost weightless—like a feather. Yet, it was familiar, a sensation he had felt many times before.

His mind, still clouded, tried to grasp the memory.

Then, suddenly—

A flash from the past.

A different city. Novaris. Snow rained from the sky, covering the streets in a soft white layer. The sound of footsteps echoed everywhere as crowds of people walked by, too busy to notice anything around them.

Shin sat beneath a tree, waiting. Waiting for something—though he no longer remembered what.

He wore thin clothing, unfit for the freezing air. Snowflakes slowly gathered on his shoulders, melting against his skin before refreezing. Minutes passed. Then hours. His body grew colder. His breath turned shallow.

His heartbeat slowed.

"Did I catch a cold?" he thought.

It was painful, but he didn't move. He didn't have the strength—or maybe, he just didn't have the will. If he stayed like this a little longer, he knew he would die.

And yet, that thought didn't frighten him.

He wondered why. The people passing by didn't even glance at him. They didn't have the time.

Shin thought, Why would they? It wasn't their fault he was in this situation. But then, whose fault was it? His own? Had he committed some unforgivable sin without even realizing it?

He didn't know. He only knew that the pain was unbearable. If he gave in to the cold, maybe—just maybe—he would find peace in a better place.

As his body teetered on the edge of surrender, something heavy crashed into him, knocking him off balance. The snow clinging to his body shattered like fragile glass, breaking the icy grip that had chained him down.

Dazed, Shin pushed himself up. His vision was blurred, his limbs numb. He rubbed his eyes with both hands, trying to clear them.

When he looked again, he saw her.

His sister.

She stood before him in the same threadbare clothing as always, trembling from the cold but forcing herself to stand tall. Despite everything—the bitter wind, the cruel frost—she smiled. A raw, genuine smile, as if sheer will alone could shield them from the cold.

She sat under the tree and patted the ground beside her, signaling for Shin to sit. He hesitated for a moment before moving closer, his body still stiff from the cold.

The moment he settled beside her, she pulled out a thick, heavy cloth and wrapped it around them both. It was warm—too warm, too soft—unlike anything they could afford. The fabric had delicate patterns woven into it, intricate and unmistakably expensive.

Shin ran his fingers over the material and asked, his voice hoarse from the cold, "Where did you get this?" Did I catch a cough?

She grinned, as if excited to tell a story.

"Well, there was this guy in a suit sitting in the park with a bag in his hand. Out of nowhere, a thief snatched it and ran. I followed him and saw him hide behind Tom's shop. Then—get this—he tripped on a wire and face-planted. The bag flew out of his hands."

She paused for dramatic effect, her eyes glinting with amusement.

"I was watching from the base." (Base—the burned-down building they used for hide-and-seek.) "The moment the bag hit the ground, I grabbed it and ran. I thought he'd chase me, so I looked back… but turns out, the bag's owner had already caught him and pinned him down. Lucky for me, he didn't see me."

Shin listened, intrigued. The way she told the story made it sound like some grand action movie, but in his head, he pictured it as a goofy 2D cartoon.

"So basically… you stole it," he said, raising a brow in mock suspicion.

She shot him a cheeky grin. "It's not stealing if you take from a thief."

"Is that so?" He smirked slightly before leaning back.

She did the same, resting her head on his shoulder. Slowly, as their body heat mixed under the thick cloth, the biting cold faded away.

Shin felt warm. Despite sitting outside under a tree, this moment felt like the safest place on earth. Wrapped in the thick cloth, with his sister by his side, the cold no longer mattered.

As time passed, they both drifted into sleep, curled up like a pair of stray puppies without a care in the world.

Then—slowly—Shin's mind stirred. A familiar weight rested on his shoulder, grounding him in the present. Blinking groggily, he tried to open his eyes, his vision still hazy. He turned his head slightly, and just like before, his sister was there, sleeping soundly against his right shoulder, like a child lost in a peaceful dream.

A quiet relief washed over him.

But before his vision could clear—

"Are you awake now?"

The voice hit Shin's ears like a hammer, snapping him back to reality.

His chest tightened. He knew this voice. He had heard it before—more than once.

Slowly, he turned his head forward. The moment his eyes focused, his stomach dropped.

The air turned thick. The warmth from before was gone, replaced by something cold, something suffocating. The stench in the air—putrid, heavy with death—churned his insides.

How could he have forgotten?

This place.

This damn place.

The realization struck like a blade to the gut. He was exactly where he had prayed never to return.

Ricky's cell.

And there, sitting against the far wall, was Ricky himself.

Tired eyes locked onto Shin's, unreadable yet piercing. A silent understanding passed between them—one that made Shin's heart sink even deeper into the pit of despair.