"Freeze!"

The frog was wrapped in ice mid-leap out of the lake. The fairy caught it as it fell, then placed it on the pile.

The pile of 50 other frozen frogs, stacked like a pyramid.

"Whoa! It’s so tall now!" a boy next to her uttered, his eyes twinkling as they reflected the tower of ice.

"Of course," the fairy said, before standing up and puffing out her chest. "I'm the strongest, after all!"

The boy didn't know what power had to do with it, but he clapped anyway. After that, the two of them continued stacking frogs. Then they went deep in the forest, chasing each other amid laughter.

He could never reach her no matter how hard he ran, but that didn't stop him from trying. With every step he took, the chill on the ground only grew; a sensation that, by this point, he had already gotten used to. After weaving through the many trees, the sight of a glittering view finally appeared.

The fairy was floating above them, arms on her hips. "Haha! I win again~"

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked up. And there it was: their secret base, filled with a variety of structures made of ice:

Slides...

Climbing mounds...

A tower...

Even a whole mansion. All to themselves. The boy had seen this sight many times before, but even so, it made him giggle in excitement. I wonder what we will be making today? he thought.

He took a step forward, but then his mother's voice echoed in his head. "Do not ever approach such children!" He remembered her face; worse than any other time his mother found out about whatever other secret thing he hid from her. "Those children are not like you. They are otherworldly beings. If you spend too much time with them, they could whisk you away, and nobody will ever see you again!"

But her voice quickly faded; it always did. The boy took another step forward. They spent the rest of the day making anything and everything. The fairy's power allowed it; the only limitation was their imagination.

And what a limitation it was, indeed: the fairy could not think of anything but ice spikes or frozen frogs. It was the boy who held the ideas. Through their combined efforts, they built a little kingdom deep in the forest that sat next to the Misty Lake.

The day eventually passed. The first star appeared in the sky. "Hey!" he called to the fairy.

The fairy pouted. "So soon?"

The boy nodded. "I said before, right? If I stay too long, my parents would get worried."

The fairy grumbled. This exchange had happened every single day ever since the two of them met. There was nothing she could do. The boy, too, was reluctant, but it didn't really matter.

They both thought of time as endless; as kids, they couldn't possibly think any other way. And so the boy ran off with a happy wave. The fairy waved back. "See you tomorrow!"

And they did see each other tomorrow. Every single day. And they did the exact same things; smiled the exact same way. Many times, the boy wanted to stay for longer. So did the fairy.

One particularly fun day, where night fell before the boy could return home, the two of them had a particularly difficult time parting. Lying on the grass next to each other, under the transparent roof of an ice house, the stars above twinkled through. There was nothing in there that would make any kid want to stay, and they weren't even playing or talking. All they had were each other's presence, the stars, and any thought those twinkles gave them.

He wanted that moment to last forever.

But... I can't stay here, the boy eventually thought. If we continued to be stuck in this ice, his parents would be worried. So, naturally, he moved. The moment he did, the fairy's grip on his hand tightened. Their fingers, intertwined, could not part, like two things frozen together. The boy's mom appeared in his head, not just her warnings, but her cry the first time he went home late.

He couldn't face that face again. So he stood up and said the same words to the fairy. "I'll see you tomorrow."

It didn't really matter. Time was endless. Surely, they would spend more time with each other, and they would grow closer to each other, like water in the cold of winter.

They will be frozen together forever.

**

Years passed. They did the same things over and over, every single day. But slowly, as each year's snow accumulated and thawed, the boy grew taller than the fairy little by little. When he reached 12 years of life, he lost the free time he once had as he had to help working on his family's farm. When it wasn't harvest or planting season, he would have to help make repairs or build things in the village instead. Reluctantly, the time he could spend playing with the fairy melted away.

But eventually, that reluctance, too, disappeared. Part of him grew to think of play as childish, so he made an effort to stop doing it, to be more 'adult'. Another part was because he became busy chasing village girls. Those things filled up whatever free time he had outside of work. But then, even those things, he grew past.

When he reached his adult years, the work piled up even more. He prepared to inherit the farm, then he found love and got married. After more years, he got children, and it was they who played.

Life wouldn't be easy on him. His father died to wolves, and on top of grief, all of his business was inherited by him. Then a pot fell off a shelf and hit his mother in the head, disabling her. He was already busy taking care of his children and the farm, but now he had to take care of his mother, too. His wife's vision slowly worsened, so she started having trouble doing even the most mundane chores. He got roped into a land dispute between his friends. A year of bad storms killed his harvest. His children became rebellious and often went out without telling him, not unlike him when he was a child.

None of the problems stopped. There were few, if any, breaks. Another decade passed. Then two, then three. His mother died, and his wife became fully blind. He started preparing for his son to inherit his farm and for his daughter to marry.

His back started to hurt. He could still work, but there would be days when even lying still on the bed would put him in a world of pain, and he would be unable to do even the simplest things.

More years passed.

