“Hurry up!” Hebe snapped. “I want to go outside before it melts.” Snow was rare in Athenia, so rare that the eleven-year-old had never seen it before. She was afraid that if she didn’t go outside soon, it would be gone again. This winter was colder than any she had experienced. The young brunette had taken to dressing in a couple of himations over a peplos over a chiton, but she never seemed to get warm. The beautiful fall of snow she had seen from her window was worth all the discomfort.

Her servants were taking forever to wrap her in furs, but she tried to stay as still as possible. Hebe wanted to bounce up and down with excitement, though that would make the process even longer. What would it feel like when she stepped on it? Would it hold its shape or melt in her hands? Some friends of hers had been to Colchis and had described snow to her, but the reality was far better than the images her imagination had conjured up. It covered the ground in a blanket of shimmering white. It was if magic had transformed the world into a magnificent fantasy land.

As soon as the servants were done, Hebe ran out of her room as quickly as she was able in the thick furs she wore. They were so heavy she was afraid she might fall over and then how could she enjoy the snow? She didn’t really care if her sisters joined her or not. The young girl was accustomed to playing by herself. Sanasa was always off somewhere, and Marietta and Evi were hunched over books. She had learned to entertain herself.

As she was heading toward the door, she heard Marietta’s enthusiastic voice and turned toward her. It looked as if she wasn’t going to be alone after all, which made her even happier. “That’s where I’m heading,” she grinned as her sister grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.

Hebe gasped as the chill wind hit her face. It was freezing, but who cared when the snow was so splendid? Following behind Marietta, she saw the footsteps she left in the soft substance. Letting her sister's hand go, Hebe ran back and forth, laughing at all the small prints she made.

Impulsively, she lifted her head, opened her mouth, and stuck out her tongue. Cold flakes landed upon it and melted as soon as they touched. It was quite a pleasant sensation, though extremely chilly. While looking up, she noticed the ice hanging from the branches of the trees. They were shaped like elongated triangles and the edges looked really sharp, like knives made of crystal.

She was about to point them out to Marietta, but her sister started talking about making little men out of snow. Of course, her sister would think about art. She always did. It sounded like fun. “We can try,” she replied, bouncing ahead of her sister and jumping in the snow just because she could. Laughing in delight, Hebe spun around and around and around. Unfortunately, she lost her balance and fell on her back in the cold fluff. “Oops!” Surprisingly enough, it didn’t hurt at all.

Marietta laughed at her.

Usually, being laughed at would make Hebe mad, but it was kind of silly to fall in the snow. It was very cold, but soft like a blanket. Would there be a Hebe-shaped print in it when she got up? She was not really in any hurry. Lying in the snow was an interesting feeling.

Her sister laughed and couldn’t stop. Making a fool of herself was worth it if Marietta laughed. She was usually so serious, like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. It warmed the youngest Antonis girl’s heart to see her so happy. And her laughter was infections. Hebe began to laugh too. If Sanasa or Evi or their parents were to come home now, they would think they had gone insane.

When Hebe’s laughter subsided, Marietta extended a hand to help her up. Before she took it, she impulsively spread her legs and brought them together again while raising her arms from her sides to over her head. What would the Hebe-print look like now? “I’m not clumsy!” she insisted as Marietta assisted her to her feet. “I slipped.”

Looking down at the place where she had lain, her eyes widened. “Look Marietta! The indentation I left behind resembles a princess with wings! You should make one too!” Yes, her furs were wet now, but only on the outside. The inside was still warm.

Marietta still wanted to make a snow sculpture. Hebe helped her roll a small ball in a straight line, sighing in boredom until she saw how the ball was growing larger and larger as the snow stuck together. Finally her sister announced that it was big enough to be the base of the sculpture.

“I’m going to make another ball to put on top of this one, We should find decorations for it! Maybe one of the servants has some spare cloth we can make into a scarf! Maybe loose gems? We could give it a necklace! Or… or… what do you suggest, Hebe?”

Hebe tilted her head to the side. “I think we should only use things we find outside to decorate it with. That way it will be a completely natural sculpture.” Though she thought her idea was a good one, the motivation behind it was to avoid getting in trouble for taking things out of the house and ruining them in the cold and snow. Their parents would yell at them no matter how pretty the sculpture was.

Not wanting to be left out while Marietta rolled the second ball, she bent down and formed a small ball of her own, patting it with her freezing hands until it was round and perfect. What do I do with it now? With an impish grin, she drew back her arm and lobbed the snowball straight at her sister.

Hebe was glad that Marietta agreed with her idea to decorate the sculpture with items found in nature. Not only would they be spared a lecture from their parents, but if they took gems and expensive fabric out of the house, they would be stolen as soon as the sisters went inside.

It was unlikely that anyone would step on the Antonis property uninvited, but she knew firsthand that some of the slaves had sticky fingers. A few of them had been sold for stealing, though Hebe had never told on them herself. Nothing she had seen them take had been of value, just small objects that were easily replaced. Maybe it gave them comfort to have something of their own.

“I like that idea,” she said of her sister’s description of a person made of snow with stones for eyes and a mouth and sticks for arms. It didn’t sound silly to her at all. It was too bad that the trees were bare. Leaves would have made good hair for their snow person.

As usual, she became distracted and hurled her ball of snow at Marietta. Hebe laughed as it hit her on the back of the head. It took Marietta a moment before she figured out where it had come from. She wasn’t mad at all. To the young girl’s delight, she declared war, abandoning her sculpture to make a small ball which she then tossed at her. Hebe jumped out of its way, and stuck her tongue out. “Missed me! You’ll have to do better than that.”

By the time she had formed her second snowball, Marietta had disappeared. She’s hiding from me! If she hadn’t let her out of her sight, then she wouldn’t have been able to conceal herself so well. Hebe grinned and walked slowly around the area, every now and then stopping to add more snow to her weapon. This was like playing hide and seek, which she was quite good at because she could remember every child’s favorite hiding place no matter how long they went between games.

Oh! There was a bit of fur sticking out from behind a tree. Now she knew where Marietta was. There was no way she would be able to sneak behind her without being seen, so she ran toward her sister’s hiding place at full speed, ready to pitch her snowball as soon as Marietta emerged, assuming that she would.