Maisy stumbles into the house, cheeks pink from cold and anger, fists curled like little puffed pastries.​946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wr5ooU4zR
'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.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3wvyWtdQR
'What's wrong, Maisy?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1TRmj23Kr
'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.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubD0GTKMAw
'Aw, Maisy, come here.' Peter takes his sister by the shoulders. 'Tell me what happened. Start with Miss Natalia.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEopI5yrIw
'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!'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYbyZp9Cca
'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?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1tsckRj3C
The girl puffs her cheeks. 'Because I - love - him!' Peter laughs at her declaration. 'Don't laugh, Peter! I'm being quite serious!'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPnK0jCnkf
'I wasn't laughing at you, Maisy.' He responds, conscious of her feelings.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaxp6JMMX0
'Then what were you laughing at?' She demands.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQHnxqhpsq
'I was laughing at...' A moment's thought. 'I was laughing at love.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZd1hH4K3Fh
A crease appears in Maisy's soft and rounded forehead. 'What's so funny about love?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4dJ4e3Ket
'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?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlND8SkUtm
'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!'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbSPwuJQE9
'That's a start. So you said you love Danny. Is that because you like him a lot?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHGQuxbSu9
Maisy erects her body to inject confidence into her voice. 'I do like him very much!'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5VpLyCTmF
'Okay. Why do you like him?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUUyXoQ5Y5
'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.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWRsRaEIfc
'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.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDs1izstXNo
'Don't be silly. You're different! You're my brother, and besides, you're not good at soccer!'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGJrMZi8UI
'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?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzErYvnrorg
'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.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYyXgqca1B
'That's nice.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKp0zbfgEwo
'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.' 946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3FFaJC2m2
'I see. Well, you know, love isn't like you see it in movies. A lot of things aren't.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMILgwzwg4e
'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?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVV86ixatC
'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.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqzMhBB8Eq
'Hey! That's not fair! I told you what I thought love was. Now you have to do the same!'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXtWbwoKkZ
A few seconds pass in silence. 'Okay. Put your coat back on, I want to show you something outside.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasEoweMnlS
Maisy utters some mild protests but relents to his suggestion, as he takes her by the hand to their garden.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2rlOnvp8g
'Do you see all the snow, Maisy?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XlDW7qaYl
'Yes. But what has that got to do with -'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWwSUy8eNz
'Shhh. Just watch the snowflakes fall.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxoFe6OVkN
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.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbw2eMdAsJ
'Love... Love is like looking at these snowflakes.' Peter begins. 'Every snowflake is different, but every snowflake is beautiful. The snowflakes are like people.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpkrWNH2Ht
Maisy opens her mouth to interrupt but decides against distracting her brother from his story.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErtYKc0Mhp
'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.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtekq01Vmpi
Maisy wraps her arms around her brother's waist as the late afternoon breeze begins to pick up, sending crystals swirling around their heads.946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagbyGSIFLS
'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.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxIeXNyfnz
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.'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXw39HyKYcU
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?'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1Ly93YoyI
She smiles, immediately brightening. 'That sounds good!'946Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAPXTGHtGo
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.  8964 copyright protection942ＰＥＮＡＮＡBY18YBTDkO 維尼

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