First Snowfall —Very Short Story
The morning dawned bright and clear. Not a cloud hovered in the sky. Slowly the husband and wife began to stir under their warm blankets, not wanting to leave them. Only the persistent nuzzling of the cat forced them from their warm cocoons.
The wife stood up and stretched before putting on her slippers and making her way downstairs to start the coffee and feed the cat. The rest of the house was still sleeping, as it was Saturday, and sleeping past sunup was nearly a requisite to enjoy the weekend.
The coffee began to percolate. The cat was silently eating at his dish. The woman looked out the window and frowned. Leaning forward, she pushed the curtain aside. “Snow? There wasn’t snow in the forecast.”
“Did you say snow?” her husband asked as he shuffled into the kitchen in hopes for a cup of coffee. He opened the cupboard and pulled out a faded cup. Leaning against the counter to wait for the coffee to finish, he looked out the window. “I’ll be! There is snow.”
“Snow?” a voice cried from the doorway. The two turned to see their oldest running to the patio doors and pressing his face against the cold glass. “It did snow!” Turning around, he raced back down the hall to wake his sisters.
Shouts joined the boy’s as the two girls jumped up from bed and followed their brother to the kitchen. The two oldest had been looking forward to this day as they had been wanting to make a snowman like they had seen in the latest blockbuster movie, but winter had been relatively dry up until this morning.
But the youngest couldn’t remember snow. She had just turned two and had been eager to see the white magic that could make a man that her siblings had been talking about. Now it had finally come. Eager to get started with play, she raced back to her room. A few minutes later, the family heard her proclaim, “Ready!”
Turning around, there was a mixed reaction of shock and laughter at the little one’s readiness. On her tousled head, she had pulled on her stocking cap. Not exactly straight, it hung over one eye and only one ear. On her right hand, she had pulled on a glove. On her left hand, nothing. Around her neck, she sported her sister’s scarf. On her body, she wore nothing but her pull-up that she had worn through the night. On her left foot, she sported a snow boot. On her right foot, nothing but bare skin.
She clapped her hands together. “Ready! Let’s go!”
Everyone laughed. The little girl frowned. “Are we going to play or not?”
“I think a few more pieces of clothing are needed.”
