Winter’s Gift
Snow swirled around Emma's boots as she pressed her nose against the frosted window, her heart pounding with anticipation. Her hand curled around the money in her pocket and squeezed the coins tightly. The young woman had spent the last year saving all her money for her fresh start on the mountain, and now she was finally here. She had set up a small home with most of her savings, and the rest was clutched in her grip.
“This is it,” Emma whispered as she pushed on the door… only to find it locked. She took a step back and read the sign: “Alice’s Shop of Mystery.” Well, at least she was in the right place. Peering back through the window, she froze as a pair of green eyes met hers.
Emma waved. “Hello, can you let me in?”
The green eyes stepped forward to bring a woman with a mess of curls piled on her head into the light. She shook her head and a curl fell on her forehead. “I’m sorry, miss…”
“Emma,” she said. “Please, I’ve come such a long way.”
“Nice to meet you, Emma, but I’m afraid you’re a minute too late. Stick around, though. You’ll see that patience pays off here.” Alice gave a sly smile and slipped back into the shadows.
“Hey, wait!” Emma called, but only the whistling wind answered. Alone again, she remembered the tearful goodbyes she gave her friends back in Georgia and how hard it had been to make new friends since she arrived on the mountain. With nothing left to do, she started heading home.
The ice crunched with every step, reminding her of how far she had come just to turn away with nothing. She wondered if coming here was a mistake. She had dreamed of finally buying a mysterious treasure from Alice’s shop, but when the opportunity to see it finally came, the door was closed—literally. Tears welled in her eyes and froze into streams down her cheeks, turning the snowy landscape into a white blur.
Through her tears, Emma saw a gray shape move toward her. She jumped and fell back into the snow. A pair of pink glasses hovered right in front of her nose. She blinked and noticed they were attached to an old woman in a thick gray sweater.
“Why are you crying, dear?” The woman asked warmly. “Sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to see if you were okay.” She offered a hand and helped Emma to her feet.
“Thank you,” Emma whispered hoarsely. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She looked into the woman’s old, knowing eyes. “Well… not really.”
The old woman brushed icy tears from Emma's cheeks. “I’m Florence. Why don’t you come in for a cup of hot cocoa and tell me all about it?” She led Emma to her cottage nearby. Once they were inside, Florence mixed cocoa in a scuffed kettle and handed Emma a steaming mug. “Now, dear,” she said, “what has you feeling so blue?”
Emma sipped from the warm mug eagerly. “This is amazing, thank you. I just came from the Shop of Mystery. I’ve always wanted to go there. But I made it all the way there and Alice wouldn’t even open the door!”
“Ah, Alice’s,” Florence nodded, settling into a rocking chair. “I missed my chance there once, too. But what I ended up finding there changed my life.”
Emma's eyes widened. “What did you find, gold? Jewelry?”
The woman rocked gently in her chair and patted the ground beside her, where a little gray rabbit was snoring quietly. “I certainly found a treasure: my best friend.”
Emma bent down to pet the sleeping rabbit. A friend—she had thought they were in short supply here. “So how did you do it? Is there a secret key? A magic word?”
“The only secret is time. Patience is rewarded here.”
Emma sighed. “Alice said the same thing.”
Florence chuckled. “Some things never change. Just wait, you’ll eventually catch her when she restocks.”
“But when?” Emma couldn’t hold back the impatience in her voice.
“That’s up to her. All you can do is wait. Trust me. This old gal knows everything there is to know about this mountain.”
Fueled by cocoa and new hope, Emma thanked Florence and started climbing back up the slope. The uphill trek felt easier than the tearful hike down.
Emma's heart jumped when she finally saw Alice’s sign come into view. She started running toward the shop and slowed down as she noticed a young woman with a thick blonde braid facing it. Emma came to a polite stop nearby. The woman looked up and grinned. “Hi! Trying your luck too?”
“Oh, yes!” Emma nervously answered. “Yes, I think I am. It’s my first time here. Well, second time, but the first didn’t really count.”
The woman clapped her hands. “Oh, it’s your first time, how exciting! My name’s Georgia. I come here all the time. You should too. The more you visit, the better your chances.”
“I’m Emma! What a coincidence, I just moved here from Georgia. So is there some special trick to this thing?”
Georgia laughed. “You must be new here! It’s a waiting game.”
As the snowflakes drifted around them, Emma let her shoulders drop. She hadn’t realized how tense they had been since arriving at the mountain. The two traded stories as they waited for the shop to restock. Georgia told Emma all about her antique store finds and gave her tips to find the best breakfast sandwich this side of the Mississippi. Emma told Georgia about the long trip to the mountain and the nice old woman she met who encouraged her not to give up on Alice’s shop. Before they knew it, dusk had fallen on the mountain.
“I’m glad you didn’t give up.” Georgia said. “It’s a lot easier waiting here when you have a friend with you.”
Emma smiled and hugged her. Suddenly, the sound of a bell rang through the air. The door swung open and Alice stepped into view, her eyes bright with mischief. “I’m so glad you waited. Come and take your pick.”
The friends followed Alice into her shop. The room was plain but neat, with shelves lining the far wall. The lantern light danced across rows of dark-blue bags sitting on shelves, each stitched with a golden question mark. Emma gasped and brushed a hand on the nearest silk bag. Behind her, Alice cleared her throat. “Not to rush you or anything, but you have about a minute left before I close up shop again…”
Emma snatched the bag and clutched it to her chest. “Georgia,” she called out, “Let’s open it together.”
“Okay! One… two… three!” They shook the bags out to reveal the same blue book.
“Oh, what a find!” Alice cried. “You can’t find this book anywhere else in the world. I have an exclusive deal with the author, who self-publishes out of Vermont.”
“Want to read it together?” Georgia asked, turning to Emma.
“Let’s go!” Emma laughed, and they ran out into the falling snow.
Emma smiled to herself as the icy flakes melted on her cheeks. She had gotten her treasure in the end, sure, but the greatest prize was the friend she made by simply slowing down and savoring the moment.
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* little gray bunny pictured, my tiny man George *