More Beautiful

I wish the winter would last forever. The snow was blowing among the trees in great gusts. The icy willow outside of my house swayed back and forth. As pleasant Christmas tunes floated through the air, I drew on the foggy window with my finger. The only light left in the house came from the colorful Christmas lights. Everyone was asleep except me. I began to hum along with the song playing on our little radio. Static rustled in the background of the carol. High above the trees outside, I saw a sapphire sky, empty of stars. Suddenly a star shot across the sky in a blaze of color. The song on the radio crackled out. The snow stopped falling as the willow stood still. By the time I noticed the familiar tick of our grandfather clock, it had stopped as well. It was then that I noticed everything in the room was frozen. Nothing moved. The only sound was my breath blowing on the window. I looked around slowly. For a moment, everything was a blur. Then it came into focus, and suddenly I knew what was going on. My wish had come true. The winter was going to last forever. I glanced at my watch. It was stuck at twelve. Slowly I stood up and crept to the closet. I tried to put my hand on the doorknob, but it slipped right through. Soon I was standing inside. I tried to pick up my coat, but my hand went right though it too. I slid through the door again and tiptoed down the stairs. The front door was closed, so I just stepped through it. I looked around at the scene laid out before me. Nothing was moving and nothing was blowing. Everything was so still. I stepped down the front stoop and onto my gravel driveway. Puddles made of ice clustered at the sides of the driveway. When I stepped onto the snow, my foot didn't leave a print. When I lay down in it, I didn't feel the cold. I didn't know what to do. No time was going by, and nothing was cheerful anymore. I wish that winter didn't last forever, I thought. Just then everything came to life again. Snow blew into my face and the willow started to move again. The blur of color in the sky faded away and I started to feel the cold. I ran up the steps to the front door and opened it soundlessly. I walked in and was amazed. Tunes hummed on the old radio while the lights on the tree flashed simultaneously. I couldn't hear over the soft sound of the tuner, but the grandfather clock was moving again. I sat down in a rocking chair and stared outside again. It was all so beautiful. In fact, it was more beautiful than it had been before.