Longing for Winter

Longing for Winter Written by Coco Illustrated by Bianca Rader It’s that time of the year again, my favorite season. Fall fades away, replaced by winter. Most of the trees are bare while some trees are still yet to shed their colorful leaves. I switch around the clothes in my closet, getting ready to wear thick layers including my favorite frog sweater. My dad turns on the heater, it will get colder. The day is getting shorter while the night is getting longer. I’m expecting snow, but what do I expect? It’s Cali and in Cali, it never snows. Well, except for that one time where it suddenly hailed. I remember back to 10th grade. I was in my 6th period class, English class. We were at our desk writing when someone outside screamed. We looked outside and it was hailing. My English teacher let us outside and we stood among the hail. The size of the hail was the size of the tip of a push it pin. After a few minutes, most of my classmates went inside. My English teacher said that we’re welcome to stay outside if we want. I stood outside among the hail before coming inside. Today, every now and then, I want it to snow or I want hail in Cali. Of course, this is impossible as the weather in Cali is usually warm, but one can dream. Beside snow, what’s the best part of winter? Hanging out with loved ones. I don’t care whether it’s shopping or eating out. There’s also the best part- Secret Santa exchange. I know what I’m going to get and the fun part is exchanging gifts. I get to know who’s going to give me my gift and I’ll see the person that I’ll give their gift to. After the gift exchange, we’ll hang out. Poets and Writers Coalition Winter 2022

Midwinter Mischief Magazine With the gift exchange done, I return home, surprised to see a filled plastic bag on the door knob and the present inside is for me. I walk in and lock the door behind me. Putting the gifts on a table, I turn on the heater before sinking into a rocking chair. Life is good. I spend the rest of the evening sitting there before I got ready for bed. Before going to sleep, I turn down the heater a bit. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but tomorrow is another story.