| the act of shivering (alternate take) Two boys in the unyielding cold of a January day ride their bikes through neighborhood trails, pass over fields and front yards cross a creek, stop. they sit on rocks jutting out of the Earth; listen to the thick water falling down the drainage ditch, hear their own voices eerily muted by the freezing water; snot is snorted back into their noses- some escapes, runs down noses and onto their raw lips: what compels a child? Everything is gray, the sky, the water, the light hitting the trees, the metal drainage ditch, their faces: �feels like dusk all day� remarks one to the other �wonder what ice water feels like on my skin and do you dare me to jump in?� He nudges his way into the water, finds it exhilarating and the other is soon to follow and they laugh deep belly laughs as they dip into their natures in the freezing cold of a January day. but how easy their laughs turn into fear, cold stings as water freezes on their skin, the denim pants legs harden and crust with ice and soon start the trek back to their homes pushing now not riding and one feels like crying and his eyes redden and pool, then sobs, and snot is everywhere, and the other stares, blankly holding it together, consoles his friend wishing he would will his tears away knowing not that when they're home, one will have a mothers arms for warmth and the other will stand alone and naked in the laundry room looking for a clean shirt to wear. |