Prompt: Write about what you think love is636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX55S5UANIe
Maisy stumbles into the house, cheeks pink from cold and anger, fists curled like little puffed pastries.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTYNi5BdDG
'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.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnuxZMB4nd
'What's wrong, Maisy?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NDOKaVoMs
'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.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFagJ9YAA8E
'Aw, Maisy, come here.' Peter takes his sister by the shoulders. 'Tell me what happened. Start with Miss Natalia.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiGksULiJ5
'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!'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zrZNnDjwB
'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?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0WeG9Rplx
The girl puffs her cheeks. 'Because I - love - him!' Peter laughs at her declaration. 'Don't laugh, Peter! I'm being quite serious!'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0w6vhH1r34
'I wasn't laughing at you, Maisy.' He responds, conscious of her feelings.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOC4pTyzP5
'Then what were you laughing at?' She demands.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0vkZmW1eo
'I was laughing at...' A moment's thought. 'I was laughing at love.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0u0hlfbFy
A crease appears in Maisy's soft and rounded forehead. 'What's so funny about love?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIYUyUIHKt
'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?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8O1LDVRSNv
'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!'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr2adFd4I2
'That's a start. So you said you love Danny. Is that because you like him a lot?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVMuTI6yp1
Maisy erects her body to inject confidence into her voice. 'I do like him very much!'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABOwIcJ3ee
'Okay. Why do you like him?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHuue1ep5g
'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.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGoTik0Txr
'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.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDX7Gw8vBZP
'Don't be silly. You're different! You're my brother, and besides, you're not good at soccer!'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrtj6wPYwC
'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?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rpFwH8J5o
'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.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm598oVgc6a
'That's nice.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxY2W5nyQz
'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.' 636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OmqaMyGBw
'I see. Well, you know, love isn't like you see it in movies. A lot of things aren't.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDaOqLlp0I
'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?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeejojCXv3K
'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.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXHqobUd8R
'Hey! That's not fair! I told you what I thought love was. Now you have to do the same!'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABrJqdmUmt
A few seconds pass in silence. 'Okay. Put your coat back on, I want to show you something outside.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4PQ6h7nMA
Maisy utters some mild protests but relents to his suggestion, as he takes her by the hand to their garden.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ692NdiAWW0
'Do you see all the snow, Maisy?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjomY400gsr
'Yes. But what has that got to do with -'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXhJQo7cIk
'Shhh. Just watch the snowflakes fall.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFi4dAYbpD
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.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMIelr1O7r
'Love... Love is like looking at these snowflakes.' Peter begins. 'Every snowflake is different, but every snowflake is beautiful. The snowflakes are like people.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiuWYaIuHm
Maisy opens her mouth to interrupt but decides against distracting her brother from his story.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmbFcjJNdH
'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.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10O1LCNJ7O
Maisy wraps her arms around her brother's waist as the late afternoon breeze begins to pick up, sending crystals swirling around their heads.636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZBs09c0IF
'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.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ598oh6XVbi
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.'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kYIwKW3JC
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?'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5hA1FEwl7
She smiles, immediately brightening. 'That sounds good!'636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGxSPaltz0
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. 636Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7slKv63W2
