It’s Cold and I Miss You

A montage ensues, which shows Connor being barely active for days. They sleep all day. They don’t eat. They drink little bits of water and leave the glasses on the counter.

They always keep the lights off. They never leave the house.  

INT. HOUSE – DAY

Connor lays in the fort, which has collapsed slightly by now. They check their phone, but it is dead. They set it back down. They sit up with a groan, and stare at nothing for a moment. They seem to make up their mind about something, make a decision. They stand and stretch, then pick up their phone and set it on the counter. They do not plug it in. They return to the fort and sigh a bittersweet sigh. Then they begin to take it apart. They take each pillow and blanket and neatly return them back to their places throughout the house. They seem almost cheerful, like they are suddenly in a better mood than they have been since Selena went missing. They throw away the old takeout that is still on the counter. They pour out all the half empty glasses into pots of dead plants, then wash the glasses and put them away. They wash all their other dirty dishes in the sink as well, and neatly place them in their cabinets. They go through their fridge and pantry and throw away all perishables. They toss the bag of apples and the milk. They toss the chips and bread too. They move on to the pineapples, smiling at them a moment. They toss them into the trash as well. Finally they take all the trash bags to the bin outside. When they return they do not replace the bags. They wash their hands and head to their bedroom. They return to the kitchen in a very nice outfit, holding a pen and paper, as well as an envelope. They write something long on the paper. They seal it in the envelope and label it: “Selena” with a small heart next to the name.

They leave the envelope on the counter where it is most visible. They head to the front door, but look back at the neat and freshly cleaned house. After a moment of admiration, they turn and leave. They do not take their coat. They do not take their keys.

EXT. STREET – DAY

The streets are piled with snow. The sky is cloudy. Connor struggles through the snow, and shivers at the cold. Their breath is visible. They walk for a while, the only clear sound is the crunching of the snow under their feet, and their ragged, cold breath. They keep their head down as they walk. They are unable to give their attention to the beautiful snowy landscape, as they are too focused on their destination. A dog barks and it startles Connor. They jump and turn, suddenly aware of the sounds around them, it sounds as if coming up from underwater. A rugged dog runs up to them. Wagging its tail, excited and happy to see

Connor, seemingly ignoring its own shivering and lackluster condition, or perhaps unaware. Connor looks down at the dog, and looks around to see if it came from anywhere. They look back down and see the dog hopping through the snow trying to reach them. They turn and continue walking, but the sounds around them are all too distracting now. A car zooms past. Birds chirp. The dog barks again. Connor shivers and turns back to the dog, if they are this cold the dog must be colder. They approach the dog and it trips through the snow, moving clumsily due to its excitement. Connor crouches, and once it climbs over the last mound of snow it goes for Connor. Licking their face and yipping and jumping all around. Connor laughs and tries to move their face away from the licking, but of course it is unsuccessful. They fall back and sit in the snow, the dog climbs all over them. They laugh harder but also begin to cry. The dog licks the tears from their face, which makes them laugh and cry even harder. The dog calms a bit and

Connor hugs the dog, crying with it in their arms. It stays still and sniffs their face. Connor sobs. They smile and pet the dog as they hug it. The clouds above part a bit, letting a small sliver of light through. The snow glistens.  END.