“And you go here!” Velvet announced as she placed the last piece of decoration onto the display.

She loved decorating for the solstice as it reminded her of her childhood. Velvet walked over to the boxes that held bits and bobs from previous years. One of them caught her eye, it was a beautiful brooch she got from her mother one year. She pulled the pin out of the box, it was a Gladiolus flower with a Peridot stone in the center.



“What is it doing THERE?!” She wondered how something so important to her wound up in a junk box like that.

Velvet shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t believe she was so careless with her belongings. The sight of brooch got her thinking of the day she got it.



Velvet jumped out of her bed with excitement as she ran over to her calendar and marked off the first day of Solstice.

"It's finally here!" She mumbled to herself quietly.

She twirled around to the sound of the creaking door. It was her mother.Velvet was thrilled to see her up already as well. Ever since Mother got ill her sleep was inconsistent, when she was up in the early dawn it meant she was feeling well.

“Mama!” She leaped over to hug her.

“Happy Solstice!” Velvet tightened her grip as she whispered into her ear.

“Happy Solstice Honeybun!” Her mom kissed her on the forehead.

“Come let’s get ready for our day! I’ll do your hair.” Her mother proclaimed.

The two walked over to the vanity area where Velvet sat on the chair and let her mother do her thing. She closed her eyes and sat motionless as her mother brushed her hair. The soft touch of her hands and brush strokes sent warm tingly feelings down her body. She could sit there all day like this. It was her favorite thing in the world.

Velvet helped her mom pick out an outfit as she loved to dress everyone up. She loved her mother's closet and dreamt of owning beautiful clothing like her when she grew up.
Once they were all dressed they made their way outside, where they realized that it had snowed so much last night that they couldn’t possibly leave the property. The road wasn’t visible and it would take hours to shovel the path.

Velvet felt tears roll down her cheeks. She was so excited for this day and now it's ruined by the snow.

“Oh sweetie.” Her mother crouched down to be face to face with her.

“Don’t worry! We’ll make the most of it at home, let’s go make some Hot Chocolate!” She explained as she wiped away her tears.

Velvet’s face light up at the mention of Hot Chocolate. Back inside they had changed in cozy warm pajamas and made their way to the kitchen where they prepared everything for the recipe.

“Milk, cocao, marshmallows, whip cream, sprinkles, and cookies!” Velvet announced as she looked at the table of ingredients.

She watched her mother boil the milk slowly as she sat on the counter waiting for her cue to dump in the cocao. With their team work they were able to put together the most delicious looking hot chocolate.

While they were making the hot chocolate, it had started snowing again. The two had made their way to the bench next to the window where they snuggled together to drink their hot chocolate and watch the snow. It was as if from a fairy tale. There was so much snow that you could barely make out anything in the distance. The sun was shining down into their direction causing the snow to sparkle like a valley of crystals. Velvet sat back into her mother's arms. She wished this moment would never end.

"I have something for you!" Her mother exclaimed as she took off into her room.

She walked out with a beautiful brooch in her hand.

"I want you to have this. It's been in our family for many centuries and in case I..." She stopped herself from saying the worst thing in the world to her. Velvet was too young to understand that her illness is not treatable and that she didn't have long on this earth. But this was Velvet's special day and she wanted to remember this Solstice day with her mother as she used to.



Velvet smiled at the thought of her mother trying to protect her from the truth, it was years later that she found out what the doctors had told them a couple of days before Solstice. She understood why they obviously didn't want to tell a 6 year old, but deep down she wished she could have spent every second with her knowing that her days are numbered.


art by Q t e a p o n

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