it snowed today, for the second time this winter. only, this time it was real snow, the type that covered the roofs and the roads with its cold embrace. it settled comfortably over the tree branches with a geometric beauty, giving the world a temporary white halo. the sky was the same color as the ground, so on my walk this morning, i couldn’t tell where the horizon ended and where the earth started. surreal.
as i headed toward the pond, i saw only one other set of footsteps wrapping around the path. they were a little melted, bigger than mine, and hard to discern from the unbroken layer of white, but i was fascinated. this was a little time capsule, the only remnant of someone else being here, which i was both early and late enough to have seen. i looked at the faded prints and wondered about that person. had they been walking briskly, or were they taking their time? was the snow still falling, and did it settle gently over their shoulders? what were they wearing? were they pleasantly cool, or unbearably chilly?
i followed this person’s trail, sometimes stepping upon their imprints, and sometimes making my own. i thought about how our interlacing footsteps would be discovered by a walker after me.
at the end of the loop, i was to part ways with my unknown companion whose footsteps i had befriended. i thanked them, then moved on: i had my own path to lay.