journals, Minka still staggered to adjust its weight on her shoulders. The North Wind gusted around her, stinging her cheeks and making her eyes water. The snow drifted like fog, but she could make out the footpath stretching from their property, tamped down from her father’s frequent trips. Her boots crunched as she began to climb.
She ventured through scrub and snow, over slippery rocks and frozen lichen. Her shoulders ached, the straps from her father’s bag digging into her muscles, and the cold chewed through her coat and sweater until her arms and legs burned with it. She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and nose, but soon her breath iced the fabric. All the while, the North Wind hissed around her, goading her onward.
Climb! Climb! Show them what you can do!
Minka gritted her teeth and pressed on. The trees began to thin, and overhead starlight peeked through the clouds, glass shards poking through thick wool. The air tasted thinner up here, sweeter, and the powdery snow gave way to hard, frost-laced rock and moss. She crested the last rise, and a flat, uninterrupted plain stretched out before her. The plateau. Minka ran to the edge, breathless, and gazed down. She could see her house, small as a child’s toy, nestled below, a curl of smoke drifting from the chimney.
“Look!” She shouted down at her father, though she knew he couldn’t hear. “Look up here!” She laughed and clapped her hands, warmed by her triumph, then turned to deposit the bag and set up the telescope.
But the wind blew even harder up here, ripping the hat off her head and tangling her hair in her face. Her eyes teared when she tried to look up, and though she wiped and blinked them, she couldn’t get them to stay clear. She couldn’t look for the comet like this.
Down there!
The North Wind cackled, and a cold gust struck the side of Minka’s face. She turned away from its violence, and shuffled against the wind to the far end of the plateau. The slope down this side was steep, and it gleamed with ice and rock. At the bottom, a small lake had carved a clearing in the evergreens, its frozen surface reflecting the sky above. The bushy trees stood tall in all directions, their needles still.
Down there
, the North Wind whispered in her ear.
Down where I don’t blow so fierce, there you will be able to observe your stars.
The clouds parted, as if to prove the North Wind’s point, and the frozen lake glowed.
Minka studied the incline, and reached back to touch her father’s bag. The slope looked tougher than the one she had just climbed, and going down her balance wouldn’t be as good. But the unblemished snow below sparkled, and somewhere in the sky a comet begged to be found. The North Wind shrieked around her as she considered her descent.
Go, go, go! Down, down, down!
Her first step made her slip onto one knee, the pain jarring up the bone. Minka tried to climb down at an angle, grabbing at whatever brush or handholds she could find, her boots struggling to find purchase on the slippery ground. Her father’s bag slipped, pulling her overbalance, and Minka paused to correct herself. All around her, the North Wind howled, urging her on.
She stepped down again and her foot shot out from under her, foothold crumbling away. Minka toppled forward, felt her father’s bag swing up over her head, and then she was sliding, careening down the slope. She tried to dig her hands into the snow to slow her helter-skelter descent, but the stones snatched off one glove, then the other, ripping at her hands so she left scarlet trails behind. She heard a tearing noise, and metal flickered out of the corner of her eye.
The telescope!
Her father’s bag sailed past and she grabbed blindly, her hand closing on something smooth and cold. She folded over the telescope as the snow rushed up to meet her and the world became a dizzy sky-snow-sky-snow tumble.
At last, she rolled to a halt: dizzy, soaked, and freezing. For a moment, she lay silent in
She ventured through scrub and snow, over slippery rocks and frozen lichen. Her shoulders ached, the straps from her father’s bag digging into her muscles, and the cold chewed through her coat and sweater until her arms and legs burned with it. She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and nose, but soon her breath iced the fabric. All the while, the North Wind hissed around her, goading her onward.
Climb! Climb! Show them what you can do!
Minka gritted her teeth and pressed on. The trees began to thin, and overhead starlight peeked through the clouds, glass shards poking through thick wool. The air tasted thinner up here, sweeter, and the powdery snow gave way to hard, frost-laced rock and moss. She crested the last rise, and a flat, uninterrupted plain stretched out before her. The plateau. Minka ran to the edge, breathless, and gazed down. She could see her house, small as a child’s toy, nestled below, a curl of smoke drifting from the chimney.
“Look!” She shouted down at her father, though she knew he couldn’t hear. “Look up here!” She laughed and clapped her hands, warmed by her triumph, then turned to deposit the bag and set up the telescope.
But the wind blew even harder up here, ripping the hat off her head and tangling her hair in her face. Her eyes teared when she tried to look up, and though she wiped and blinked them, she couldn’t get them to stay clear. She couldn’t look for the comet like this.
Down there!
The North Wind cackled, and a cold gust struck the side of Minka’s face. She turned away from its violence, and shuffled against the wind to the far end of the plateau. The slope down this side was steep, and it gleamed with ice and rock. At the bottom, a small lake had carved a clearing in the evergreens, its frozen surface reflecting the sky above. The bushy trees stood tall in all directions, their needles still.
Down there
, the North Wind whispered in her ear.
Down where I don’t blow so fierce, there you will be able to observe your stars.
The clouds parted, as if to prove the North Wind’s point, and the frozen lake glowed.
Minka studied the incline, and reached back to touch her father’s bag. The slope looked tougher than the one she had just climbed, and going down her balance wouldn’t be as good. But the unblemished snow below sparkled, and somewhere in the sky a comet begged to be found. The North Wind shrieked around her as she considered her descent.
Go, go, go! Down, down, down!
Her first step made her slip onto one knee, the pain jarring up the bone. Minka tried to climb down at an angle, grabbing at whatever brush or handholds she could find, her boots struggling to find purchase on the slippery ground. Her father’s bag slipped, pulling her overbalance, and Minka paused to correct herself. All around her, the North Wind howled, urging her on.
She stepped down again and her foot shot out from under her, foothold crumbling away. Minka toppled forward, felt her father’s bag swing up over her head, and then she was sliding, careening down the slope. She tried to dig her hands into the snow to slow her helter-skelter descent, but the stones snatched off one glove, then the other, ripping at her hands so she left scarlet trails behind. She heard a tearing noise, and metal flickered out of the corner of her eye.
The telescope!
Her father’s bag sailed past and she grabbed blindly, her hand closing on something smooth and cold. She folded over the telescope as the snow rushed up to meet her and the world became a dizzy sky-snow-sky-snow tumble.
At last, she rolled to a halt: dizzy, soaked, and freezing. For a moment, she lay silent in
Similar Books
