Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A Snowflake's Journey

A Snowflake's Journey is flash fiction story that I wrote for a winter themed contest geared towards children.  My mom and I both love the snow and sadly we don't get to see it often enough where we live. So one day as I wished for snow to start falling, I thought about the journey each flake must take to get here and the story was born.  Thanks for reading!

The last of the leaves are finally falling from the trees. This time of year is so hectic. We've been practicing for this for a long time and I'm super excited. My name is Crystal and I'm a snowflake. Most humans have no idea just how much planning goes into the winter months. The rest of the snowflakes and I train very hard for the Winter's Eve Competition, which is about to begin.

The Winter's Eve Competition, you see, is where the snowflakes that trained the hardest get to compete. The best snowflakes are selected to fall during the season's first snow. Father Time and Mother Nature tell us that the first snowfall is the most magical of all. Those that don't get to participate in the first snowfall might be lucky enough to fall during Christmas Eve, which is obviously the next best thing!

How does a snowflake win the competition you ask? That's a good question. The prettiest snowflakes have it the easiest. They usually get picked just because they reflect the faintest bits of light. The rest of us have to work hard to get picked. We have to fluff ourselves out and practice falling in just the right way. The best falls are those slow gentle ones that seem to take ages to complete, almost like floating down to the ground. I think I finally have it just right.

Oh boy! Father Time is calling; it must be time for the competition to start! Come you must watch, it's like nothing you've ever seen before, thousands of snowflakes falling one right after another. I honestly have no idea how Mother Nature keeps up with all of us. It's all I can do to keep my mind on just what I need to do to fall gracefully. We each get three attempts to perform the perfect fall. Mother Nature judges us on our falls while Father Time judges solely on our appearance as we fall. We really have to glitter and shine in order to make it into the first snowfall.

I don't compete until the next round so let's just watch for now. The first round is mostly just for show since they're all pretty much guaranteed to get in. The snowflakes in this round have been around the longest and are amazingly beautiful, but it's still so much fun to see. It helps get the rest of us in the spirit and calms our nerves a bit.

Oh look! The first snowflake is about to fall. Her name is Sparkle and she's the perfect snowflake. Sparkle glimmers with just the tiniest bit of light and always does this wonderful twirl as she falls. We all strive to be like her. She's so nice too, and tries to help the rest of us. Wow! Watch the way the light glistens as she floats down. And just look at the others falling behind her, it's amazing to see.

I can't believe the first round went by so fast. It's my turn now. I have to run and get set up, wish me luck!

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