I freely admit that, at least from inside a warm house, I love snowy days. Today, here in Kansas, where the wind is teasing and tossing about the snow that fell last night, I'm easily reminded of this scene from Hearts Unfold. It's not coincidence I chose the wild wonder of a snowstorm in which to introduce the hero of this "very special love story." Snow is mysterious, romantic, even dangerous--like the meeting of two strangers. A meeting that will forever change the direction of their lives.
Through the frost-rimmed window, she saw that the snowfall had
slowed, though the wind still whipped the tree limbs and spun little white
cyclones across the yard. Beyond the
barn, just where the land dropped away to the hillside, a moving shadow caught
her eye. A deer, or maybe a cow, strayed
and lost in the storm? Stepping to the
door for a closer look, she tried to focus past the blowing snow. The shadow moved steadily upward over the
rise, until she saw what could only be a human figure, trudging slowly in the
general direction of the house. Head
down, swaying slightly, as if unbalanced by the force of the wind, he—or at
least she thought it must be a man—was dressed all in black, the windward side
of his long overcoat etched with white, and his bared head capped with
snow. There seemed to be something odd
about his stance, and then she realized one arm was crossed over his body, as
if bracing the other to his side. In
what must have been only a few seconds, she tried to assess his size—not very
tall; his possible intent—obviously seeking shelter; and where he could have
come from. He had to be coming from the
road below, but why would anyone have walked up a steep wooded hillside in a
blistering storm?
As she watched, scarcely drawing breath, it seemed he raised
his head and gazed for a moment toward the house. Then in a slow, graceful spiral, he sank to
the ground, disappearing into the snow.
If she had not been watching his progress across the yard, she realized
she would never have seen him from the house, once he’d fallen. Blinking, she wondered for an instant if she
might have only imagined him, if he had been a mirage in the featureless white
of the landscape. But the pounding of
her pulse told her otherwise.
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