Muse with Coffee – An author's blog

Today, when I looked outside of the window in the early morning, I could see the world frozen outside, snow as white as the feathers of a swan decorating the walkway, rooftops of other houses, the trees and hedges, the smooth roads, the playground, and the once green park behind our residential complex; when I looked at the little river flowing behind our residential complex afar, I was surprised to see it totally frozen!

The little river never froze , but has been a vitality of life , flowing with its sparkling green waters, the swans swimming in the river and approaching people at the river banks who give them food. They spread their huge feathery wings , hop onto the banks and eat the food from the passersby without any fear.

Today I don’t see the swans in the river, the surface looks like a mirror with a greenish glassy texture like that of a smooth green marble, which can show several reflections of your face if you stoop to look at it. I can’t help but wonder that there is beauty in the extreme cold , if I want to uplift my mood in this frigid weather.

It’s amazing how nature has its own ways of highlighting its beauty in all the seasons of the year. The Europe cold wave has been indeed dangerous this year, taking so many lives across a vast array of countries in Europe.

Temperatures have nose-dived to -20 degrees to -25 degrees in the past week after the sun set in our region. I was worried for the pigeons who take shelter in our balcony in other times of the year and we feed them sometimes… how would they survive in this freezing cold? However, it seems nature has her own way of looking after her beautiful creations, and the pigeons are real fighters, surviving this freezing weather, perched up amongst the little holes in the windows of the attics at the top of several houses and buildings.

Today morning, as the temperature increased to some normalcy, at -5 degrees and the sun is at its brightest, the air outside feeling fresh and clear, the pigeons have come out of their cold shelters as well. They are now hopping about in our balcony, blubbering in their birdy tongues, and looking at me with their red beady eyes as I look outside the window across my balcony and continue to write this post.

The river is melting very slowly, and I am looking forward to seeing the swans again swimming amidst its transparent green currents.

I hope this cold wave in Europe subsides as quickly as it came, and I see the little river flowing again, and no more lives lost in its icy touch.

We wait for spring, we wait for the change, we wait to feel the warmth of the sun again. This was my winter’s tale, an indeed ordinary one, nevertheless it struck a chord in my heart, and I wrote it to share with you.

Thanks for reading this post 🙂