A Winter's Day

Audrey’s left leg is going to sleep. She desperately wants to shift her position, but she already did so fifteen minutes ago and she’s afraid if she does they’ll jeopardize their chances. Too much movement might scare them away, according to the books she’s read. They were cautious creatures and she couldn’t blame them, their antlers graced nearly every home or establishment in her town.

At least she was warm, bundled up in a thick coat one size too large with a knitted hat, scarf, and gloves that matched. Claire was wearing something similar; both were well protected against the frigid weather.

They were a few dozen yards away from the frozen pond nestled between a cluster of thick spruce trees, from their position they had a perfect view of the clearing where the pond lay. They were downwind from the clearing, Audrey had checked the wind direction multiple times. They laid upon the thin pieces of plastic that they used as sleds earlier that day to protect their clothing from the snow.

“This is taking forever,” Claire whispers to her but it was so quiet it almost felt like she was yelling. “Are you sure you saw-”

“I know what I saw,” Audrey responds indignantly as she pulls down her faded blue scarf to speak. The icy wind kissed her face as spoke to her friend. She knows what she saw last evening and nothing can convince her otherwise. “If you don’t want to stay, you can leave.”

Claire’s huff was visible in the crisp winter air but she didn’t dare to move from their position between the trees. She wanted to be here just as much as Audrey did. Audrey tears her gaze away from her grumpy companion and sets her eyes on the clearing once more.

The December sun was sinking beneath the horizon and leaving behind a trail of vibrant oranges and violets. She found it so beautiful this time of year, the deep colors of the evening sky set against the stark landscape. It was getting late, perhaps it was foolish of her to think they’d return.

“What makes you so sure they’ll even come back here?” Claire murmured as she toyed with the buttons on her camera. She had gotten it for Christmas and had been excited to try it out. Her excitement for the evening slowly faded the longer they were out in the cold.

“I’m not,” Audrey admitted to her friend. “But what’s the harm in trying? Besides-”

She snaps her mouth shut as sees the first one, deftly followed by the rest of the small herd. It couldn’t have been more than a dozen of them that entered the clearing. All were varying shades of chestnut brown with tufts of white and a range of sizes.

It was the smaller ones that managed to steal her attention, the babies- the calves stumbling awkwardly across the frozen pond as the older deer kept pace with them on the hard ground. It almost looked as if they were playing, clumsily leaping towards one another and sliding across the ice.

It was quiet except for the soft clicking of Claire’s camera, capturing photos as they made their journey to the other side of the clearing. As quickly as they had entered the clearing they were gone, disappearing into the nearby woods.

“That was amazing,” Claire said as she manages to sit up. “I wonder where they’re headed though, do you think they’ll come back?”

“Probably someplace with more food but I don’t think we’ll see them again.”

“That’s alright, at least we have these photos.”