It was slow going for the crippled young woman. The snow wasn't deep along the lane, thanks to the crossing-sweeper boy, but it made for treacherous, slippery cobblestones, some slick with ice so thin and clear you couldn't tell it was even there. A brown paper sack was cradled under her left arm, and her right hand was hovering off to the side in an attempt to keep her balance as she drew near the gate of the Boarding House.
Only once did she lose her footing while climbing the gentle slope into the yard. Her left shoe shot out behind her and she plunked heavily down onto her knee. Thankful that her poorly leg had been spared the impact, she laughed brightly at herself and struggled back to her feet. While brushing away the crusted white powder from her dress, something unusual caught her eye a few dozen paces away.
At first she thought with dismay that someone had vandalized her carefully-constructed snowman! But no, he was still there, with his bright orange carrot-nose and pair of mittens. Frowning curiously, she hobbled closer.
Off to the side, there was another pile of packed snow, but it didn't seem to have much shape to it. Numerous little furrows and divets dimpled the crystalline blanket surrounding the mysterious structure.
As she made a slow circle around the sight, adjusting her parcel carefully against her side, she spied large bootprints in the snow. Some were clear, others less so, and beside some were deep pairs of holes that might've been a man's knees as he knelt down.
The last discovery was another mound of the sparkling white fluff, loose and tumbled, as if it had been discarded in a moment of haste or perhaps impatience.
Taite looked between the snowman and the...snow lump. Had the man said he'd never seen snow at all? Or only rarely? She found herself smirking, and then grinning. As she read the tale of a man crouched in the snow, trying so hard to recreate a Breeish snowman, the grin spread wider. The snowpile of surrender was the last straw, and she burst out laughing, unable to help herself. The sound rang through the frosted boughs of the trees overhead and vanished towards the starry sky. It came in sweet, warbling bursts, until she had quite spent herself, and her belly ached from it.
"Aye me," she chortled to herself, turning to limp towards the steps leading to the front door. "We'll have to try that again!"
