The gray snowflakes in the sky kept drifting down, landing continuously on Charles and Anna. Before long, the two of them sitting on the steps had turned into snowmen.
"Haaaah..." Anna's entire body cracked open. A dozen tentacles shot out, quivered rapidly, and then just as swiftly withdrew.
Anna, now spotless, stood up and pulled Charles by the arm to get him to stand. "Come on, let's go inside and get something to eat. You haven't eaten all day."
"You go ahead. I don't have an appetite," Charles replied in a low, heavy voice.
"Then what are you thinking about right now?" Anna asked.
Staring dazedly at the gray snow before him, Charles's eyes were filled with confusion. He paused for a long while before slowly speaking. "A lot... I'm thinking about a lot of things from the past. My mind is a mess right now..."
Just as Anna opened her mouth to say something, the sound of rotors grew near from afar. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP... The scouts were returning.