His hair was still black, yet he could no longer work out in the fields as long as he used to, despite still being fairly young. His son insisted that he took regular breaks to get proper rest, promising to pick up the slack. He even decided not to marry yet; that way, he didn't need to worry about supporting anyone besides his parents.

His son would often work well into the night.

"Don't worry about me," he always told his son. "You're young. You can't waste it on me... I've already spent my years." But his son wouldn't listen. The rebelliousness runs in the family.

Then suddenly, one night, his son disappeared.

The entire village immediately went out to look for him. But even after scouring mountains and forests for many days, they found not even a hint of his son. As weeks passed, the number of people who took time out of their day to search dwindled down to one.

Likely, his son had died at the hands of a Youkai, or perhaps he was attacked by wolves and eaten to the bone. Whatever it was, the cause was clear: he stayed out working in the fields too late and reaped the consequences.

The villagers eventually left it at that. Just another tragedy. The explanations were good enough; they were practically undeniable.

But he denied it.

So he, alone, continued looking for his son. Even as all the farm work was now once again entirely covered by his back... even as that very back continued to assault him with pain... even as his wife was wracked by grief amid the darkness cast onto her by her blindness, which only made her condition worse... he continued to search.

There was no break.

Even with some support from his daughter's new family, it was relentless. He had no room to think of anything but the next thing he had to do: farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search, farm, construction, blind wife, search-

**

One cold winter night, wrapped in the mist of Misty Lake, he stopped on the banks and sat against one of the trees. His son was nowhere to be found. Of course, he knew the truth; he simply buried it in the back of his head: it’s been years since his son disappeared, so it’s almost certain that he was dead.

He stared out at the ice floating on the lake’s surface. His mind was corralled to the next thing he had to do: what needed doing tomorrow, what his wife needed next, among others. But then, in the corner of his eye, he noticed something.

He'd learned to be alert enough so as to not get ambushed by wolves during his long searches. So he was easily alerted to movement.

In this case, though, it was not movement that he noticed. It was a silhouette, there on the far bank of the lake, just sitting there. He immediately stood up. Is that... my son?

The answer did not matter; he would run to any possibility that it might be. Sure enough, as he got closer, it became evident that the silhouette was far too small to be his son's. And yet he continued to approach it anyway. He had to.

Eventually, he was close enough to see that it was a fairy. Her short hair had the color of the sky, while her dress had a deeper blue. Her wings, floating behind her, were ice spikes. She was staring at the frogs, sitting next to a pile of many more frogs encased in ice.

His eyes widened. Memories came rushing to him. He did play with a fairy when he was a kid. What was her name again? "H-hey... are you, um... Cirno?"

The fairy turned, then stood up. "Who are you? How did you know my name, old man?"

For a moment, there was silence. The old man's lips turned into an awkward smile. Of course... fairies aren't very smart. She probably doesn't remember me. In fact, she might not even be that same fairy. The old man closed his eyes. Ah, I can't remember her face or her voice... ice powers are all I can recall-

"Hey, old man!"

He opened his eyes. The fairy was pouting, her hands on her hips. "Answer my question!"

The old man gave a gentle smile: the kind he learned as he raised his kids. "Oh, well, I heard about you, that's all."

Cirno's eyes widened. "Oooh! So I'm famous now?! What did people say? Did they fear my strength?"

The old man scratched his head. "Y-yeah. That's what they said."

"Really? Yes!" Cirno pumped her fists high in the air. But then came a realization that interrupted her. "Wait, so does that mean you came here to challenge me, old man?!"

"No, no..." he replied, before sitting down next to her and looking out into the distance, and any expression he had slowly melted away. "I..." The world was completely silent; here in Misty Lake, the winter's dry wind does not move an inch. His body remembered that, but only barely. "...no," he muttered, before turning to Cirno. Now he was wearing a calm smile. "I've come to play."

Cirno's eyes widened. "Really? Okay, let's play!"

The old man's shoulders eased. The frost made him drop it all: those thoughts, those worries, those emotions, those weights... when he stood up and started running around with the fairy, all of it started to slip away.

He could no longer run like he used to.

But he could still run.

Before he knew it, everything was already far away. His cheeks hurt, and only later he realized that he had been smiling without meaning to. For years, smiles were always intentional: something to wear in order to ease his loved ones' worries or make interactions with strangers more pleasant. He had forgotten that it was brought by pleasantness itself.

Meanwhile, Cirno acted exactly as he remembered. One by one, her every action fished memories back from the depths, reminding him of what she was like back then.

They would eventually start running through the forest. Deeper and deeper into the darkness, he followed the glint of the fairy's icicle wings. "Come with me!" she said. "I want to show you something!" But then, it was no longer just the ice fairy's wings that sparkled. One by one, he saw more of those sparkles peering through the trees ahead. Finally, he reached a little opening in the forest.

His breath was taken away. There were slides, climbing mounds, a tower, even a whole mansion, all made of ice.

"This is my playground!" she said. "Or... I guess 'our' playground? I made this with a boy I met."

