Vaughn sat by the fire in Valentina's workshop, watching her work away at a little pet project of hers. It was an enormous sleigh with all sorts of gizmos and gadgets which, knowing Valentina, did a variety of cool tricks. He gazed in fascination at her working on something so elaborate, thinking back to the sleigh he built himself and had ridden on many snowy Solstice days.
- - -
With Solstice comes a lot of traditions and activities that spark joy in everyone. One such activity that most children looked forward to was rushing up the snowy hills with their new toy sleds. Joyful laughter could be heard in every direction as children raced down the hills and landed in piles of soft, powdery snow.
For Vaughn, sledding was his most favorite memory of the past Solstice seasons. It felt like flying, especially on large hills that allowed the kids to perform small tricks on snow banks.
While parents sat nearby watching out for their young ones, the kids all gathered together to discuss the rules for their upcoming race.
Vaughn took a deep breath and raised his hand, revealing his index finger. "Rule Number One! No cheating! I'm looking at you, Marty!" A young, red nosed boy sniffled and looked down at his shoes in shame. "It was one time, Vaughn!"
"Rule Number Two!" Vaughn shouted, ignoring Marty's plea of innocence. "You gotta reach the end without crashing! If you crash, you're disqualified!"
A young girl with poofy blond hair and big, round glasses exclaimed, "But Vaughn, we're kids! We're probably gonna crash! That's a dumb rule."
Vaughn rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, Marie, you guys can crash. But just don't get in the way of the others!"
"One last rule! The most important rule of all, so pay attention!" All the kids grouped closer around Vaughn, eager to hear the "most important rule."
"You gotta... ride all the way down the hill..." The kids bobbed up and down impatiently waiting. "Blindfolded!"
Shouts of protest came from all the kids at Vaughn's last rule. "B-but that's not safe Vaughn, we could really get hurt!" one of the kids nervously explained.
Vaughn stared at them in all seriousness for a minute... then burst into laughter. "I'm just teasing you all! The last rule is obviously to just have fun! That's what Solstice Sledding is about!"
Marty, the kid earlier accused of cheating, looked puzzled. "I thought the point was to win?"
The other kids rolled their eyes and laughed, turning to rush up the hill and take their places. Vaughn made sure they were all lined up and ready with their sleds, then started the countdown. "Alright everybody! On my go! One... Two... Three... GO!" Everyone clamored down the hill, their hearts and minds suddenly filled with happiness, determination to win a race long forgotten.
Vaughn stayed back, deciding not to start with the others so he could enjoy the hill all by himself. Pure glee lit up his face as he hurtled towards the bottom of the hill, the chilly wind stinging his face.
- - -
A loud clang brought Vaughn back to present time. "Valentina? What was that?" He looked around and couldn't see her so he got up to inspect the sleigh. She wasn't in there either, so she must have left and made the noise as she was leaving. He took a slight peek in the sleigh, smiling at the genius that was Valentina's invention. If only he'd had a sleigh like this when he was a kid...
Shaking his head, Vaughn chuckled and sat back down by the fire.
Art by Saeyra
Tumbleweed
