Sounds of Cold

Not used to this kind of cold. Suppose every winter's got a couple of days like this but wow, this is really really cold. At first, I thought the sound of cold was "scrunch scrunch" as our boots made their way through town, but I reckon "scrunch scrunch" can still be heard when there's snow on the ground and it's not quite so cold (so "scrunch scrunch" is out). My body's readjusting to the warm indoor temperature and I'm feeling incredibly tired. Coffee, large double double, yum. Perhaps that's the sound of cold, marsh mellow hot chocolate being slurped enthusiastically out of a mug with toboggans tobogganing nearby. The sound of wood contracting, of quiet dogs, the hum of outdoor lights. Cars struggling, breath exhaling. This is what the arctic was like a lot of the time. One thing that kept my mind off the arctic's cold was the northern lights, pretty beautiful. Up there, the sound of cold could be thought of as vehicle exhaust insofar as many car owners never shut their cars down, preferring to run them 24/7. On really cold days, a thick exhaust smoke cloud would hover throughout town, making it difficult to breath outside. Coughing, cough cough. It was nice to walk outside tonight on an unmarked trail that differs from my regular routine. Not often enough do I just start randomly walking in a new direction and it felt nice. The sky, the shade of blue on freezing nights, as if it's frozen, a second of night instantly captured, resting, waiting for the sun.