The Frozen Lake

Livi gazed upon the calm, fast-falling, snow. It had begun an hour before and with each passing minute, the usually graceful flakes fell more intensely. Livi thought to herself that it resembled the Blizzard of 1978, a topic that she had mastered because of her "snow obsession". She loved snow. Especially when it caused a White Christmas, like Livi was confident it would this year. Today held the place of December 23, which meant that there were hardly 2 days until that awaited day came. And if the forecast was correct this time, she would get her wish. Livi resided on a small farm with her mother and younger sister, Maci. Maci was only 4 years old, 5 years younger than her sister. She loved snow as much, that's for sure. They would go out together in the white ambience and play for hours, until their fingers were so cold, they were unmovable. It was a tradition, and nothing could prevent the sisters from taking part in it. Livi could hear Maci singing, loudly, happily, and very off-key. "I LOVE SNOW! I LOVE SNOW! I LOVE SNOW!" The lyrics were more drawn out with each verse. Livi giggled at her sister but quickly stifled her laugh as Maci pranced into the room, continuing her song. "Hi Liviiiiiiii!" Is it snowing lots and lots yet?" She skipped over to the window seat where Livi was perched and climbed up to sit by her. "No more than it was last time you asked," Livi replied, amused. "Which was 5 minutes ago.  She finished. Her sister had bounded excitedly into the room every 5 minutes since it began snowing to check on its progress. "Oh." Maci said, disappointed. "I'll check back soon, Livi." "I know you will" Livi responded playfully. She watched her sister leave the room fondly. After watching the snow for another minute, Livi stood and stretched, and, realizing that she was very hungry, wandered into the kitchen. The kitchen was quite small, as was the entire house. But the family found it comfortable this way, and did not complain about the size. Livi found her mother sitting at the kitchen table, lost in a stack of papers. "Mom?" Livi questioned. Her mother looked up from her work and displayed a weary, but kind smile. "What is it, honey?" She stood and sifted through the papers, searching for something. "Can I have a snack?" Livi wondered timidly. She was not the least bit scared of her mother, but did not want to aggravate her, for Mrs. Wagner was very busy. "Sure, honey. There should be something in the fridge you can have." Mrs. Wagner replied, still searching through the papers. "Okay." Livi turned towards the refrigerator, then turned back to her mom. "What are you looking for, Mom?" "Oh, just my phone. I keep misplacing it." Mrs. Wagner stood and sighed. Opening her purse to continue the search there, she looked up at Livi and saw the concerned look on her daughter's face. Livi bent down to assist her mother's search. She looked all around the workspace where her mother had been sitting. Then she saw the phone in a surprising place. "Mom!" Livi caught her mother's attention. Your phone is in your pocket!" Mrs. Wagner looked at Livi, surprised. She reached into her pocket and, sure enough, pulled out the missing phone! "Well, it is, isn't it?" She declared, staring at it with a baffled look on her fatigued face. "Its been here all along and I didn't even notice it!" Mrs. Wagner stood and thanked Livi. Just then, Maci bounded into the room with a big grin on her cheery face. "Hi Mommy, hi Livi!" She exclaimed with delight. "Guess what?" Maci spun around gaily. Livi shared an amused glance with her mother and then asked Maci, "What?" Maci spun even faster, her arms stretched out to catch the air rushing by, then stopped and shouted, "The pond is FINALLY frozen!!!" Livi rushed to the window seat and looked out over the farm. She saw the lake and sure enough, it was frozen solid! "Mom, come here!" Livi shouted. Maci, followed by Mrs. Wagner ran to the window and gaped at the wintry landscape. Livi and Maci had been anticipating the day when the lake froze for nearly 2 years now. It hadn't been this cold in what seemed like forever and the sisters were very enthusiastic to go out and play. "Can we go, can we go?" Maci begged eagerly. "Alright." Their mother relented. "But don't forget to bundle up! It's cold out there!" The girls hurried to put their coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and rubber boots on. Before Mrs. Wagner could protest, they were scrambling happily down the snowy hill towards the lake. When they got to the lake, they waited for their mother. Maci and Livi knew that she would be there soon, for they were not allowed to go by themselves.  Soon they saw her, struggling down the snow-covered hill. "Come on, Mommy!" Maci called impatiently. Mrs. Wagner hastened over to the girls and took Maci's hand. "Alright. I'm here," she said, smiling. The three headed towards the lake, Maci leading impatiently. When they arrived, Maci pulled away from her mother and scampered to the ice. "Wait, Maci! Let me test the ice!" Mrs. Wagner quickly went over to the icy water and put one foot onto the surface. She pressed harder and harder, until satisfied that it was safe. "Alright, it's safe!" She decided. Maci ran eagerly up to the edge, reached her hand out to her mother, and stepped onto the ice. "Yayyy!" Maci shouted happily. "Come on, Livi!"Livi stepped closer to the ice, then hesitated. "It's alright, Livi. It's safe. Just stay on the edge," Mrs. Wagner reassured her daughter. Livi took a deep breath and stepped forward. She lifted one foot slowly and placed it tentatively onto the surface of the lake. Stepping fully onto the ice, Livi smiled, no longer afraid. Here was the frozen lake. Her frozen lake.