The First Nice Day of the Year

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The light on the hallway carpet, the smell of warmed lino in the bathroom. I can feel the sun coming through the frosted window on the back of my head when I sit down to pee. I could cry. I hate the winter. I try to appreciate the beautiful things about it, but England is grey for months at a time, and I’ve exhausted all the enrichment within walking distance. The back of my house, facing the garden, gets all the sun, it rises on the horizon across from the office window, beating down on the glass apartment building across. The office is brighter than I’ve seen it in months - I can see the dust on the bookshelves and new light is cast on my little trinkets and frames. The sky is endless blue, for the first time in a while. Good news, it lasts all day. I spend it all in the sun, despite the cold, because it still feels warm when it hits my skin. I just avoid the shade, my dog running happily ahead of me, enjoying the sun on her fur. I sit in the living room just as the sun starts to get low and golden, and the sky stays blue and the red brick houses cross from me glow.

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