Winter Wonderland

“Olivia wake up!” Olivia opened her eyes and after a second, quickly jumped out of bed to look out her window. Heavy snow blanketed the ground. Olivia smiled. Perfect. “Olivia are you up? We’ll be leaving soon!” “Coming!” Olivia cried running downstairs to eat breakfast. Today was one day she couldn’t be running late…Are you excited? Olivia‘s mom asked as they drove to the landing strip. “I am” Olivia said smiling. “I’ve missed my cousin.” “I know. I wish we lived closer.” “Me too” Olivia agreed. And it wasn’t just so she could see her cousin more often, but for the aesthetic as well. Well here we are Olivia’s mom said pulling into the space. There were a few people already there waiting for other friends or family to arrive. Olivia‘s grandpa owned a flight service and was more than happy to go and pick up his other granddaughter. “They’re here they’re here!” Olivia cried recognizing her grandpa’s plane. “Be careful” Olivia her mom reminded as she got out of the car. “I will!” Olivia ran over and stood next to the other people as the plane’s engines started shutting off. A few minutes later, the door opened to reveal a girl with long black hair and big brown eyes. She looked nothing like Olivia but somehow they were related. “Malia!” Olivia cried waving. Malia noticed her and smiled. She grabbed her suitcase and walked down the plane steps and over to her cousin. “Hello Malia” Olivia said feeling a bit shy all of a sudden. “Aloha Olivia” Malia greeted. “Ua haʻo wau iā ʻoe” (I missed you) she said putting a lei around Olivia‘s neck. Olivia sniffed it. “Mmm. It still smells fresh.” Malia smiled. “I’m glad.” “Come on girls” Olivia’s mom said. “Let’s get in the car. I don’t want Malia to freeze. She’s not use to winter.” “No I’m not, but I’m excited to experience winter for the first time.” “Me too! I’ll show you all the fun things you can do in the winter.” “I look forward to it.” Both of the girls waved goodbye to their grandpa before getting into the nice warm car. “Where are we going first?” Malia asked. “I thought we would go home and get you settled then we’ll see” Olivia’s mom said. “Okay. My dad says hi by the way.” “I hope my brother has been staying out of trouble.” Malia smiled. “He tries.” “How have you been?” Olivia asked. “Good” Malia said but Olivia could tell she was distracted. Olivia looked out the window to see what was so important than realized it was the snow. Malia had never seen snow. “Don’t worry” she told her cousin. We’ll be playing out in the snow every day. “I hope so! I’m so excited. Hawaii is nice, but I’ve always wanted to experience winter.” “Well now you have the chance and I promise this is going to be the best winter ever!” Malia smiled. “I can’t wait.”

“What are we doing today?” Malia asked over a breakfast of sugary cereal. “We’re going sledding.” “Sledding?” “Yah. You get on something called a sled and slide down a snowy hill.” “Oh. That sounds fun.” “It is. I have a bright red sled that’s super-fast.” “I can’t wait” Malia said up for anything...After properly getting dressed, Olivia’s mom dropped the girls off at the common sledding hill. Many other kids were already sledding and Olivia couldn’t wait to join in on the fun. Malia looked excited as well. “Let’s go!” Olivia said as her and Malia got out of the car. “Have fun!” Olivia’s mom called. I’ll be back in an hour. The girls waved before heading to the hill. “This looks a bit steep” Malia said looking down the hill. “I know, but the steeper then better.” “Is it safe?” Olivia asked. “Not really, but most safe things aren’t as fun, like surfing.” “True” Malia agreed. “Let’s do this then” Olivia said sitting down on her sled. Malia sat down behind her. “Hold on!” Olivia instructed as she pushed off. Malia held on tightly as they flew down the hill. Both girls yelled loudly but Malia was definitely the loudest. “Was that fun?” Olivia asked when they finally stopped. “Yes! It was like a roller coaster! I want to do it again!” Olivia laughed. “Let’s do it then!” After an hour both girls were cold and tired but went one last time while Olivia’s mom looked on. After a nice lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, the girls took a long nap. Afterwards they watched some more movies. “What are we doing tomorrow?” Malia asked. “Ice skating” Olivia said excitedly. “That seems hard.” “It is, but I’ll help you and we’ll take it slow. It’ll be okay.” “Okay.” “It’ll be worth it when you can successful skate around the rink. Trust me.” “I do and I do love roller skating.” Well, it’s kind of the same thing, just more slippery and colder of course.” “Well, as long as we do it together I’m sure it’ll be fine.” “It will be. I promise.”

