Snow Witch'S Journey
Happiness from ice

After a fairly complicated problem centered on the mere misunderstanding it was over, I returned to the city to enjoy my own time again. Many times I wish in my heart that no problems happen again. Tomorrow I have to leave, so I will enjoy my time in this city as much as possible before I continue my journey.

The glow of the beautiful, towering ice-ice shavings was served before my eyes. I was momentarily amazed and excited but after I thought again, this was a bit silly. In one of the cafes I visited, there was a carving of a new food that I first saw on the front menu board of the cafe. The carvings from the board were made very large beyond the menu board and continued to be colored in such a way with very striking colors, and placed on the side of the road so that anyone who passes will automatically see the mainstay menu and interested to try it. Although it is too flashy and there is the possibility of being glimpsed by their business competitors, but I can say the cafe marketing trick is very great, because I am one of the victims.

I was just passing by after coming home from the beach and immediately saw an iceberg-like carving in a large bowl. The engraving was placed near the menu board and installed the inscription “Hadir with a new taste!” on it. My brain immediately thought that it was definitely food and not a literally big iceberg. The name of the menu is “Es Gunung”, who is not interested in trying the unique food. Without further ado, I went straight into the store and ordered a serving of ice to the waiter. About five minutes into the outside table, one of the servants came with a big bowl of ice in his hand.

Really ice. Not ice-shaped food, but real ice.

“This is our most famous country mainstay dish. Enjoy.” So said the waiter with a friendly smile and went straight back inside to serve the other visitors.

On a round table with an umbrella attached to it, there was a bowl large enough to be held with two hands. The bowl was transparent blue like ice with carvings beautifying the outside, while inside was the ice I meant. This real ice looked like shredded ice crystals and then piled up to form a mountain. It was as if they were taking a piece of ice directly from the ice spikes around them then putting it in a bowl and naming it with an interesting name. Actually, there is not only ice. At the top was a thick and fragrant green liquid that flowed like molten volcanic lava. This is what they call a new taste. They call it melon. Melons don't grow here, so maybe they import them from other countries.

His name really fits his look. Then, what about the taste?

I took the silver spoon that the servant gave me along with the Ice Mountain. I grazed the shoots so I could feel the taste of the melon stronger, then I put it in my mouth. The frozen sensation instantly radiated upwards, making my head feel extremely painful as it was pressed inward. I had a brain freeze in one mouthful.

“Your face is so funny!” Aeron laughed heartily at me massaging my head while waiting for the frozen brain to subside. “How does it feel?”

“Cold,” my groan replied.

“You said cold resistant, but why can't you bear to eat cold food?”

Finally the pain in my head disappeared. “My resistant outer body part and my inner part are not.” I replied with annoyance.

One hundred percent of this is completely original ice without engineering. I think there is a different and unique taste of ice, in fact it is the same as ice stored in the refrigerator. The taste of the melon is also not pure melon, as there is a very strong mixture of sugar sweetness and other flavors that I cannot think of. I thought they bought whole melons and then processed them directly to flavor, but it turned out to be a regular melon syrup that had been finished instantly. Literally, I was eating ice cubes covered in melon syrup. At least I could taste a unique food that I had never thought of in my head before.

“Remember, in a city of people, throwing away their manufactured goods means you don't appreciate them. Anyway it should be spent!” Aeron looked overjoyed as he tortured me.

“You try?” Kutodongkon another scoop of ice to the compass I put next to the Ice Mountain bowl.

“Stupid! Even if I had a mouth, I wouldn't eat it.”

“Yakin? Don't want to be fed by me?”

“No!”

Just as the spoon came into my mouth and started the second frozen brain, there was the sound of a child crying near the frozen fountain pool in the middle of the crossroad. It was quite far from my seat, but I could see the boy crying while standing holding a wooden box. Snow sand continued to seep out of the hole under the box along with a number of snow crabs.

Before long, a man in a robe, a pointy hat and red hair approached the crying child. He removed one of his thick gloves to patch a hole in the wooden box, then helped collect the snow crabs to put back in the child's terrarium box. The boy's smile returned quickly after his crab returned all and the snow sand no longer fell. The girl who helped him put a swab on the little boy's head.

“Ah, the other side that appears in certain conditions,” said Aeron.

I was too focused on seeing the incident just now to the point that I didn't realize that my ice had reached half of it. Diverting my focus prevented my brain from freezing from the ice. Little by little I spent the rest of the ice even though there was no taste of anything other than cold and no more content that means because only ice.

Amidst my efforts to finish the ice, my eyes glanced back at the girl I just met. You know, I'm hooked to keep watching it, for whatever reason. After the girl helped the little boy, she approached one of the men sitting in a roadside chair enjoying the morning smoking a cigarette. There was a conversation between the red-haired girl and the smoker. I don't know what they're talking about, I can't hear it, but it's a quick conversation.

From the lip movements I could see, there were at least five interactions that occurred. Generally, the first is the girl giving greetings, the two men reply to her and give permission to continue the conversation, the three girls explain their intentions or ask something, the fourth man answers, and the fourth man answers, and lastly the girl thanked him, the man did not answer anything else but continued to smoke his cigarette.

Don't-don't because my brain is frozen my mind becomes so smooth? my thinking.

Not just one person, the girl continued to move one by one to another until she finally seemed to disappear in my sight. Needless to say, the girl was definitely wondering to the person for her investigation. However, something that surprised me so much that I couldn't take my eyes off was the girl's slightly different expression when dealing with other people than when I was with her. I felt he was a little calmer and unhurried like before. I was also surprised that he could smile.

