Once morning rose, the first sunbeams shone upon her face, slowly making Lorelei open her eyes. She got off the bed and seemed a little disturbed until she remembered the events of the previous night.
Voices could be heard laughing outside in the distance. Lorelei went over to the window to take a peek at what could be the source of those laughs. She saw Maria and Silvia together in the cabbage field. There were big baskets laying down on the ground. Maria ran around while Silvia, laughing, watched her go on.
Lorelei glanced over at her bed and pulled the glove from where she had hidden it last night, under the pillow. She looked at it for a while before wearing it. It was hard to put on since she could only manage with a single hand, but after struggling, she finally managed to get the glove on her hand.
She then made her way to the door and went down the staircase; everything seemed so different from what she was used to. The table was well furnished, the chairs well arranged and properly dispersed around the table, the couch, filled with dolls and toys that seemed to be holding each other by the hand, making a merry-go-round circle. Lorelei seemed to be drawn by the dolls, so she got closer to take a look at them.
At that moment, the door creaked open, letting Maria's silhouette peek through until she got in the house carrying a basket full of cabbage. She saw Lorelei's hand reaching for the dolls on the couch. Lorelei quickly pulled it back.
''It's fine, you can have them if you want to play with them! Oh! I have an even better idea, how about you come play with us outside, and when we come back at night, we can play with the dolls!''
Lorelei shook her head in agreement, and Maria went through a back door that seemed to be where the cabbage was stored and dropped the basket there.
She then came out, closing the door behind her, and went through another room, bringing back with her a pair of boots and a big, fluffy-looking jacket. Maria went over to Lorelei and helped her put on the boots and the coat. At first, Lorelei was startled by what Maria was doing. Did she really deserve those? Did she really deserve to feel warm? Did she really have the right to live comfortably? All those questions went through her head while Maria was helping her put them on.
''Here! With those, you will feel warmer. Even though spring is almost here, it's still pretty cold outside, you know?''
Lorelei stared at her. She didn't know how she should reply to Maria, so once again she stayed quiet. She didn't understand why they were so kind to her. She thought to herself that she didn't deserve to be given such warmth and kindness, but she remembered that when someone does something nice to us, we must…
''ThAnK yOu MaRiA.''
Maria smiled and dragged her by the hand through the front door. Once they were out, she turned towards Lorelei.
''Are you ready?''
Lorelei could see the excitement in her eyes as if little sparks were being lit up, and before she could even answer, Maria grabbed her hand and ran downhill at an exhilarating speed. Lorelei was surprised by how fast Maria was able to run, but the wind blowing on her face didn't leave her the time to speak out those thoughts. Just like Maria said, it was cold outside, but at the same time, the warm beams from the sun tracing her face all the way back to her neck with heat, as well as the cold breeze heated by the sun, blowing through her hair, was exciting for her. The sound of the thick snow beneath her feet getting smushed at every step she took made her feel like she wasn't even running on the ground anymore. She was letting herself be guided by the warm body in front of her. At that moment, she let go of everything; she felt like she was flying. Her little dream was interrupted by Maria, who had fallen, dragging her down with her. Soon enough, they were rolling downhill at an even faster speed than they began running with. They were both screaming in terror until they reached the bottom of the hill.
They were both covered in snow from head to toes. Maria looked at Lorelei, and Lorelei looked back at Maria at the sight of each other, they laughed. For the first time since she had been with them, she had finally laughed. The two girls then got up and walked towards the field hand in hand.
Once they arrived, she saw Silvia, who greeted her with a warm smile.
''Goodmorning Lorelei, did you sleep well?''
Lorelei shook her head in approval.
''GoodmOrNing SiLviA, YeS I dID.''
Pronouncing their names was yet to be something she had learnt, but she tried her best to. Silvia told them that their quota for today will be to fill at least 3 baskets worth of cabbage.
While Silvia was talking and showing Lorelei how she should pick the cabbage, Lo received a snowball right on her back. She turned around to see Maria holding even more snowballs in her hands, already preparing to throw another one at her.
Lorelei started running through the field while Maria was chasing her with the snowballs.
''Come here! I'm going to get you!''
Lorelei ran and ran until she was out of Maria's range. She then bent to pick up the snow at her feet and squashed it together, making a not-so-perfect snowball that she threw at Maria, almost hitting her.
''Nice shot! But you will have to do better to beat me!''
Maria then picked up more snow and threw it at Lorelei, hitting her on the arm and the leg. At her turn, Lorelei picked more snow; this time, she was able to mold the snow into something that somewhat resembled a ball. She threw it with all her strength at Maria. The snowball landed right on Maria's face, bullseye!
With her face covered with snow, Maria laughed, and seeing her laugh, Lorelei also did.
The two kept exchanging snowballs until sunset, forgetting that they had to pick the cabbages into the basket.
Silvia sneaked up behind the girls and made a coughing sound to get their attention.
''I think you guys are forgetting something, no?''
Maria and Lorelei froze; they slowly turned around.
''It's already evening?'' , Maria screamed
''Yup, already evening.'' , Silvia repeated
Maria and Lorelei realized what they had done, rather what they hadn't done. The two girls slowly walked to Silvia with their heads down.
''SorrY sIlVia...''
''Sorry, mother...''
At the sight of the two, Silvia chuckled while patting their heads.
''It's fine, we'll do that tomorrow.'' , she said in a soft voice.
The two jumped in happiness and ran around playing a little more until Silvia told them to get back inside.
Once they got back in, they all ate dinner together and shortly after went back to their respective rooms.
A while after Lorelei got into her bed, the door creaked open, letting a figure pass through. It was Maria this time holding two teddy bears in her hands. She went up to Lorelei, who had already gotten up after seeing Maria enter. She handed the teddy bear to Lorelei.
''Here! This is for you! I had too many anyway, I want you to have it!''
Lorelei took the teddy bear and held it close to her chest.
''No STorY tOnIGht?'', she asked.
Maria thought about it for a while and told Lorelei to follow her.
Together, they went to Silvia's room and knocked on the door. After Silvia opened the door, she saw the two dragging their teddy bears inside onto her bed, asking for a bedtime story.
She chuckled, looking at them pleading for it, and went to the shelf to grab one of the books she had. She then got into bed and covered them both with a soft, warm blanket. The two girls got comfortable in the blanket before Silvia opened the book.