It was four years ago when a storm ravaged the town. The storm unusual, hitting on the first day of spring, and soon, the town was stuck in a whirlwind of snow and ice. Wind howled and shrieked, the harsh ice bit and tugged at the faces of the citizens. People were chilled to the bone, their veins frozen in ice, as temperatures reached record lows. The sound of screams of fear were drowned out by the horrible crashing of the trees as they fell and died. It was a storm unlike any other, and never had the world seen such a thing.

The children cried themselves to sleep shaking from cold and fright, despite their parents best attempts to warm them. With freezing winds brought mountains of snow causing schools and work to close and the houses to become snowed in. With no means of escaping the harsh cold and bitter snow, the townspeople became restless. With each passing day they were becoming more and more angry, frustrated, depressed and cold. The notion of heat and happiness became a distant pleasant memory.

There was one girl who, in the beginning, welcomed the storm. With short hair that shone like golden thread under the summer sun and eyes that glowed brightly and twinkled like emerald jewels. Her slim figure was confident and gentle; her face, always tan and golden, had a dusting of freckles. This girl was Solana. Winter was her favourite season. The snow sparkling under the weak sun like a thousand stars, hearing the snow crunch under her feet after a fresh sheet was deposited on the ground. This storm made her more alive.

Slowly, her excitement died as her heart sank and her body grew tired. While she loved winter, Solana also dreamed of the warm sun caressing her face and the sweet scent of newly bloomed flowers in her nose. She waited anxiously every year for the first signs of spring. That year, with the snow never stopping, she became weak and tired, a ghost walking among people. She was born on the day of the earth, a day that for her, marked summer. Solana had a strange kinship with the earth and felt it dying in her very bones. The storm caused her to become so weak and sick that she wound up stuck in a hospital bed, with no hope of warming up or healing.

Summer never began that year. The snow eventually disappeared, but at the same time, the heart of one poor little girl stayed frozen in ice; frozen in time as it took her months to recover.

The sympathy of her friends rolled off them in waves, trying to warm Solana’s frozen soul. Solana no longer knew how to have any fun, she forgot how to smile, how to laugh. Her friends tried their hardest to bear the same pain as the child, but to no avail.

“Poor Solana,” they sympathized, “I’ve never seen her like this.”

After many days of terrible cold and snows, the storm came to an end. There was no rejoicing at the end. The storm left destruction almost unimaginable. Trees blocked the roads and snow piled up causing troubles for everyone, and telephone lines were down. The town had become isolated because for whatever reason, the storm never reached far beyond the town.

Through all the damage that was done, the worst had been to a young girl. That young girl was so scared that for years after if someone mentioned “winter” she would quake in fear. Winter had been heaven, the spindrifts blowing and snow drifting casually to the ground, but now, it was a curse. Snow marked a time of utter hopelessness; a time when life seemed meaningless.

That one girl’s life would never be the same.