The first day of winter was always the best. The weather getting colder, the first snow falls, the garish sun hiding away so she could be seen again. The first day of winter was the first day of his life for so many years and the last day of winter was the day he went back to his boring human life.
As a young man, he had felt the pull of a winter magic. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and they had had a wonderful winter together, and then as the spring appeared, she told him the truth.
The magic was beautiful, but the magic couldn’t keep her alive past winter. The magic kept her young and beautiful and he promised to visit her year after year. Year after year, she stayed the same, but year after year, he grew older.
He had a feeling one of the years coming up would be his last. The winters were no longer as kind as they used to be. But he would still go back to her, as long as he was living.
Once the drifts of snow got deeper, he pulled himself from his cozy chair and his mountain of blankets, got dressed in his warmest coat and made the trek up toward the hill where they had first met.
With each step, his legs grew heavier, his breath shorter, coming out in puffs of steam. When he reached the top of the hill, exhaustion threatened, not too far off, but he built a snowman anyway. One with a coal smile and a cute little carrot nose. A snowman with gentle arms of sticks, with a pink scarf and the wide brimmed hat she had left behind.
When he was done, he sat down in the snow in a huff to catch his breath. Over the years, the magic had taken longer and longer to work.
Just as he was about to give up and go back home, the thought he was too old for magic swimming in his old head, she appeared.
The snow woman was just as beautiful as he had always remembered. Her dark hair cascading down her shoulders, the wide brimmed hat framing her face as if it were artwork, her eyes warm and bright, even on the coldest day of the year.
“I fear I don’t have much time left,” He said, his words forced out through puffs of air, still trying to catch his breath. “This may be the last winter we have together, my love.”
She simply smiled and sat next to him. As she took his hand in hers, it felt real and solid. “I know,” She said gently. Her smile used to be enough to ease all the pain in the world, but it did little now. “Just lay yourself down and fall asleep in my lap like you used to.” She smoothed his hair gently. “Like that first time, and when you wake up, everything will be new again.”
“Just like the first time,” He said, easing his head onto her lap and looking up at the flurry of snowflakes dancing down upon the earth.
He wished he had brought her a warmer jacket all those years ago.
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