At that point in the season, when there was nothing but whiteness everywhere, when you couldn't so much as crawl into bed without seven layers of clothes piled on your body, when you started looking at brochures for getaways to tropical islands just to escape the unbearable, frigid cold...that was the point where Chase started getting antsy. He fidgeted indoors, in his general store, finding little tasks to busy himself, and that occupied him for a while. But when there was nothing else to clean, and no more balances to check, he piled on the clothes, pulled on a cloak, and braved the outdoors.
It wasn't a long walk to the beach, but it felt like it took hours to trudge through the slush. When he finally reached his destination, he stood on the landing, staring out at the doubtlessly icy water for a moment. And, for just a brief second, he imagined what the piercing water would feel like if he tore off his layers of clothes and dove in at that very second.
But he only considered it for a second.
Coming back to his senses, he sighed, and began to walk again. He shuffled over to the bench set between Kai's Summer Snack Shack--the lucky traveler was probably somewhere cozy and sweltering, sipping martinis amongst pretty women in exotic villages--and Zack, the shipper's house, where the merchant Won also lived. He recalled the merchant as a seedy and manipulative man, and scooted far away from that house.
