First snow Fairy Tale

- Dauren, look out the window, is it snowing? - asked Saule, whose pain had worsened, with a heavy sigh.

- No, it hasn't started yet. The sky is overcast, so it probably will.

- I have waited so long for the white snow. Why hasn't it come early this year? Bound to the bed, Saule reflected on her past. When a person's soul is in torment, memories of their carefree youth, wasted time, and neglect of their health come flooding back. Do the things they have done and the wealth they have earned with their hard work ever leave a person's mind? The fleeting moments of this false life also come to mind. The brightest moment of her life flashed by like a familiar movie reel. Here she is, dressed in a white hat, a white coat, wrapped in a white scarf, wearing white boots, a beautiful girl with dark eyes, holding the quickly melting snow in her hands, marveling at it... Just like a snow fairy.

- Saule, I know you love winter. But you especially adore the first snow, right? - Dauren said, trying to comfort his wife.

- Has it started snowing? - Saule asked again. Dauren, warming himself by the roaring stove, looked out the window.

- Saule, it has started snowing!

- Help me get up. I want to see the first snow with my own eyes. Dauren assisted his beloved out of bed. The dawn had broken. A slight breeze blew between the earth and sky. The sky seemed shrouded in mist. The beloved white snow rushed down from the heavens, kissing the earth, expressing its longing. Some snowflakes floated gently, as if whispering to the trees stripped bare by the autumn wind, enveloping them in fluffy white. The pale sky, as if scattering the white feathers of a cloud, quickly began to cover the dark earth with a white shroud.

- How beautiful is the first snowfall! When it snows heavily, my soul is filled with joy, and my surroundings are bathed in beauty. It gives me a special strength.

- Yes, just like our childhood dreams.

- You don’t understand anything, Dauren! The white snow is the divine light that has fallen upon people. In my childhood, I would cup my hands to catch the first snow and look up at the sky, praying to the Creator. Dauren glanced at his wife. It felt as if someone else was sitting beside him. The snowflakes danced around him, touching his body and quickly melting away.

- Interesting? So what do you wish for?

- I wish for people on this earth to be kind and forgiving to one another. Every year, when the white snow falls, I pray to the Creator that, like this first snow, people's hearts might be pure and their souls might shine bright.

- We have been living together under one roof for many years. But I still don’t understand you. Once, on a day off, it snowed heavily. I was reading a book at home, and I was amazed to see you floating in the air, waiting with your palms outstretched for the freshly fallen snow, looking up at the sky. At that moment, I just shook my head and chuckled. Saule, hiding her worsening illness, involuntarily smiled. Though a mysterious joy was evident on her face, her thoughtful eyes were filled with sorrow.

- Even if I spend my whole life with you, I can never understand you. Are you really this whimsical? Or have you lost your mind?

- No, not at all. I told you, this white snow is a blessing from the Creator. Perhaps it is also a warning. What do people think of the white snow? That interests me. We think about our daily struggles every day. What does the white snow remind us of? If only the heart of the world were like my heart. Though my wishes may be pure, I cannot say my heart is clean. That is why I worship. You know, I dream of white snow, and I walk in pure light. - Are you out of your mind?! What are you saying? We live in a place where the four seasons come in turn. It snows every winter, doesn’t it? You call it a blessing? Tomorrow, people will trample the white snow underfoot and soil the earth.

- That’s true. But the white snow reminds us of virtue, even if just for a moment. The patient earth silently absorbs all the sins of the world. I am upset about one thing. We could not have children. It feels like our lives have been in vain...

- Yes, that is true. We are passing through this world without offspring, - Dauren sighed deeply.

- I used to dream of having a child. When I learned from the doctor that I could not bear children, I wished for many children in every Kazakh family. If we had had a child, he would also joyfully play in the first snow, wishing good for people...

- Understand, Saule! We are only two. Why do you keep saying this? There is no one else to wish like you.

- I believe that for wishing good upon people, I will soon be honored. Only faith and hope drive us forward. This white snow seems to convey a message to me. Can’t you see? Light is falling upon us from above. We should be like that too. Dauren looked around. He saw snowflakes gracefully landing on the people walking on the street, merging into light. He knew that people would see the blessings of the divine light in spring.

- Come on, my Saule, let’s go inside. You’re getting cold, - Dauren said affectionately to his wife.

- The white snow isn’t going anywhere.

- Let’s stay a little longer. How wonderful it is to be bathed in pure light! I want to live. The old man chuckled softly, then supported his ailing wife and they entered the house. ...This year, once again, the first snow began to fall heavily. By this time, Dauren had grown very old, weak, and he was coughing in a cold house. In his dreams, the white snow appeared. Through the gentle white light, his beloved Saule waved at him, calling him. The old man woke up, opened his eyes, and felt his body was cold, trembling from the chill. There was no one alive beside him. Looking out the window, he saw that dawn had broken. It was snowing. His yearning for life awoke, and he wanted to go outside to breathe the fresh air. He wished to raise his palms to the owner of the white snow. But he could not lift his frail, wrinkled, and lifeless hands. He felt a deep regret, as if it were a dream to grasp the quickly melting snow with his hands. At that moment, warm tears flowed down the old man's cheeks, comforting him. After a while, his eyelashes barely moved. His face was filled with calm tranquility. ...The white snow was still falling. Yet, no one came out of the house to wish.