Maisy stumbles into the house, cheeks pink from cold and anger, fists curled like little puffed pastries.​930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRguGzWyD3V
'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.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsErPMoshHy
'What's wrong, Maisy?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGRVS7eXmB
'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.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCXAMDuVbq
'Aw, Maisy, come here.' Peter takes his sister by the shoulders. 'Tell me what happened. Start with Miss Natalia.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wt3B6zPay
'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!'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7ZlwgnSQJ
'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?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUVw1WdIAy
The girl puffs her cheeks. 'Because I - love - him!' Peter laughs at her declaration. 'Don't laugh, Peter! I'm being quite serious!'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRre9AE8mid
'I wasn't laughing at you, Maisy.' He responds, conscious of her feelings.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAC46gfFoH
'Then what were you laughing at?' She demands.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQcE0qaf0E
'I was laughing at...' A moment's thought. 'I was laughing at love.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqv8xc6DCWw
A crease appears in Maisy's soft and rounded forehead. 'What's so funny about love?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJPeV24CBu
'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?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIU8ysdD5Xk
'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!'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1fOobK8wJ
'That's a start. So you said you love Danny. Is that because you like him a lot?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeA81u0ltcI
Maisy erects her body to inject confidence into her voice. 'I do like him very much!'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuYlXDQcfY
'Okay. Why do you like him?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSjTKURkQM
'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.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWZliR0G09
'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.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Gw9Pp4vj2
'Don't be silly. You're different! You're my brother, and besides, you're not good at soccer!'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWVRngmGJI
'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?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uTFYSFr8I
'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.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcT6XB3kd9
'That's nice.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YJayEhOaO
'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.' 930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1v6S2JfD8
'I see. Well, you know, love isn't like you see it in movies. A lot of things aren't.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6bkq1z4IV
'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?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcO3jodnUH
'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.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmuLxRtWP2
'Hey! That's not fair! I told you what I thought love was. Now you have to do the same!'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjocXpZZ8d
A few seconds pass in silence. 'Okay. Put your coat back on, I want to show you something outside.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUZdel6Q1C
Maisy utters some mild protests but relents to his suggestion, as he takes her by the hand to their garden.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Rvnzt5mx6
'Do you see all the snow, Maisy?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQj25bsW3h
'Yes. But what has that got to do with -'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlEukbm7Yk
'Shhh. Just watch the snowflakes fall.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsRTuUrsSw
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.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyaHH44Yml
'Love... Love is like looking at these snowflakes.' Peter begins. 'Every snowflake is different, but every snowflake is beautiful. The snowflakes are like people.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sL4eBhJrA
Maisy opens her mouth to interrupt but decides against distracting her brother from his story.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBS1QZ9tT60
'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.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBAI2kAHx4
Maisy wraps her arms around her brother's waist as the late afternoon breeze begins to pick up, sending crystals swirling around their heads.930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuN2fASFja
'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.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BYstx7e6H
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.'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwCLAC1aLP
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?'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt6Xd4m74l
She smiles, immediately brightening. 'That sounds good!'930Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqhvZFV3HF
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 protection926ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4F1NhiNrhg 維尼

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