The Strange Phenomenon Of Yellow Snow

During the night a blanket of snow fell across the Texas plains, as I slumbered warm and cozy under my covers.

Snow in Texas is a rare phenomena indeed, so imagine my surprise opening the front door that crisp morning, as I gazed into the deep white abyss which lay quietly across my yard. It was perfect. Picture postcard perfect.

I was quickly driven back to reality by a gust of sub-zero wind, and barely managed to get my dogs out to do their business. They grumbled and grunted, but finally tip-toed through the frosty serenity to peruse their urgent and private matters. In a matter of minutes, my snow, yes it was my snow, was quickly re-decorated without a backward glance from my inconsiderate hounds.

Throughout the day, in and out they went, dutifully doing their business, as I sullenly watched. The picture perfect postcard in my mind slowly whirled and faded away, until the colors melted into a meaningless blur.

At bedtime, as I let the dogs out for their final trek, my former dreamscape was dotted and dimpled with paw prints and yellowed reminders of calls to mother nature. A dozen circles of amber zigzagged across the former glittery wonderland. Its radiant beauty was long gone. The unsoiled dreamscape had vanished, before I had taken the time to enjoy it. I sighed.

But then, something occurred to me as I drifted off into a memory. Perhaps those yellow stains had more meaning than I had realized.

Each of them might represent the mistakes I had made in the past. Perhaps an unreturned call from a friend, maybe an un-mailed birthday card. A forgotten lunch date, or a promise swept aside.

As I lay under my warm and cozy covers that night, bit by bit the fabric of my life began to unravel.

I dug deeper into my past, shoveling the snow into the far corners of my mind, until I was down to the cold bare earth. It was a lonely place. That wasn’t where I wanted to be.

I had to make things right. I had to become a better person, a stronger person, a more positive person. I must always be there for my friends, and family, and even my neighbors, and not dwell on the negative. Or those haunting yellow stains.

I may have blemishes from my past, their yellowed pages long forgotten in my mind, like the ones dotting the yard. But I would learn from them, and my future will be better, and brighter, like the resplendent beauty that had awaited me at sunrise.

The next morning, as was our routine, I bravely opened the front door to let my companions out, bracing myself for another cold blast. Instead, what lay before me took my breath away.

Once again, a fresh blanket of snow had fallen. The yellow snow was gone, my yard was embellished with a new layer of glittering wonder. The sunlight danced amongst the snowflakes, sending prisms of color shooting into the morning sky. My picture perfect postcard was back.

It was a new day. A day to start fresh, along with that perfect layer of glistening snow. A new chance to be a better person.

I smiled.

~ Shelley Madden ~
<shellmadde at aol.com>
Copyright © 2011

Shelley Madden is a short story author who resides in Wise County, Texas. She enjoys raising poultry and ponies on her small farm. Please email Shelley and let her know what you think of her story.

[ by: Shelley Madden, Copyright © 2011, ( shellmadde at aol.com ) -- submitted by: Shelley Madden ]