Cold Endurance

You spoke of freezing in the snow. Cold is a trial of pure endurance. Tracking a plume of pale vapor in the quiet kitchen, I found the lower freezer drawer resting slightly ajar. Inside lay an arctic ridge—thick, powdery white rime blanketing the ice trays like hard-packed drifts. I stepped directly into the frost to test my balance against the chill. The cold bit through my soles immediately. I lowered my stance, steadying my breath to hold firm. Then, the frost beneath me yielded, and my boots sank into a pocket of freezing slush that locked tight around them like an iron vise. I am frozen solid to the ice block. The cold is relentless, but my posture will not waver.