The next day the girls got ready for their ice skating adventure. Olivia already had skates but they would have to rent some for Malia. She also borrowed safety padding from Olivia’s roller skating equipment. “I’m going to look ridiculous” Malia complained. “But you’ll be safe” Olivia’s mom said. “I have to bring you back to your parents in one piece.” Malia sighed. I guess... When they reached the rink, there were already people there. “Are you sure about this?” Malia asked. Olivia. “Of course. It’s not like we could get the rink to ourselves. It’ll be fine. Relax.” The girls went inside and paid the money for Malia’s skates for one hour. Then they hit the rink. Malia naturally stumbled but Olivia held her up as Malia had refused to use the skate trainer. After a while though, Malia got the hang of it and Olivia let go to skate by her side. “You’re getting this” Olivia said encouragingly. “I think I am!” Malia said excitedly. By the end of the hour, both girls were skating freely. When Olivia’s mom showed up, Malia was actually disappointed. “Just when I was getting the hang of it” she said as she took off her skates. “We can come back” Olivia said. “You’re still here for three more days.” “Yes, but only two full days. I’m leaving the sixth day.” Olivia shrugged. “We’ll figure something out.” “Okay.”

After a quick lunch of McDonalds, the girls spent the rest of the day playing video games. The next day they were going on a sleigh ride. “Like the song?” Malia asked. “Exactly like the song. My uncle owns a farm and takes me on a ride every year.” “I cain’t wait!” Malia said excitedly… It was a little bit of a drive over to the farm but the time was passed by having a karaoke session in the car. Here we are Olivia’s mother eventually said. “It’s so pretty” Malia said taking in the barn. “Yah. Just wait till you see the inside.” “What’s on the inside?” “The horses. They’re the best part.” “Have fun you two” Olivia‘s mom said. “Tell your uncle hi for me Olivia.” “Will do!” “I’ve never been on a farm before” Malia said. “They’re great!” “Where’s our uncle?” Malia asked. “I don’t know. Let’s go find him”…Their uncle turned out to be in the barn. He was attending to the horses. When the girls begged for a sleigh ride, he happily laughed and agreed. He hitched up a dapple grey to the sleigh and settled the girls comfortably inside with multiple blankets. “Ready?”He called out. “Ready!” They echoed back. The sleigh ride was so pretty and Malia took in every sight she could. 20 minutes later they returned. The girl’s uncle said they could go inside or before that, ice-skating on the pond if they wished. “A real pond?” Malia asked her eyes wide. “Yes. It’s been frozen for days now.” “We don’t have skates” Olivia said. “I have a couple pairs in the barn. I’ll grab them for you.” “Thank you!” Malia said excitedly. Once they were laced up, the girls spent the rest of the hour on the ice. They were both exhausted when Olivia’s mom came to pick them up. They quickly fell asleep in the car but woke up long enough for a bowl of soup and bread before continuing their nap.

The next day the girls spent their last day together out playing in the snow. They made snow angles, built snowman and even a snow fort. They engaged the other kids in the neighborhood to an all-out snowball fight. Malia laughed and couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun. She would miss this new winter wonderland.... “I don’t want you to go home” Olivia said sullenly the next day. “But I have to” Malia said laughing. “How else am I going to get over this cold?” “Yeah, I’m sorry you got it.” “That’s all right. It was definitely worth it. I do miss the warmth though.” “I can’t blame you for that. I love the seasons but it does get pretty cold here.” “You girls ready to go?” Olivia’s mother asked. Olivia sighed. “I guess.” Malia laughed again. “Let’s go” she said pulling a reluctant Olivia down the stairs... Olivia waved sadly goodbye to her cousin as she boarded the plane. She wished she could go with her, especially since school was starting in a few days. “You’re going to see her again next winter break” Olivia‘s mom reminded as they drove home. “And it’ll be in Hawaii!” Olivia smiled. “That’ll be nice. I just hope she enjoyed her first winter.” “I’m sure she did. She got to spend it with you and nothing could be better than that.” Suddenly Olivia’s phone beeped. Malia had sent her a picture of them with their snowman from yesterday. Can’t wait to do it again! Cousin! She had texted below the image. Olivia smiled. Me neither!