12.18 *WRITING* Challenge: Winter!

She walked the hall, her steps echoing in the silence. The crackle of the fire from the far room the only other sound. Stopping by the tall and thin window, she smiled softly at the glimmer of ice on the outside pane. The storm was raging beyond and with every brisk gust of wind a new batch of snowflakes were battered against the glass.

Moving into the grand room, the calming stillness of the light of the fire the only illumination beyond the massive and ornate tree gracing the center of the room. She slowly walked around the grand fir decorated in garland and tinsel, admiring the handmade ornaments from times gone by. Stopping to gently touch one in particular, a memory flashed behind her eyes. A man, smiling, the crunch of snow beneath his feet as he lifted her off of hers, spinning around with her in his arms, laughing as the cold creases in their woolen scarves crunched together.

The very next memory that shot through her was triggered by the ornament hung not too far away... This memory much less happy. The same man, laid out in his finest garb, the lower half concealed by the pine box in which he rested. Only a season had passed between one memory and the next. Only a season of happiness was she entitled...

Tis the season...