Promises

The promise is given, and it lies heavy between them. The day is cold, December, the first snowfall of the year. The snowflakes are large, wet, heavy as the promise, and later they will land on the hair and eyelashes of the boy and girl and make them beautiful. The girl watches the snowflakes fall, and she is afraid. She thinks back on the broken promises of others before him, wondering if she can trust one last time, wondering what the cost will be if it shatters. The world outside is cold, beautiful. And she feels her body lean into his, wordlessly accepting his promise and giving one of her own. The heaviness has moved into her heart, and she is afraid, elated, and he understands. It is beautiful.