“More than think what?” Suddenly Aeron asked me, waking me up from daydreams.

I was shocked and amazed that the bowl in front of me was empty. It meant that I subconsciously finished off the plain ice. How lucky I am not to have pain in my brain. Since the ice is up, I can go back around the city.

After I observed, the ice in this city was not just those giant ice thorns. The ice here is like a cultural heritage. A superior commodity that will not be found anywhere and become their identity. Not only was there a typical dish of ice, but there was plenty of ice I could find along the way. Ice decorations come in many forms in every place: above the house, on the fence, in the yard, even come with small objects such as ice jewelry.

“Oh, miss wanderer!”

I heard the voice of an old man calling out to me, but after I looked around I could only find people passing by without noticing me and the row of fenced houses along my left.

“Here, miss!”

The sound came from one of the houses. Bronze fenced with a wide enough courtyard. Behind the fence, there was an old man who threw a faint smile at me. In front of him was a 6-foot-tall chunk of ice that had some familiar shapes. As soon as I realized, I immediately approached the fence to see more clearly the ice sculpture that was being made.

“So, you sculpted those ice sculptures?”

The man chuckled. “It's true. My family is an ice sculptor. I've been sculpting ice since young and many of the results you can find along the way. Well, although not all I sculpt, anyway.”

“Your ice knight statues are very beautiful. I really like it.”

“Really?” The man laughed again while rubbing the back of his head. “Thank you, miss. I'm being embarrassed. Ah, stupid me. Enter, lady. Don't hesitate.”

I pushed the bronze gate inside and was allowed to see one of the sculptures he was making. The sculptor said that the ice sculpture he was working on was an order from a customer. The customer asked him to make a statue based on the shape of his son who will soon be his birthday. The man showed me a photo of his customer as an example, it was a picture of a little boy I had seen crying on the street.

“How long will this statue be finished?” my many. My gaze continued to be fixed on every detail of carvings and sculptures on the statue that the old man had done so far. The head, arms to the waist are clearly visible although not yet smooth, while the legs are still a rectangular chunk of ice.

“Depends. But, if you think about it, the afternoon is over. Must finish. Because tomorrow is his son's birthday. If it's too late, I'll let my customers down.”

Even though it was wrinkled, but he still showed his spirit. His already fragile body was no reason for him to continue lazing. His hand holding a chisel knife was also as sturdy as a knight holding a sword and shield. Maybe because being a sculptor was what he wanted then he couldn't stop doing it just because he was old. I will certainly not stop wandering even though I am hundreds of years old.

“Then, I say goodbye. I've been interrupting your time.”

“Ah, no, really. I called the lady. Oh yeah, just a second. Before the miss leaves, at least the miss should receive something from me first.”

“No need—” The old man went straight into his house without heeding my words. I had to wait for him.

Not long after, the man returned. His steps quickly down the steps of his porch as if not afraid of slipping snow and ice shards. He approached me with a friendly smile while handing me an ice necklace.

“Everyone who visits our country should at least feel happy just like us. Miss should have a wonderful and satisfying memory here. This glittering ice-ice will remind the lady that happiness can be found in even the most remote and cold places. Please accept.”

Of course I can't just refuse it. Especially when I get to a warmer place, this necklace will definitely melt. But I won't say it. I received the necklace and immediately put it on my left arm. An ice star hung on a necklace composed of small ice balls, tied in a white rope.

After being satisfied to give a smile to me, the man threw his smile to the ice thorns that arise behind the roofs of the houses. “Es-es is what has given us life so we don't have to be miserable anymore in a place like this. Especially my family that completely hangs on to life as an ice sculptor. If this ice was not there, there might not be a smile emanating on the streets. There is no one like the lady who will come to visit, and I may never find what I like.”

I thought back to Vestia's words about this ice thorny phenomenon that she thought was strange. The theory says that these ice-es were created by someone. Come to think of it however, I also think it makes more sense than it is created naturally.

“What is this ice has been around since the establishment of the city?” manya curious.

“Most residents think so. My father said that this ice suddenly appeared between buildings without making people astonished. There was no record, no one saw it and had no idea when this ice-ice appeared as if it had been there from the very beginning. Once anyone is aware, they don't question it. In other words, it's still a mystery. Whether it's a human who created it or a god, we don't care. Because this ice gives us happiness and it is enough for us.”

His smile grew softer like snow raining down on his shoulders and my hat. As people who live in cold places, we don't really care if the snow is piled up in a hat or on the shoulders or in the hair. Unknowingly, suddenly we got used to such a thing and continued the activity. Just like the people the old man said.

At the sight of her smile, I knew right away that this ice-ice really had a huge impact not only on her, but on other people as well, and maybe that included me. Happiness is hard to achieve in a place like this. I also feel happy when a woman like Aena who became my mother, without having to care about my origin and the reason why my mother could not be touched.

“Near the forest to the east, there is an ice castle,” he said suddenly. “Actually the castle was once one of the tourist attractions, but now it has been closed because many people were injured due to slipping slippery ice floors. Which is not allowed if it goes into it, anyway, but if only seen from the outside there will be no problem. I assure you, even if only from the outside, but the castle will be a memorable place for the lady. You see, it was also a place that impressed me when I was young.”

Finding and enjoying new things is also my desire. Of course I won't miss it.

“Thank you for the suggestion, again.”