Blissfully swaying with the wind as they slowly make their way, peacefully lowering further down from the sky, going wherever the wind decides. To say they look as tranquil as a floating feather would be a gross understatement. Mostly covered with grey clouds, the sun somehow manages to shine tiny rays that glisten off of them, the tiny peaceful wanderers. The sun isn’t harsh enough to make them shine, but soft and gentle enough to give off the slightest hint of sparkles. My hands and feet feel numb with cold. I know I should go back inside but I can’t resist watching this. More clouds begin forming in the sky, very gradually, but enough for me to take notice. Tilting my head upwards, one of them drop onto my face, quickly melting into my rosy, wind chapped skin. As a smile broadens my checks, my eyes catch the hundreds of spiraling snowflakes falling above me. More of them begin melting on my skin, getting caught in my hair, and on my lashes. I wish I could feel their delicate landings on my skin, but the numbness in my freckled cheeks prevent me from feeling anything. My fingers find their way to my face, slick to the touch, and wipe away the light and watery residue. They aren’t floating anymore, but falling. Falling to the ground, compiling against the grass and leaves. They must be bunching together because instead of tiny ones there’re getting even bigger and heavier. The small layer of white begins getting deeper by the minute, until where the base of my boots are completely engulfed in it.

Wrapping my sweater tightly against my body, I leap out of my spot and begin running. Reaching my hands out in front of me I quickly grasp the wooden boards and jump, swinging my body over the gate. The memory of me doing this countless times as a child feels as fresh as yesterday. Without losing momentum, I continue to run through the field trying to reach there as quickly as possible. There, the place I spent most of childhood dreaming up stories of endless possibilities, and countless endings. Spreading my arms out beside me I reach out, skimming my small fingertips through the tall grasses. The icy feeling of the crisp grasses bring back so many precious memories.

My run slows to a walk as I notice something’s changed. The air seems to be growing calmer. More still, more silent, and the air crisper. Without much warning, the dark clouds begin swirling above me, completely covering the sun, and casting a dark, hovering shadow on the earth. I love when nature feels serene and quiet, but this is very different. It’s quiet because of the alarming vacancy of birds in the sky and the squirrel’s scurrying in the tree branches. I didn’t need anther warning sign before I quickly continued along the path, I’m so close. After more trudging through the powdery snow, I can finally see it. I reach the tree line where the field stops and the dark forest begins, where most people would end their journeys. But this is where I continue, and where mine just started.