elysian (adj.) || divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect

softly.

Her boots crunched on the freshly fallen snow, her cheeks rosy to the crisp air. The road she followed laid in absolute serene, the blanket of snow undisturbed before her as welcome to its wonder. One night, she had gone to bed with fall leaves decorating the ground and a crimson sky, only to wake to a completely different world in the morning.

It had been a few months of winter already but the snow was notorious for coming swiftly and unexpectedly in her area. She had gotten used to the weather's bipolar mood swings. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy the cold either because, despite many people, she actually loved how the snow laid the earth in complete and utter peace.

She was glad when her father moved them into the mountains, away from the south where they barely saw any snow. Christmas just wasn't Christmas when the ground outside was brown. She believed the true spirit of Christmas couldn't be true without the purity kissing the land in white; and this year it had been a blessing to the season.

She let out a gentle sigh, pausing in her hum, and smiled at the sight of the town ahead. It wasn't a very large town, the population was just under two hundred, and many of the people had left as soon as the snow came. She wouldn't say that it was a perilous winter in the mountains but it wasn't for the faintest of hearts either.

Often, the snow would fall so rapidly that their weekly delivery truck couldn't get them supplies and they would go a week without, or the heavy snow would take down a power line and they wouldn't have power for a few days. Complications of living in the heart of winter weren't uncommon, and she, like everyone else in the town, were very used to working out the rough spots.

The community was small and tightly knit, much like a group of close friends, and everyone knew their neighbor. She loved how warm and welcoming the people were, it was part of the reason she didn't want to ever leave, and she had yet to meet a townsfolk who was ill tempered. It was a simple life, a throwback to the good ol' days, if she did say so herself. A time where people loved their neighbor as themselves.

Her sled bumped along the sidewalk as she ambled down mainstreet. A few cars rumbled past on the freshly plowed road and she waved a couple greetings as she passed people shoveling their driveways and porches. Mostly everyone lived on mainstreet but some people lived a bit off in the woods, like she and her father; they lived about a mile out of town.

There was a little gas station on the west end of town, a hardware about in the middle, and the cafe, diner and post office on the east side of town. The kids had to ride the school bus forty-five minutes to the next town. More often than none, the bus couldn't make it in the winter and nobody had to do school, but last winter the parents have been making the kids walk. She was glad she could do her school from her own bedroom, it was almost a privilege to be homeschooled.

She knew most of the kids in town, they were around her age and younger, and sometimes she would do study groups with them if she needed help with her schooling. Despite the different school systems, they had roughly the same grade material. She was good friends with the kids but not as close as some friendships.

Another car crawled by, beeping its horn, and she waved. If she was to say, the townsfolk had grown fond of her and when she made her weekly supply run on the weekend, whether it be her or her father, everyone was looking out their window for the chance to get to say hello. It wasn't that she was antisocial or anything, she just spent a lot of her time doing chores around the house and wasn't in town that often.

She stopped her sled by the front entrance of the cafe, Topped Off, and the jingling of the bells on the door notified the owner of her arrival as she stepped into the warmth. Two older gentlemen sat in the booths to her right, nodding their greeting, and she smiled at them before she was engulfed in a hug.

"Oh, Mikica, I've missed you!" The owner exclaimed, pulling back to cup her cheeks, "I was wondering when you'd show up, gosh, look at you! Growing up so fast! How are you, dear?"

She grinned, her eyes sparkling, "I've never been better, Esther."

"Come!" Esther insisted, pulling her towards their favorite booth in the corner of the cafe, "Come sit with me, lets catch up over some coffee. Its on the house!"

Esther was like a mother to her, caring for her and listening to all of her troubles when she needed to vent. The very first day she moved in with her father, Esther baked an entire platter of cookies and drove through a blizzard to deliver them. From that day on, they just clicked, and she really enjoyed when she could visit with Esther.

"So, how did that job promotion go for your son?" She asked, settling into her seat.

Esther smiled, "That's the exciting news I wanted to tell you. He got the promotion tuesday and I helped him move out thursday. I'm waiting for him to call home and let me know how its going."

"That's great, Esther!" She exclaimed, "I had my fingers crossed the entire time, just so you know."

"You're such a precious girl," Esther dunked a few cubes of sugar into her coffee, "How is your old man, holding it out with his job, I assume? I haven't seen him in town for a few days."

"Careful," She teased, "He might hear you call him old man," They laughed and she took a sip of her piping coffee, "He's really busy but hardworking, as usual. Last I heard, I think his boss is going to give him a raise because of how good of a job he's doing."

"He's good man," Esther nodded and then winked, "Now I'm going to keep my fingers crossed the entire time."

She laughed, "You do that. I'm sure he'll appreciate it, the old truck is going to need a replacement soon. Even my Dad's magic mechanic skills can't keep it going much longer."

"If you guys are ever in trouble, you can call Parson or I, you know that, right?"

"Of course, you've only told me a hundred million times." She rolled her eyes, grinning.

"A mother's instinct is never wrong," Esther stated.

"True that," She said, "Hey, didn't you say you were going to have some new raspberry scones that we can try?"

Esther got out of her seat, "Oh yes, of course. I almost forgot. Hold on, I'll get them, you are going to love them!"

She watched the older lady hurry to the display case with a small grin. Esther was a truly unique person, let alone mother. Of course, she cared, but she also acted like a teenage girl sometimes. It was a refreshing change in the speculations of mothers.

She spent the next hour chatting up a storm with Esther until they finally got around to the supplies she came for and Esther helped her carry the boxes out to her sled. As they finished the last strap, a group of travelers stepped out of their vehicle and made their way inside Topped Off.

"Looks like I'm back in business," Esther chuckled, glancing at them, "I swear, this town dies sometimes, and then coughs back to life at the weirdest times," Esther wrapped her up in a hug, "You'll be fine walking?"

"God, yes," She laughed, "For the hundredth time, I love to walk and it isn't even snowing."

"Oh, alright," Esther smiled, "Take care of yourself, Mikica. I look forward to seeing you and your father next weekend."

"Same goes for you," She adjusted her coat, pulling on her gloves, "And it might just be my Dad, you never know. I covered his turn last weekend."

A bell chimed from inside and Esther gave her one last hug, "I've got to go, kiddo. You and your father."

"Alright, deal." She called as Esther disappeared inside the cafe.

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