Let me tell you a story. It may sound weird, unbalanced, crazy even....But its still a story. And I want to tell you all. 

Once upon a time, in a far away place, a place with no name and no distinguishing features to aid, I met Freeze. Well, his name was not really Freeze, but something about him was as cold as ice that literally froze you in the spot. So, Freeze seems like a good fit! 

I had left the city to escape the humdrum and to breathe in some fresh air. I am a quiet person, not at all what one would call verbose by any standards. I like staying to myself, minding my own business and avoid conversations with strangers as much as possible. I am not unfriendly or anything...just an introvert...nothing wrong with that! I enjoy this solitude, and, with a good book in hand I easily escape the claustrophobia of routine life. So in that sense, I am well traveled! I have gone to the dusty Spain for bullfights, to the sandy wilderness of the Sahara, from the muggy heat of the lush green Congo basin to the snow capped South Pole watching penguins flap their wings playfully. All in the pages of the books that I immerse myself in. 

One day, while I was just sitting and reading one of my books quietly in the corner of the lobby of the hotel I was staying in, I felt strange. It was a warm little corner where I had tucked myself in. But I felt a chill. I looked up around the lobby and there was nothing amiss. A few people were in conversation with each other, the reception desk was less busy than usual and in the farthest corner of the lobby away from almost everyone else sat this man quietly reading a book just like me. 

I know it is rude to stare. But I felt compelled. Not that he was good looking or anything...don't get me wrong, he wasn't bad looking either. Its just that he had this aura about him that alienated everyone and at the same time was compelling enough to arrest your attention. Its a strange feeling. Like a deer caught in the headlights or something, frozen to the spot. I tried very hard to look away, but just couldn't. Just then he looked up and straight at me with ice cold eyes that seemed to bore straight into mine. Frozen...that's the word. 

As soon as he looked away, I escaped. Ran back to my room and tried my best to not think about it at all. 

The next day was a repeat of pretty much the same thing. Until the day after I decided to go up and speak to him. It was my last day at the hotel anyway, and time to get back to the city and reality. So I decided that I might as well talk to him. Maybe he won't be interesting at all, and this whole enigma that I have built up will just pass. 

I got the courage to walk up to him, and when I did, it was like he was expecting me. He asked me to sit down, and pretty much ignored me for sometime. Flustered—that's how I felt. I am not good at conversation and he seemed to be just as bad as me. Strangely, it was comforting. But what was stranger still, was the fact that he seemed to know everything about me. My past, my family, my likes and dislikes, about my few friends... Everything! As you can well imagine, I was more than a bit taken aback.. But nothing more than surprise. For anyone else, danger bells would have been ringing. But not me...no.

'Are you psychic?' I asked trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, my face probably gave me away! 

He looked at me again with that icy stare, 'No, nothing like that...' he whispered softly, his breath like white fog on a chilly morning.

'Then how do you know?' I persisted. 

'I just do.'

'Do you know the future? Can you tell me what will happen, lets say, a week from now?'

'No. I can't see the future. But the past is forever locked. Like the ice that preserves the fossils of the past. The past is easy.'

'You're not very good at it then!' I replied,feigning a confidence I didn't feel. 

With a hint of a smile, he simply said, 'Why don't you help me out then?'

'Oh I plan to!' I quipped. 'A week from now, you and I are meeting for a walk in the park.'

And that's how it started. A walk in the park was exactly what we did. We started seeing each other quite regularly after that, always strolling in the park or sitting at an isolated bench along the sidewalk just talking. We never went for movies or coffee or anything like a typical date. No warm little corners for us. Come to think of it, there was hardly any warmth. The feeling of constant chill was what I began craving! The workings of the heart makes you do strange things I guess. 

Soon we were inseparable. For a loner like me, that's quite a leap. You know how we humans gravitate towards someone who we find warmth in? Quite like a moth to a flame! On hindsight, seems like the perfect analogy. The flames consume the poor moth reducing it to ashes, sucking its very life out. The poor thing doesn't even realize it until too late. 

That's what happened with me. I was drawn towards Freeze quite like that hapless moth, he consuming my very soul till I had nothing left! Night after night I had this unsettling dream: I was stranded in an abyss of cold, cold water, and I simply couldn't come out of it. The harder I tried, the deeper I was sucked into it. I would wake up with tears in my eyes. And he would simply kiss my tears which froze into icy shards. Not literally, but I felt it did... Simply locking away that memory into itself. He would simply whisper, 'It was just a dream. Nothing to be afraid of. Dreams are from your past. They cant harm you.' 

Moth to my flame! 

I know I changed. Slowly, ever so slowly I withdrew more into my skin. I find myself alone and the little warmth I had left in me drained out somewhere. I fail to know exactly where or even when! Soon even my heart became cold. Like the person I loved. I, too, turned into that iceberg with barely a glint of life left. I too am trapped within myself, my past forever merging with my present enshrouded in this inescapable ice. I froze, my feelings and warmth fossilized, in his icy embrace. 

Time keeps changing and people often find themselves out of breath just trying to keep up! Lovers who swore the sun and moon in your name often fail to remember how your eyes shine in the morning light. People who used to give you all their time often find you an inconvenience, blaming their busy schedules for their sudden lack of warmth. Those who used to stargaze at your eyes now find you mundane, looking for better adventures. And all too often, love loses its ardour! We blame ourselves, our lives, our luck. But me...I didn't have to worry about all these changes. I was frozen in the beautiful limbo with the love of my life. So what if I no longer had any warmth left? I had him. Forever. 

Am I happy? I don't know. But I believe I fulfilled my destiny. What you have to know is—not all destinies are supposed to be 'happy' destinies. And who knows, maybe I am happy too.

For many of you readers, this may not be a good story. May not be a happy enough ending. But it is still my story.