By Mariella H. It's raining this time, not snowing, she realized as she stepped out of the cabin into the freezing winter air. The drops of rain fell from the sky and landed on the ground almost without a sound. She frowned at the blanket of white that covered the grass and wondered how the snow welcomed the rain. The rain, after all, was not frozen; it was so like the snow, yet unlike it. It was weak, and on an average day it was normally swallowed by the ground, sinking deeper into the soil until it could eventually find its way into a stream. Snow, however, fell with power. It was strong, and when it landed on the grass, it would remain there for many days. Snow was solid, tiny chips of ice that dropped from the sky and found landing on the greenery below, declaring its victory over the grass and flowers as, one by one, those tiny particles fell. One after another, they piled up and worked in unison until they were an army against the green below them; before long the snow would have won, and the grass would no longer be visible. The grass would disappear for days, weeks, months. Meredith didn't like snow, because it was the reason she so rarely saw grass and flowers.
Huddled in her thick animal-skin coat, she gazed at the endless forests before her. The majestic pine trees were still struggling against the fate that the snow planned for them: it planned for them to disappear until the end of winter. The trees were so tall that only the tips and some branches managed to be completely concealed, but she could still see that they were green, alive and struggling. Neither the snow nor the pines were winning. It was a tie; they were locked in battle, and that battle would last until the miracle of springtime finally came and melted the snow that she disliked so much.
She carefully descended the two steps onto the snowy grass, careful not to slide on the ice which had settled itself on them. The snow was even sending reinforcements to her family's cabin, and if they had already conquered the steps that led to the entrance of her home, it seemed to the eight-year-old that the snow was going to win. Soon all the trees would disappear, and since it felt like spring would never arrive, they would be in troubles like this forever.
The ice on the steps of her house was what happened when snow won. It became solid, a sheet of clear water that settled itself on surfaces and held on until somebody strong pried it away; if it wasn't melted or pried away, people could slip on it. She remembered the one time she had slipped on ice and winced a little. Apart from the pain of having slid down two steps that – at the time – were nearly as tall as she had been, the fact that she had plunged headfirst into two inches of snow didn't help either. She was soaked and in terrible pain when she was finally found and brought inside. She had been three, but that was something she still remembered well.
She took a few steps toward the majestic trees and wondered what was on the other side. Meredith wondered why she had had to live here, where everything was so white for so long. Mother said it snowed in other places, but surely not as badly as it did here?
She smiled a little as the towering trees grew nearer to her. Walking confidently through the rain, she began a forward march to her friends the trees, some of the few things that the snow couldn't completely conquer; and also, there were so many trees. It was a sign that, when there was something in great numbers, even an icy force that fell from the sky would never be able to overwhelm it.
“But there's lots of grass,” Meredith wondered aloud. “More grass than there are trees. Why did the snow defeat them?”
Her friends the majestic pines did not answer her, but seemed to be beckoning her forward. She quickened her pace and strode forward, trying to decide which of the towering trees before her was the tallest. Which was the thinnest? Which was the strongest? Which was the smallest, or the youngest?
These thoughts ran through her head, and she felt herself to be gliding through a land made completely of sparkling white. She watched it flash past her out of the corner of her eye, the closest thing she could think of that could be called a never-ending abyss. It was beautiful and dangerous and wicked, because it fell from the sky and soon everything beneath it was defeated. It scared off the wild animals and killed the pretty flowers. It was intent on defeating all.
Meredith didn't like snow. She ran through it, closer and closer to her goal, the pine trees that could conceal her from the rain, which was growing heavy. She began to see a few flakes of snow among the rain as she reached the tallest pine tree in sight, and gasped when she realized that the snow had a new target. It had realized that the rain had taken its place today, and wanted that spot back. It refused to lose.
It was with relief that Meredith reached the tall pine. She leaned against its icy, prickly branches and gazed at the sight before her.
She could see her footprints, which had been pressed deep into the snow when she'd been running. Her family's small cabin stood before her, and it looked tiny because it was so far away. Surrounding the cabin where she lived was nothing but white – under it rested the grass and flowers that the snow had defeated, waiting eagerly for springtime so that it could awaken and reclaim its place in this forest. Behind her home, a long way ahead of her, she could see more pine trees, but they were too far away; she had never been there before.
To her left was that never-ending abyss of white, a battlefield that had been cleaned of all signs of what had happened there, for the snow wiped out its victims and then managed to leave no signs of the life that had been lost. It was a clean crime, and only Meredith knew what had happened. Mother said that this was just how things were supposed to be – winter, spring, summer, fall, and then winter again. But Meredith knew better. She knew that someday the snow would take over everything. The snow was the greatest enemy known to mankind and mother nature alike.
From where she stood, it was beautiful, but she knew the secret behind it. She knew why there was so much of it, and why it stayed so long, and why it was constantly sending reinforcements. Snow planned to dominate, and even though the majestic pine trees were resisting for now, it wouldn't be for long. Eventually the snow would get what it wanted, and the Earth would be covered in white forever.
I know the secret, Meredith thought proudly, a slight smile on her face. And soon everybody will know that I was correct.
The sky began to darken over the almost flawless blanket of white before her, and she began to cross the land in the direction of the cabin once more, because it would be dinner time soon. The never-ending abyss of white flashed past her out of the corner of her eye, and she broke into a run again to try and get away from it. She knew what it really was. She knew the secret.