Maisy stumbles into the house, cheeks pink from cold and anger, fists curled like little puffed pastries.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZElwVlhxcU
'I had a very, very, VERY terrible day today!' She proclaims loudly, taking off her thick jacket. Her elder brother, Peter, announces his arrival with heavy footsteps on the staircase.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIKze2UMRJ
'What's wrong, Maisy?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoF9eBPUB1i
'Just EVERYTHING!' The girl fumes. 'Miss Natalia was even meaner than usual today, and that's just the tip of the iceberg!' Beneath her outburst the girl applauds herself for using her newly learnt phrase. 'Danny said he didn't love me!' At this, she crosses her arms melodramatically with a little hmmph.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtpz5sxNc8
'Aw, Maisy, come here.' Peter takes his sister by the shoulders. 'Tell me what happened. Start with Miss Natalia.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7C4JPwFqc
'Well, I was playing with the soccer ball and Ben kicked it over the fence. So I climbed over and ran to get the ball from across the road. Then when I came back, Miss Natalia was so very angry and said all kinds of silly things to me. And then she didn't let me play for the rest of lunch!'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztjJj5a0ZI
'I see,' Peter says, with a smile to himself. 'And what about Danny? He said he didn't love you? Now why would something like that upset you, Maisy?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wg5yfRg1D
The girl puffs her cheeks. 'Because I - love - him!' Peter laughs at her declaration. 'Don't laugh, Peter! I'm being quite serious!'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU20pKiITd6
'I wasn't laughing at you, Maisy.' He responds, conscious of her feelings.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaSzBoF4ry
'Then what were you laughing at?' She demands.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKJjHsKN1g
'I was laughing at...' A moment's thought. 'I was laughing at love.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHk4mHzri1
A crease appears in Maisy's soft and rounded forehead. 'What's so funny about love?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92qwmruf9y
'I'm not so sure, Maisy. Why don't you help me out?' Peter grins, not only beginning to enjoy himself with the conversation but also satisfied that he had distracted her from the day's events. 'Tell me what you think love is, hey?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCROUInwYY
'It's, it's, um.' She looks from side to side as if expecting an answer to be floating out of reach in the room. 'Well. It's when you like someone very much!'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0L0vNQ66N
'That's a start. So you said you love Danny. Is that because you like him a lot?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55PVPLy98X
Maisy erects her body to inject confidence into her voice. 'I do like him very much!'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHWPSgzAUi
'Okay. Why do you like him?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7IeAIlmuC
'Well, everybody likes him. And he's very clever. He beats me in all of Miss Natalia's tests. And he's good at soccer. And he makes funny jokes.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7ky0TfU52
'Hey, I make funny jokes, I'm good at soccer, I'm clever and everybody likes me...' Peter purposefully puts a playfulness in his tone to show his sister that he isn't being serious.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8T376o5aB8
'Don't be silly. You're different! You're my brother, and besides, you're not good at soccer!'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1eFfOi8azs
'I guess you're right, I'm not very good, am I?' Memories of letting his sister win with a comical oh no I lost face just to see her smile. 'But anyway, what exactly did Danny say to you?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfftQCWpoR9
'Well I put a letter into his bag. And I wrote it in running writing! With curls and everything! It said, To Danny, I love you like trees love the sun. From Maisy.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeteZGQBaSk
'That's nice.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXJxWVq82q
'Which is what he said, too! He said the letter was very nice but then he said that he didn't love me back! I didn't know what to do then because that never happens in movies so I couldn't tell what I was supposed to say. So I ran off.' 864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDRAU2lSmE
'I see. Well, you know, love isn't like you see it in movies. A lot of things aren't.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1M98r4OZt
'The what is it supposed to be? I liked Danny very much so I thought he would like me very much too! How else does love work?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoESr8PhEUW
'I'm not sure how to explain it, Maisy, but I'll say that one day you'll understand what Danny did.' Peter looks out the window at the snow topped roofs.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYJs9Wx0bY
'Hey! That's not fair! I told you what I thought love was. Now you have to do the same!'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfjfeXtsm8
A few seconds pass in silence. 'Okay. Put your coat back on, I want to show you something outside.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAncAmN7QDQ
Maisy utters some mild protests but relents to his suggestion, as he takes her by the hand to their garden.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gfF5nn1eO
'Do you see all the snow, Maisy?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2ngJpAYtj
'Yes. But what has that got to do with -'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGMVwJo8Wa
'Shhh. Just watch the snowflakes fall.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hDmEy7jdS
They stand on the path by the street, eyes mesmerised by the stars of white that danced from the skies to the ground, like leftover drops of heaven.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoV5yFsZNtT
'Love... Love is like looking at these snowflakes.' Peter begins. 'Every snowflake is different, but every snowflake is beautiful. The snowflakes are like people.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaVw1IR8Vp
Maisy opens her mouth to interrupt but decides against distracting her brother from his story.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98XtT2ZDfX
'And some of the snowflakes, you can catch on your tongue. It kind of burns, but it sparkles, too. That's the love you're talking about. Out of the thousands and thousands of snowflakes that fall you might only be able to catch a few. But even the ones that you just give a passing glance, that make it to the ground, you can see that they're pretty too, in their own way, and if you can understand that - you can love everyone. Sometimes it's hard to see, for some flakes, that they're worth loving. But even those, people like Miss Natalia -' Maisy giggles at the mention of her teacher. ' - when you really think about it, those people love you in their own way too.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwotleomCZw
Maisy wraps her arms around her brother's waist as the late afternoon breeze begins to pick up, sending crystals swirling around their heads.864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVJs4449t3
'You caught Danny's snowflake on your tongue, but he couldn't catch you. But he loved you in a different way, and that's why he said he liked your letter, why he told you so quickly.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIe28akINMD
The girl bites her lip, cocks her head, and contemplates this notion for a few minutes. Eventually, she turns upwards confidingly to look at her brother, and announces: 'I don't get it.'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OVgF2nReV
Peter laughs again, but it's filled with such joy that Maisy can't help but laugh as well this time. 'You know, I don't get it either.' He says, hugging her tight. 'Maybe when we're older we'll both understand. But for now, how does getting back inside for a nice hot chocolate sound?'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBdnvUeJ3s
She smiles, immediately brightening. 'That sounds good!'864Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMdUQRQdtI
They turn around, back into the warmth and comfort of their home, with a love that burns a little but sparkles too, like the fire crackling under the mantel, the night filled with stories and smiles and songs, while outside the window snowflakes fall one by one.
Penana
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