Steps Forward

Drifting on the air, the snowflakes do not feel cold when they land on my cheeks and melt like tears. The wind is what bites into me. I covered my face with my thick scarf and pulled my wool hat down to my eyes, but it does not protect from the icy wind. I am determined, I have to make it, I made a promise to myself. My boots sink into the ever deepening drifts, and find slick purchase on the stones beneath.

“It will be worth it.” I whisper. I crest the lip of the ridge and stop.

A small valley of white stretches out before me. Crisp, clean, soft flakes drift from the gray sky overhead muting the world beyond. Small clouds of fog hang in the sky over the valley, like an extra blanket it has pulled over itself to keep warm. The snow drifts lazily towards the valley floor, torrents of snowflakes dance along the breeze. The fog drifts enough to reveal the trail of smoke that had been hiding. A log cabin sits beside a frozen lake, a thin white tendril reaches for the clouds like the string, holding the storm in place. The dark wood logs are almost lost to the drifts forming around the small structure.

I smile, I made it, I am almost there. I lift my boots from the drift and start my descent into the valley. My tears join snowflakes on my cheeks. After all this time, I am home.