Maisy stumbles into the house, cheeks pink from cold and anger, fists curled like little puffed pastries.​723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnR6KjgI48
'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.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50a0p8fnKx
'What's wrong, Maisy?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡke38qknjq3
'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.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTdF8pUqpx
'Aw, Maisy, come here.' Peter takes his sister by the shoulders. 'Tell me what happened. Start with Miss Natalia.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEJYVOsnH4
'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!'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6571W0xVW
'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?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlV9UBbX5cz
The girl puffs her cheeks. 'Because I - love - him!' Peter laughs at her declaration. 'Don't laugh, Peter! I'm being quite serious!'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9ZeSFr9oY
'I wasn't laughing at you, Maisy.' He responds, conscious of her feelings.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7pdjBZqQn
'Then what were you laughing at?' She demands.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBpFPrxfyd
'I was laughing at...' A moment's thought. 'I was laughing at love.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNE8Y5ORumd
A crease appears in Maisy's soft and rounded forehead. 'What's so funny about love?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRkKGnkaIC
'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?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJEsa9O612
'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!'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyQfT53MIU
'That's a start. So you said you love Danny. Is that because you like him a lot?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpeuRLkrsp
Maisy erects her body to inject confidence into her voice. 'I do like him very much!'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlv5KVsZKtV
'Okay. Why do you like him?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerJc1LaNEa
'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.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5zLpAOhtl
'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.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRx1VXULua
'Don't be silly. You're different! You're my brother, and besides, you're not good at soccer!'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8TCYDW3l0
'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?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3bKfyAB60
'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.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNUgRSjhxX
'That's nice.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR20QG9lnZY
'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.' 723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkB6evjey4
'I see. Well, you know, love isn't like you see it in movies. A lot of things aren't.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfpOYYZzHX
'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?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwIbIStVW1
'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.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazl3qLlx8D
'Hey! That's not fair! I told you what I thought love was. Now you have to do the same!'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnUKAPedv2
A few seconds pass in silence. 'Okay. Put your coat back on, I want to show you something outside.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmXGsWhoBn
Maisy utters some mild protests but relents to his suggestion, as he takes her by the hand to their garden.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3YunDYwM0
'Do you see all the snow, Maisy?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFquTv3tY01
'Yes. But what has that got to do with -'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD70HjDBVHR
'Shhh. Just watch the snowflakes fall.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfvCIdzezw
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.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DHDqz11je
'Love... Love is like looking at these snowflakes.' Peter begins. 'Every snowflake is different, but every snowflake is beautiful. The snowflakes are like people.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mxch8NUl0
Maisy opens her mouth to interrupt but decides against distracting her brother from his story.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnY6tw1qGHu
'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.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBGeVwGuoR
Maisy wraps her arms around her brother's waist as the late afternoon breeze begins to pick up, sending crystals swirling around their heads.723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1KTBvfHHc
'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.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOApXKDofL
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.'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjufS9DjFaU
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?'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZeY0RhNTI
She smiles, immediately brightening. 'That sounds good!'723Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gJpcqWdIO
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 protection719ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q2SoB1jd2 維尼

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