The wind whistled through the grass and my grip grew tighter, it pulled my jacket around my body, but it did little to protect me from the cold. I had a strong urge to rub my hands to get rid of the numb, empty feeling, but I wasn't willing to let go of the jacket.

The soft sigh alerted me to him before his voice did.

"You're going to catch a cold, and then I'll have to drag you home through the snow again. Just what makes the snow so fascinating that you have to sit in it every time it sticks?" A heavy leather jacket was thrown on my head, and I was surprised enough to let go of my jacket and pull it on. A soft sigh of relief escaped me as it brought much appreciated warmth, but silence reigned after that.

". ..And when are you finally going to answer that question?"

My eyes involuntarily lifted to meet his concerned brown ones, but I swiftly ducked my head again and gave a small shake. He wouldn't understand.

He sighed again; it seemed we were doing that a lot ever since the snow came this year. It never brought him this much anxiety before.

He leaned down and brushed off the snow before sitting. My eyes were still averted, but I could feel his gaze on me. I occupied myself with brushing some snow off my knee, as I thought it over. There wasn't really any reason why I didn't just tell him, but then again, there was. After so many times trying to explain it to my friends, and just have them nod and smile, I didn't really think anyone would understand. It frustrated me when I tried to emphasize just how amazing it was, but no one really got it I figured out quickly it was better just not to try.

My brother was still watching me, and when I didn't answer, he said, "C'mon. You don't know I won't understand until you try. And even if I don't, at least I'll know how important it is to you, and I could try to understand. If it's so big that you end up staring at it whenever it falls, I want in on the awesomeness."

I gave a small smile, but I still wasn't sure. "I..."

"Yes?" He encouraged me with a smile.

"...The snow...it's white." At his confused face, I quickly looked down again, ashamed.

"No, no! Don't do that! Keep explaining!" His words quickly rushed out.

"W-well..."I glanced back up, and he was staring eagerly."...Snow...It's something that we don't create. The earth just has the ability to make snow out of ice, and...it's kind of like it's alive. When the snow falls from the sky, it's pure, like a baby. It doesn't have any cares; no rules to follow and no conformities to conform to. But when it touches the ground, it...it becomes chained to the earth. It becomes grounded and tainted, like we do when we grow up. When we grow up, we stop getting amazed at everything, and no one really means it when they do say 'Wow!' We end up confined by other's ideas, beliefs, and rules so much that we can't quite just imagine for once. Then, when the snow finally melts, it falls back into the earth, just like when we die. It's like life the way it was meant to be. When I have the choice to stare at this instead of our feeble lives, why wouldn't I?"

I took a deep breath, and looked up at my brother. He seemed thoughtful for a moment, before he spoke. "...I think I understand what you mean. And it is beautiful and amazing. But there's one contradiction here."

I must have looked surprised, because he gave a small laugh and explained. "Snow, however life like, doesn't live, like we do. Or like animals and plants do. Snow is so easily ruined, so momentary, but you're putting us humans down too much. Certainly not all humans are grounded, confined, and don't mean it when they say 'Wow!' And I know this, because you certainly aren't, I mean, I could clearly tell you were absolutely enraptured in the snow in your explanation!" My eyes were wide and I was shocked, but he wasn't finished. "Snow doesn't quite experience the emotions we have. Like, dislike, anger, happiness, envy, relief, and love. They don't have families or friends. They don't have older brothers, and they don't have dinners waiting for them."

He gave me a wide smile. "They don't have a life to get back to, like you do."

I was still surprised, slowly processing his words as he pulled me up. He started leading me back home with that big smile still plastered on his face. "Snow really is amazing, and it really is blindingly beautiful. But nothing beats life and the things we create in life."

As we walked through the snow, a pure white that could never be achieved in life, something popped up in my mind. I whispered softly, "The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show." A smile graced my lips; I already knew which path I was taking.

The road of life.