The Chocolate Milk.....شیر کاکائو

The Chocolate Milk

“What a cold weather. As I put my feet under my body, they still don’t get warm. May be I should go to the living room, next to the heat to get warm and then figure out what I’m doing.”

She left her room and went to the living room, next to the fireplace, pulled her legs close to it, and listened to the noise of the flames. There wasn’t any noise other than the silence of the snow. The snow which was noisy on its own silent way. There was no noise from the ground. The street and the whole neighborhood were quiet and empty. Not a single foot step could be heard, neither the sound of the drain pipe which you could hear it in a rainy day. Sounded like the Snow was the silent sister to Rain, who was crying quietly and its tears were freezing on her face; while the Rain was the noisy sister who was always crying loudly!  Or may be that wasn’t true. They say there are always two points of view for everything. Like this expression which says: don’t be afraid of the one who is loud; but be worried of the one who doesn’t make a noise… (a Persian expression).

“Well, the point is that I have a Math test tomorrow and i don’t want to study or solve any more problems. I want to understand the philosophy of the rain and the snow. One of them should be better; but which one is? Which one is destructive and which one is harmless? … I do like the snow better anyway though. Nice and quiet, holds you in; and without you knowing, it would be here. If it comes for good, it would not make a noise; and if it’s destructive, it’s not brag or turmoil. It simply puts down its package on the ground and leaves…good or bad are up to judgmental people’s eyes…”

She looked at the Math book which was wide open before her face. She wanted to go for a walk in the snow and leave her foot steps on it; even though only a few minuets later they would be gone and snow would cover them all! She wished the foot steps would stay forever.

-: “Isn’t it finished yet? Do you need some rest? Come and eat something”.

That was Mom’s voice. She always wanted her to eat. : “I’m not hungry yet. I don’t want anything, I’ll wait for dinner”.

She left her alone again and was gone to finish her stuff…

“Where was I? Snow and the Rain?... No. That won’t end; I have to finish these problems. This neighbor’s tape recorder won’t let me concentrate. Lets see what is the song?... Oh NO. I don’t need another wailing. People love these things but I don’t. I wish I would have courage to bump in to their wall”.

She held her ear over the wall but there was no noise on the other side. Where was it coming from then?

-: “Mom,…Mom…”.

-: “What’s going on”? her Mom came in.

-: “Where do you think this music is coming from”?

-: “It’s the neighbor across the street  … why”?

-: “Well, I can’t concentrate… why people don’t think about the others? Why don’t they think that the others have life too”?

-: “You keep studying; I have to go and get something anyway; and will talk to them”.

-: “I don’t want you to argue with them”.

-: “Of course not…I only will ask them to turn it down”.

Mom was gone, while her foot steps were left on the snow. What a nice feeling it is to sit next to the fireplace, watching the snow and having your Mom next to you, to go talk to the neighbor…but who would study for tomorrow’s test?

She took the pen and wrote some formula on the paper to solve.

“I should finish the simple ones first and then go for the hard ones later.”…

Half hour was past… every where was still quiet and her Mother wasn’t home yet. It was still snowing and the fireplace with the noise of the fire was making her eyes sleepy.

The gate got open and Mom stepped in the yard. Her foot prints were covered by the snow while she was gone; but now there were new ones. She wished now, there was no foot prints on the snow. She never knew what she wanted .In one minuet she wanted the foot prints to stay forever and another minuet she wished if they were gone.

 Her Mother entered the room; took her scarf off and hung her jacket. Then she went to the kitchen to check on the beef stew which was boiling and the smell was all around the house now. A few minutes later she stepped in to the living room with a glass of hot Chocolate Milk… what a shame that she thought her daughter was studying but she was drowned in the dreams which weren’t going any where … what a warm Chocolate Milk… a nice silence… and what a good smell…

*****

She opened her eyes. Her neck was ached. She was on the chair. How long was she sleeping? Half hour? Ten minuets? What a dream!

 She looked through the window. Still it was snowing. Kids were playing outside the house and the beef stew was boiling on the stove. How wonderful it felt for it to be a holyday today. She wished everything would go to a rest and the world would stop for people to have no worries for anything anymore… and everything would taste like a glass of Chocolate Milk on a snowy day…

She got up. Put her sleepers on, went to the kitchen to check on the food. Tomorrow was a work day but her body ached for there was pain in her neck; well…if she wouldn’t count her backache.

It was just a few hours of resting; but it felt nice to wake up from a sweet dream of being next to the fireplace in a silent of a snowy day and Mom’s hot Chocolate Milk.

She poured some Chocolate Milk in two glasses and put them both on the counter. Kids were running in the snow to get to the house before each other. Their foot prints were left on the ground and the snow was covering them up…

Elham.