"A... boy?"

"Yep!"

"Do you... still remember him?"

"Huh? Of course!" Cirno said, proudly thrusting out her chest. "I'm a genius, after all!" Then, she grabbed the old man's hand. "Come, let me show you!"

Then, he was pulled. He almost tripped, but kept himself upright. They reached the slide; the cold emanated from it, falling down and flooding the ground up to his boots. "This one's a slide!" Cirno said, patting it.

"Is that so?" he said, smiling.

Then, she pulled him along to the climbing mounds. "Come! Climb!" she said as she pulled him up. He could barely keep his feet steady, but her hand kept him upright. She was strong, unlike what her thin arms suggested.

Then, she took him to the next thing. And then the next, and then the next. Every time, the world melted away, bit by bit, until it was just him and Cirno and the thing she was introducing him to.

He could barely hear her. He could barely see her.

The things that paved a cold path down his cheeks blurred his vision.

Everything was the exact same. Every single thing. Running around here, he felt as if he had been transported back in time.

Or rather, it felt like this entire place was frozen in time.

Or rather, it was as if that time was frozen in place.

Her, too: this 'ice fairy'.

Cirno tilted her head. "Hm? What's wrong? Why are you crying? Ah, it must be because you're so intimidated by my powers! I'm sorry..." Cirno bowed.

The old man wiped his tears. "Why?"

Cirno rose. "Hm?"

"How hard was it to maintain all of this? Through spring, summer, autumn, every single year... Why would you do all of that? Why, when... w-when I never..."

"What do you mean?" Cirno asked. "This is our secret base! It has to be ready for when he comes back!"

"...How are you sure he's going to come back? How long has it been... since he was last here?"

"Well, he promised me we'll play together forever, so..."

The old man's eyes widened. Really, now? he thought, as he suddenly leapt at Cirno and hugged her tight. None of it matters. Even more tears flowed. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!" He cried.

All of my suffering. All of my pain. All of my life. None of that matters here. This is a playground. It’s a place for fun.

Cirno, confused, simply hugged the old man back. "W-why are you saying sorry?"

To a fairy's simple world, none of it mattered. "I'm sorry for taking so long to come back... I'm sorry for breaking my promise... I'm sorry... I'm not going to be able to keep it."

"Promise? Did we make a promise together?"

The old man let go, then wiped his tears. She probably won't believe I am that boy, even if I told her. She's always been a little slow. But that's fine. I'm glad she hadn't changed, at least. "Hey, Cirno, wanna play?"

"Huh? Now suddenly you want to play? Explain yourself first!"

"I can suggest some ideas for new buildings you can make. For example... you can connect the roof of the mansion and the tower with a cool ice bridge!"

Cirno's eyes glittered, and the idea took her breath away. "That... that's such a cool idea!" She immediately flew up and started forming the bridge. As the ice formed, little icicles gently fell all around them like snow. The old man looked up and reached out his hands. Some icicles fell on his gloves, and the cold went to his palm. A soft, bittersweet smile formed on his face.

He wanted this moment to last forever.

But he knew that was impossible. He was a human. Unlike Cirno, he was always moving, always changing. He could never remain frozen. After playing with the fairy for a few more hours, he eventually had to say, "I have to go now."

Cirno.

The fairy flew over to him. "What? Why?"

"I... have things to do. A lot of things."

Cirno tilted her head. "But... do you have to do that stuff now? Why not continue playing?"

"I can't. I can't lose any more of what I still have. So I have to keep working on them every day."

The fairy looked utterly bewildered. "Why, though? If you have something, then you have it, right? Why would you lose them?"

The old man smiled. "Heh. Yeah, I wonder why that is?"

Of course, he knew there was no answer. That is simply how life is. Ice thaws when the spring comes, unless you work to keep it cool.

Fairies would never understand.

**

That was the last time they ever saw each other.

The old man went back to his family. The needs of his life filled every corner of his mind once again.

He was never able to find his son. He eventually had to give up. His wife's sight never got better, but they both learned how to live with that. They grew old and senile together. Their daughter happily supported them until the end. Luckily, her new family had enough to give that she was able to help them freely.

His wife passed away first. He joined her soon after.

Cirno, meanwhile, kept waiting. She continued to maintain their little kingdom for many decades more, as if nothing had changed. She was still the same, even after the name of the boy she was waiting for became forgotten. She wasn't particularly bothered by the fact that he had never returned. Fairies are a simple bunch. They simply existed, without thought, like all things around them.

From the beginning to the end of time, they will always be there. They will never die, they will never change, they will exist as child-like beings surrounding the world wherever nature exists.

Their existence was permanent. Their existence was frozen.

No matter how many years passed, ice will form, then melt, then form again based on temperature. That fact is always there, existing like it always did.

Cirno is always there, existing like she always had, with her pride and playfulness and innocence and stupidity.

Like all fairies, she is an eternal child of the world, as eternal as any frozen thing.