215 Worldly Delights

A light snow had started falling again when we stepped out of the cabin. Tiny thin flakes drifted weightlessly in the air, catching glimmers of gold as they descended slowly from the evening sky. Bai Ye held my hand as we trod through the white forest floor, pristine without a single trace of footsteps. Snow crunched softly beneath our feet, and the hem of our long robes brushed behind us, stirring a small swirl of powdered whiteness.

We didn't speak, letting the peaceful hush of nature surround us. I had always loved moments like this with him—quiet, serene. It was as if the whole world had disappeared, and it was just the two of us, side by side, hand in hand.

I glanced at him. A few snowflakes had landed on his ink-black hair, fluttering in the light breeze from our walk. The sight of him was somehow more mesmerizing like this than usual, and I smiled a bit idiotically, not willing to move my eyes away.