Dave Aftandilian
Snowflakes whirl and dance like tiny faeries, luring the child away from her home. The endless expanse of fields blanketed with white, shining in the bright sunlight, dazzles her, turns her around, draws her even farther away. Slowly the night falls, stars wheeling across the heavens. Crawling inside a hollow tree trunk, she curls into a ball for warmth, and the trunk gently closes around her. When she emerges she will be wholly other, covered in warm, white fur.