"All you did was create a new one. One where we can live. And love."
And he’s right. In that other version of the universe, Snow and I are gone, only ruins left behind. But in this one, everything has another chance for amiracle.
In this one, we can still love. Live. Be.
As we almost touch the cold clouds, Snow suddenly whispers.
"What’s that? Is this snow?"
We glance around and notice a strange effect.
Here, between the dark, heavy clouds swollen with moisture and streaks of deep blue, something bizarre appears, something you’d never expect at this latitude. It looks like it’s really snowing!
Tiny white flakes whirl around us, light and fleeting.
"How’s that even possible over Florida?" Snow asks, lost in thought.
"Maybe it’s a sign. Just for us, huh?" I chuckle, amused.
But Snow’s expression turns serious.
"Is snow even possible in a place of eternal summer?"
I bite my lip. "Well, snow inside summer… sounds interesting," I glance at him meaningfully, but Snow seems deep in thought, as if something about it really got to him.
He looks down into the darkness at the flurries of pale snow swirling around us, drifting lower, probably melting before they reach the ground. But up here, just beneath the clouds, they still hold that wintry magic.
"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow,"I start to hum softly, feeling silly and cheerful.
Snow blinks, as if the melody has woken him from some trance, and suddenly looks at me, straight into my eyes.
"Let me fall, Summer."
Now I blink, not understanding what he’s trying to say. His eyes burn in the evening vastness surrounding us, deep navy clouds billowing behind his back as cold gusts of wind carrying tiny snowflakes whip through the air, filling my wings like massive sails.
"You’ve lost your mind. That’s the last thing I’d ever want…"
"You have to trust me, Summer."
"Snow, if I let you go, I may not be able to catch up. I don’t fly that fast, I sort of drift, gliding through the air. I’m not a peregrine falcon…"
"Let me go, Summer. There has to be a day when we finallyleteverything go…"
And suddenly, he also starts to humLet It Snow! His face now looks different: hopeful, relaxed, even transformed.
"Ever since our souls merged, I can finally find it in myself: the strength to shed my chrysalis. I couldn’t do it for years. Something was missing… a push."
"Wait, shed? So that glowing form of yours… isn’t all there is?"
"No. Now let me go, Summer."
I stay quiet for a moment. The wind pulls at us as I glide through the endless open sky. The snowflakes settle on our faces.
"But I’m scared…"
"So you have to let that go too, Summer. The fear. That everything will… crash and shatter again."
Something inside me tightens, and at the same time something is expanding and unraveling—all at once.
