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𝐓𝐇𝐄 day broke gray and dull with a certain rawness that threatened snow. Somber clouds hung heavily in the darkened sky. The citizens of Concord bustled in and out of shops, eager to complete their daily tasks before the flurry blew in. Charlotte, however, stood still amongst the crowd — the only one not dispirited by the cold winter.
She was glad for such weather, really: it meant hot chocolate and fireplace slumbers with the March's. She quite enjoyed coming home in the chilling twilight with numb fingers and toes, and a heart filled with the tenderness of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy — who all waited for her in the warmth.
With nipped hands, Charlotte held a bag of Christmas presents for the said Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. She had spent most of the money left to her name on the small gifts, but the reward of giving was far too sweet to go to waste.
The girl gently laid the parcel next to her feet as she peered through the glass of a dance academy she'd only ever been able to admire from afar. Victoria was its name. The title, however simple, was printed in broad cursive along the length of the studio's window. Each white letter was decorated with pastel flowers that reminded Charlotte of springtime.
She gazed into the large room behind the glass. The window separated the tiny dancers from the drear December evening — yet, they, too, seemed to be experiencing the melancholic effects of winter.
The children looked tremendously bored as they practiced tendus at the barre. Frowns of vexation pulled at their lips as their practice slippers glided slowly along the pristine hardwood floor beneath them. Ahead. Beside. Behind. Repeat.
