Chapter 10

Was-Ice skating

Snow fell gently. It made everything white. White trees. White ground. White sky. Two boys were putting ice skates on at the edge of the frozen lake. Fi-Rico was wearing a coat two sizes too big for him (it was a hand-me-down from his father). He was practically swimming in the coat. The sleeves of his coat had been rolled up three times, and the hem of the coat was nearly touching the ground. His long brown hair was tied back in a small bun adorned with a red ribbon. Two red Tibtans hung from the bun, ending with small purple beads.

Sa-Pillum wore a perfectly fitting yellow coat. He had brown shoulder-length hair with three green tibias. He was very pleased with his green Tibtans. Green dies were expensive, but his mother had gotten him a green thread for his tenth birthday. Ten was a special birthday, as it marked the age you were allowed to start wearing Tibtans. Tibtans were a way to bring luck, with each colour representing a different form of luck. His green Tibtan promised him prosperity. The day after his birthday, he had gone around to show everyone his Tibtans. Fi-Rico had eyed the green Tibtans with some amount of jealousy that day.

The boys finished lacing up the ice skates (both pairs were Sa-Pillums). Fi-Rico walked towards the lake, nearly falling on each step. He silently cursed the small blades he was forced to balance on.

“Come on, take my hand.” Sa-Pillum offered his hand to Fi-Rico. He was already standing on the ice, looking perfectly balanced.

“I’m scared.” In normal ten-year-old fashion, Fi-Rico was terrified to try something new and potentially scary. “What if the ice cracks? What if I fall and cut myself on the ice skate blade?”

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“Stop being such a scaredy cat. The ice won’t crack, and I’ll make sure you don’t fall.”

“You promise you won’t let me fall.” Fi-Rico looked at Sa-Pillum pleadingly.

“I swear it on the stars.” Fi-Rico took Sa-Pillum’s hand and tentatively stepped onto the ice.

Fi-Rico almost immediately fell over. The only reason he didn’t was because Sa-Pillum caught him, nearly falling over in the process. Fi-Rico was significantly smaller than Sa-Pillum, but when someone is falling with significant momentum and you’re trying to catch them while on ice skates, it becomes very difficult very quickly.

They steadied themselves, and Sa-Pillum took Fi-Rico’s hands. Fi-Rico was breathing heavily. His heart was beating very quickly. “You’re doing great. Just try pushing out with one foot and balancing on the other.”

Fi-Rico tried to do what Sa-Pillum told him, but his feet just slipped. Sa-Pillum had to constantly catch him: “This is too hard!” Fi-Rico was getting more and more frustrated.

“Just keep trying; it gets easier.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re good at this.”

“You could be good at it as well if you practice.”

“I don’t want to practice; I want to be good at it!”

Sa-Pillum rolled his eyes. He then let go of Fi-Rico’s hands. Fi-Rico still had a bit of momentum and began to flail his arms around in an attempt to stay upright. His attempts didn’t work, and he fell onto the ice.

Sa-Pillum skated over easily and offered a hand to Fi-Rico. “Are you all right?”

FI-Rico took Sa-Pillum’s hand and pulled himself up, saying, “You didn’t tell me ice skating would be so hard.”

“I didn’t think you would find it so hard. You always seemed so balanced,” a smile spread across his face.

They then began to laugh. They both knew that Fi-Rico was about as clumsy as they come. The only time he seemed coordinated was when he was riding. He had managed to beat people three times his age in competitions. Fi-Rico knew that the only reason he had been allowed to keep Mimõe was because he won competitions, and Mimõe basically paid for himself.

Fi-Rico fell more times than the boys could count, but even though he had a bruise, Fi-Rico was smiling and laughing along with Sa-Pillum. He was starting to come around to ice skating.