Shadow in the Snow

By The Stream

   They found the stream in the early evening before the sun had made its descent and sat down by it to rest and fill their water again. It was hard to say if the oak tree would appear just where they were – or if it would even appear at all, which La found herself doubting more and more as the day went on – but it was a good place to rest for the night. Not that they were in need of much rest at the moment since they'd spent the warmest parts of the day under trees or various other shelters to hide from the sun, despite it being a mostly cloudy day,, but it was getting dark and La was hesitant to go too far if she couldn't see everything around her. Besides, Snow wanted to watch the sunset and she wanted to make a plan in private. A plan that would help them hide from the circus guards beyond diving into bushes every time she spotted someone around on the path, a plan that would help them find Crow without having to use a fairy to do it, and a plan to keep them fed and warm throughout the upcoming cold months.

    No problem, La, she thought dryly. That should be easy as anything.

    Crouching down by the bank of the stream, she filled her water canteen and then paused before getting up to glance over at Snow. He had his own canteen in the water but was staring intently at the stream instead of pulling the full container out of the water.

    "What is it?" she asked curiously. Insight into his mind was always interesting.

    He laughed softly. "Is this really how water is?"

    La stood, her knees briefly protesting at the movement, and sat back a few feet away where the ground was more dry. "Some water. This is a stream, sort of bubbling quietly along. Then you have rivers which I think are like streams but bigger and less bubbly. Ponds, and then lakes which are like big ponds. Some lakes are so big you can't even see land on the other side."

    Snow's head snapped to her. "Really? Water can get that big?"

    "I haven't even gotten to the ocean yet! I've never seen one, to be fair, but I've heard that you can sail for weeks or even months on the ocean without seeing a spot of land."

    "I want to see an ocean then!" Snow finally stood and joined her on the bank of the stream. "I want to see if it's all real. I did tell Flicka I'd bring her stories back, after all."

    La smiled faintly. "So you did. And anyway, I'd like to see it, too, so one of these days we'll make a trip out there and see if all of the stories are true. But right now–"

    "Right now, we need to find Crow," Snow finished. He sighed. "I have a lot of questions, I know. I'm excited to see so much of the world and already it's been so amazing but I've not forgotten about him for a second. I promise."

    She patted his shoulder. "Neither have I. We're going to find a way to get to him, you know, and the three of us can wander and explore the world just like we always talked about."

    Snow didn't respond but he did reach up and squeeze her hand for a moment before letting it fall back down to his side.

—-------

    The sunset came and went, its deep colors lighting up the evening sky with majestic beauty, even through the thick clouds that blocked the sky. La watched it all with new eyes and found herself not only enjoying immensely the beauty of it all, but the fact that she was able to watch it for the first time in a very long time without the sounds of the circus surrounding her on every side and without someone yelling at her every two seconds to fetch this or do that.

    "Why does the sunrise have so much brighter colors than the sunset?"

    La looked away from the sky, now nearly entirely dark, and turned her eyes to Snow. He was easier to see in the dark than most, given the paleness of his skin. 'Because the sunrise is making the sky light and the sunset is making it dark, I suppose," she replied.