Winter Wishes of the Heart by Ashley Uzzell

Author:Ashley Uzzell [Uzzell, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Winter, Holidays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, young adult, short stories
Publisher: naturechild02
Published: 2017-11-30T05:00:00+00:00

What We Built

“Can’t we go sledding soon?”

“Yeah, yeah, in a bit.” Rory rolled his eyes in his overdramatic way. “I swear, kid, babysitting you is such a pain.”

“It’s not babysitting if you’re having fun, too!” Michael insisted in a high-pitched voice. It was the same old conversation between the brothers and Michael knew that Rory was only giving him a hard time. The boy might be twelve now, and two inches taller since the summer at that, but Michael knew he still enjoyed playing with his little brother. Even if he hated admitting it. Sometimes, he just liked to argue and bicker for the heck of it. Mom said Rory was going through a “stage” or something that Michael didn’t really understand.

As they trudged along, Michael slipped on some ice hidden under the snow, his ankle sliding sideways and throwing him off balance. His arms windmilled for a moment before Rory reached out and grabbed his elbow, stopping his slow fall. Once he regained his balance and his eyes went from ostrich egg size to normal again, Michael glanced up, flashing his brother a grateful smile. Rory smiled back briefly, then continued trekking through the snow, his eyes ever alert, ever searching for the perfect spot.

Yes, his brother still cared about him. Michael should never doubt that.

“There,” Rory finally called out, pointing.

“It’s almost the same spot as last year,” Michael said.

“Hey, a good spot is a good spot!”

Michael didn’t argue, but dropped the worn pack on his shoulder and began rummaging through the contents. Rory had already gotten to work packing a snowball in his hands. While the small boy laid out the floppy hat, brown scarf and gloves, and pieces of coal, the taller boy with unruly black hair rolled his snowball along the ground. As Rory collected and packed more snow, Michael began his own snowball. After a few moments of only the sounds of crunching snow and the harsh wind whipping through the nearby trees, Michael spoke.

“How come we don’t walk down to Clayton’s store anymore?”

“Well, I’m always doing other stuff. It’s not that I don’t want to. I’m just busy.”

“Not really. You just like hanging out with your friends more now.”

Rory sighed and looked up from his work, locking his brown eyes with Michael’s hazel ones. “It’s not that I don’t like to hang out with you anymore. It’s just... well... I have other things I’m into now.”

Michael wrinkled his tiny nose. “Yeah, like girls. That’s all that you and Tommy talk about. I don’t see what the big fuss is.”

His brother’s brow furrowed at that and Michael knew he was thinking hard. “Well,” Rory said slowly, “When you get older, girls get prettier. No, wait, that’s not right. I mean, they are always pretty. But, I guess you just notice it more as you get older. It’s hard to explain.”

“Obviously.” Michael threw out the word he heard his mother use often, proud that he knew what it meant and could use it properly. Rory laughed.

“Yeah, things get more complicated as you get older.

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