Dance of the Spirits

The bell rang as he stepped into the little drugstore, mist fuming from between his lips, rubbing his hands together.

It had been snowing on and off since Christmas. Christmas in New York. He never thought he'd be the one to miss the snow, seeing as he was from Alaska. But even he couldn’t stop that smile from forming when he woke up one fine morning to find the city covered in a blanket of snow. It somehow made this concrete jungle a lot more humane. A lot more like home.

He went up to the counter, picked up a pack of Marlboros and took his place in the queue behind a red haired elf. It was New york- he shouldn't have been surprised- but really- Christmas was done and over with. The woman at the counter rang up his purchase and he stepped out. She stood there- the elf- she had taken out a cigarette and stood there lighting it. Exactly what he had been intending to do. He walked up to her and asked if he could borrow a light.

A little pixie face looked up, smiled and said “Sure, everyone could do with a little warmth today."

He smiled as she lit his cig and they stood there outside the drugstore, puffing on the little poison sticks. 

"So, how are the working conditions at the North Pole?” he asked.

She shook her head and smiled, "Pretty pathetic if you ask, making toys for bratty kids and that Nicholas is quite the sugar daddy- if you know what I mean...”

"Of course- with that red coat- who could be up to any good in a RED coat- if I may ask?"

"Yup Yup- a regular perv, after all, he came up with the entire sneaking down the chimney thing. I mean, what’s wrong with politely knocking at the door and handing over the gift?"

"You know, I always did wonder that. I wonder how he managed specially with the snow and the near obese body structure. You'd think with all the up and down, he'd be fitter"

“Well, exercise once a year does not a Hulk Hogan maketh”

“Hulk Hogan? Really? I’d have put you more in the category of Triple H, you know”

“Gosh- you watch WWE? How old are you? Ten?”

“Says the woman dressed like an elf....”

“Hehe- I guess I had that coming”, she said as she stomped out the cig butt. “So where are you off to on this New year's eve?”

“Me? I thought I’ll take walk over to the Rockefellers and look at the fireworks... And you must be heading back to the North Pole..?”

“No No- Annual vacation time. Nick's out till Jan end. And the toy making factory is at a standstill.”

“Oh---so why don’t you come along. An elf by my side will make things all the more interesting”

“One pick up line I never thought I’d hear”. We both smiled.

“You know”, she said, “Try as I might, i can’t resist the lure of New York covered under a blanket of snow.”

He smiled wider- “I was thinking just that. It’s like home...”

“And where would that be?”

“Alaska.”

She gave out a shout of laughter and stood in the middle of the street clutching at her sides- “Are you fucking kidding me? You are from fucking North Pole? And you are making jokes about me?! Haha!”

He stood by sheepishly- “Yup Yup- I live next door to your toy factory- Happy now? Though technically, Alaska's not North Pole you know- that would be the Arctics.”

“Oh yeah- it’s a degree away”, she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “You are from Eskimo Land”

“I prefer to call it the land of the Northern Lights...”

She sighed “Dance of the Spirits"

He looked back, surprised- “How do you know that? Not many people do...”

“Know what? About the Aurora Borealis?”

“No- Dance of the Spirits- my grandma used to call it that…”

“Your grandma was a Cree? How delightful!  I always thought there was a kind of poetry in that. I can imagine man observing it for the first time and thinking just that- Dance of the Spirits- them coming together, converging and then moving apart- charged with electricity and intensity...."

“She wasn’t a Cree, though she’d say that it’s a lot like life…People coming together, drifting apart, meeting new people and writing newer destinies- Dance of our Life, she used to call it…”

“That’s beautiful...isn't it amazing- just when you think you have encountered all that life has to offer, you watch one sunset- and even that seems like a miracle. But the northern lights- they seem more than a miracle. Who could've thought that it’s just a collision of charged particles directed by the Earth's magnetic field? Two random charged particles coming together to create something so beautiful and then moving apart to create something completely different- yet equally wonderful “

“I know, I would stay up the whole night to watch just that and read..”

“Read?”

“Yup, with the light from the borealis. It gets that bright in the night...”

“Oh my God! You are such a geek! Read? Why would you want to read when you could have the most romantic date ever?”

“Really? In that much light? That’d have been a fun date!”

They were nearing Rockefeller’s now, the crowd getting denser. Up in the sky, sat the huge ball, bursting of which would mark the event of New Year. People were laughing and singing all around.

“So how long have you been in New York?, she yelled over the din of voices

“Long enough to not get surprised over that man throwing up over everyone”

“Haha- oh, ew- he really is…let’s get outta here”

“Really? Are you nuts? You never leave a good spot at Rockefellers on New Year’s Eve”

“What if you gotta pee?” One eyebrow rose “Ok- no really- sorry I asked”

And then the chants began “10…9….8…7..”

“I always found that funny- chanting along with the seconds- imagine, if the world ended at 12- u spent the last 10 seconds of your life doing just that- counting seconds”

He smiled and then the cheers of Happy New Year filled the air, and people were cheering, laughing and kissing all at once. He looked at her- that little elf. Those green eyes stared back. They kissed, just as the fireworks went off.

Their foreheads together, they stood smiling amidst the din of laughter and catcalls.

“I’m Emma”, by the way, she gasped.

“Ryan”, He said

And they smiled. A Happy New Year indeed.