The Curious Case of the Houdini Breath

This afternoon while exploring the cold Snow World with Giggle Sprout, I noticed something unusual:

My breath was escaping.

Not all at once, of course. That would be alarming.
Rather, it formed small clouds, drifting away as though they had somewhere to be. Each appeared, lingered, then vanished. Invisible air made visible, then invisible again.

Giggle Sprout noticed too, but instead of being curious, he became agitated.
He lunged, spun, and huffed as loudly as possible. “They’re escaping!” he shrieked.

And then: “I made a big one! Its name is Harry.”
‘Harry’ drifted away without acknowledgment.

I watched the rhythm.
Inhale. Exhale. Appear. Disappear. Houdini breaths.
Warm air meeting cold? Perhaps.

Giggle Sprout gawked at a breath cloud. “That one waved at me.”

I thought I heard him say, “Goodbye, condensation!”
Is condensation even a word?

Poor vegetable.

Notes to self:

• Buy a dictionary for Giggle Sprout.

• Acquire breath-catching gear.

• Don’t trust anything a vegetable says.