City Stroll

The clouds covered the sky of the city, causing the cold and snow of the day. The city lie still, as the shops had been closed due to iced roads. Deep in the heart of the city, wandered a tall hedge-fox. His tail swished with the cool breeze, as he walked slowly, smiling at the beauty of the city.

"Ah, it's days like these that make it all worth while." He sighed happily. His sweater wrapped tightly around his black fur. His light green eyes stared across the streets with a content feeling of happiness.

Snow. The almost solid form of water. The joy of little kids who wish to stay away from school and a beautiful obstacle for the travelers. And ice, the true solid form of water. Combined, they can be a breath-taking scenery and a dangerous floor to walk.

For a travelling avian, a pair of black boots, a thick white snowboard jacket with a hood, two white gloves and blue jeans where his main defenses against the cold weather. Only seeing closed shops, he was disappointed that not a single bookstore was open, making the search futile.

He was fine with snow itself but the consequences only made him wonder if it was better to wait for a hotter weather to look for books. Anyway, he was there, walking on the snow, avoiding the visible ice and asking himself what should he do now.

So, he realized that, indeed, it was snowing! He could do all those things one can do in a true winter day: Build a snowman, have fun with the ice, walk (or try to) on a frozen river, and more!

Thinking about the possibilities, the avian slipped over a patch of ice he didn't saw and ended up sliding a long way totally, trying to regain control of his direction, without result.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...!" He shouted as he unintentionally slid towards the hedge-fox, arms flailing.

He didn't notice until he was hit. He hit the ice-y *THUNK!*. He wasn't seeing stars, oh no, he was seeing constellations! When he regained his composure, he noticed the fallen next to him. "Hey man, you alright?" He reached out a hand.

The avian had ended up with his back on the frozen snow. A bit stunned, he shook his head and replied. "Sorry..." Then, he accepted his help grabbing the stranger's hand and attempted to stand up. Even though he just fell to floor after an impressive slide, he smiled without worries.

He had a look of concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry." He said now standing on his two feet. "Sorry the accident." He rubbed his head a bit as he seemed to be smiling a bit forced.

He saw right through that fake smile. "Alright buddy, what is the matter? I can see that smile ain't right from a mile away." His southern accent was sticking out like a zit.

"Well, it isn't much..." He said looking a bit lazy. "It's just that every store is closed. I wanted to get a book for someone." After that, he sighed a little.

Without much hope, he asked. "Do you, by any chance, have a book or know of someone with lots of books?"

He raised his eyebrow in a comical fashion. "Listen man, I've got the biggest book collection in the city. You wanna borrow one? Fine by me."

Zephyr didn't know if he was just joking or telling the truth. Anyway, he clarified other matters. "It's a gift for someone who also collects books after reading them, so I cannot accept it. It has to be a permanent purchase." He said a bit uncomfortable.

You can just keep it man. I have too many. Crowd the house." He mused.

Zephyr though for a moment, a bit shocked. Wasn't he a collector himself? Nevermind...

"In that case, I'd be happy to accept your offer." He said very happy already. He seemed very grateful, but this kind of luck... What are the chances? Oh well...

"Come on. My house is just around the block." He was all too eager to meet a fellow book collector.

Zephyr followed the kind stranger. He almost couldn't believe what just happened. "Oh, by the way, what's your name, sir?" He asked eager to, at least, meet such a generous person.

"Zero. Zero Nakhidi. What is yours?"

"Zephyr von Rapierre. A pleasure to meet you." He said happy to make a new acquaintance.

"It's right here." He turned and went inside a, rather small house.

Zephyr, a bit more relaxed now, went just behind him. Now that he was inside, the cold weather was a lot more bearable and the snow wouldn't conceal the floor, mainly because of the lack of it. "Much better..."

"So what's your taste? Are you a, fan of poetry? Are perhaps you are a man of mystery." He said. He was glad to have met someone into literature. All of his other friends probably couldn't tell a Biography between a historical fiction.

"History and mystery." He said quickly and without doubt. He was always fascinated with the past of everything and still loves to discover something unknown or very rare.

"But I would like something rare or exceptionally good for her that she hasn't read before. Hope it's not a problem for you..." He said with a wide smile that almost seemed to dare him to have something really unique. Almost.

"I know what you need. A hardcover copy of HEAT FROM ANOTHER SUN, by David L. Lindsey!" He held out the slightly rare book. "Here you go."

"Perfect! By that author, she has THE RULES OF SILENCE and PACIFIC HEIGHTS, among others whose titles I don't remember right now..." He stopped talking for a moment, thoughtful.

Then, continued. "But this one and A COLD MIND are the ones she has left to read by this author." He took the book very happy. "Thank you."

"No Problem, my man." He smiled. "Say, just out of curiosity, you wanna have some lunch? The snow is coming down pretty hard. It's unsafe to walk home in this weather."

Zephyr stared out from a window with a lazy look. It seemed like he wasn't happy with going home with this snow. At least, wait for a better weather would be the best.

"If it's no problem for you, Zero..." He said, both happy and grateful, but a bit of laziness could be detected in his tone.

"It's fine, Zephyr. I get lonely alot, so it'll be nice." He nodded.