He slides his small feet into his thick boots, grinning as his ties the laces. Grabbing his coat, he can hear his mother calling.
“Are you going to be warm enough?” she yells, appearing in the doorway with a towel in her hand. “Well, Jack?” she asks him.
“I’m fine,” he responds, smiling brightly. She bends down and wraps a thick grey scarf around his neck. In the background Jack hears his brother playing video games.
“It’s a shame no one will go outside with you,” his mother calls out loudly while adjusting the scarf.
“We’re real busy Mom! It’s the middle of a boss fight and I haven’t saved in ages,” one of his brothers calls out. Their mother sighs and ruffles Jack’s brown hair. He smiles at her and then gives her a quick hug before running out the door and into the outer world.
Pure white snow nests on the world outside his home, shimmering like flawless diamonds. Patches of ice coat the ground, adding to the blinding shine. With unadulterated excitement, Jack runs out into the show. He is shocked upon seeing that the snow does not sink under his weight, like it did last year and the years before. Jack now jumps up and down, but the snow remains firm. Running forward with glee, his feet unexpectedly slide on the ice-coated ground. Amused by this new discovery, Jack rubs his feet on the pure snow and he slides forward, all the while laughing with excitement.
He continues to run about the yard for half an hour, slipping and sliding like an inexperienced ice skater. At the window, his mother stands and watches him glide back and forth. She smiles upon seeing the boy she once took into her home and arms, someone once terrified of the world, so happy now.
Jack sees his mother watching him and he waves wildly at her, but the action sends him sliding. She laughs and then applauds his efforts as Jack falls into the show. While flailing his arms, he tires to stand up, so his mother comes outside to help him onto his feet. Once he is up and standing steadily, Jack throws his arms around her in a tight hug.
“Can I please stay out a little longer?” he asks and she nods without a thought. Laughing for joy, Jack returns to his play and she returns to preparing dinner.
Years pass and he stands in the snow once more. Everything looks different to him now; everything but the snow. Jack is no longer the same little boy that he was, but the beauty of the snow still holds the same attraction.
He takes a deep breath and slides his foot forward. Just like before, he slides forward on top of the snow. With a booming laugh, he glides back and forth on the icy lawn, happy to return to the simple joys of childhood.
His mother no longer stands at the window, but his older brother takes her place. It is unknown if he sees what their mother saw all those years ago, but before he goes outside he mutters a single word: “Idiot”. (c)
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