Snow Monkey: The Present/The Past

Snow Monkey: The Present

The night is deep and dark, and I am the only visitor at the outdoor onsen on the hotel’s roof top.  Fortunately, there is no wind, and my body still retains the heat from my previous cleansing.  Nevertheless, a tiny towel is the only thing to guard against the winter’s chill, and I welcome the intense heat as I lower myself into the pool’s clear liquid embrace. The steaming water envelops my body except for my head and face, and the too hot – too cold sensations merge together and are almost indistinguishable.  As I look out at the night sky, I see fireworks exploding in the distance.  Snowflakes fall lightly on my upturned face.

 

Snow Monkey:  The Past

The night was deep and dark, and I was the only visitor at the outdoor onsen on the hotel’s roof top.  Fortunately, there was no wind, and my body still retained the heat from my previous cleansing.  Nevertheless, a tiny towel was the only thing to guard against the winter’s chill, and I welcomed the intense heat as I lowered myself into the pool’s clear liquid embrace. The steaming water enveloped my body except for my head and face, and the too hot – too cold sensations merged together and were almost indistinguishable.  As I looked out at the night sky, I saw fireworks exploding in the distance.  Snowflakes fell lightly on my upturned face.