Dedicated to all who have lost loved ones during a holiday season and especially for those whose loved ones died serving their country. __________________________________________ In the third week of November, a surprise winter storm covered the Flint Hills in 12 inches of snow. Early in the afternoon of the day the storm began, Pilar Hernandez received a call from her fiancee's father. The Army had informed the family that their son, Ricardo, had been killed in Afghanistan when his humvee had driven over a roadside bomb. Stunned by the news of her fiancee's death, Pilar hung up the phone and dropped heavily onto the couch. While Ricardo was overseas, Pilar had kept his huge mutt, Pequeñajo, at her house. Sensing her distress, the dog came to her and sat down beside her. Laying his head in her lap, he tried to comfort her. She remained there for hours, struggling to come to terms with this new reality. Ricardo's tour would have been completed in five more weeks. They had intended to be married in February. Outside the afternoon grew darker and darker, a mirror to the darkness growing in Pilar. She prayed that it was a terrible mistake. She pled, she bargained, but in the blackness of late evening, Pilar understood that Ricardo was dead--as was their dreams of a life together. Only then, did she let the tears come in huge wracking sobs. Just before Thanksgiving, a second storm roared across the Kansas plains, replacing some of the snow cover that had been left by the first. Pilar spent the holiday with Ricardo's family, but there was no comfort there. Everyone went through the motions of celebrating Thanksgiving, but grief and loss hung heavy in that house. She left more miserable than she had come. The next day, a broken cover of gray clouds paraded across the sky. Still, there were patches of blue and the sunlight brightened large patches of the snowy countryside. Pilar had agreed to spend the day with her family, but by mid-morning, she found herself restless and wanting to get away from everybody. The highways had been cleared, according to the radio, so she and Pequeñajo got into her car and drove west out of town on the Interstate. She had no set destination, but she ended up an hour later at the Konza Tallgrass Prairie preserve south of Manhattan. Pilar sensed that there could be healing in this place--at least, the beginnings of such. Pequeñajo and she got out of the car. There was little wind and, although cold, it was pleasant with the sun warming her back. The walking trails were covered in deep snow, but Pilar didn't mind. She and the dog climbed into the hills, Pequeñajo breaking trail ahead of her. Her heart remained heavy, but pushing her way through the snow-covered grasses of the Konza, Pilar found she breathed more easily than in the city. She walked through beauty in sorrow--a beauty that however faintly called her back to life. CREDITS: Vue 6.0. Figure: DAZ's V4 with MAB's "Winter Clothes for V4" and the hair. Skin mat is "Helena." Dog: DAZ's Millinium Dog with a combo of mostly mastif and Boxer, with some German Shepard and Hound morphs in him; uses the German Shepard texture. Ecosystem: "Winter Grasslands Mega Bundle" by Martin Frost(cornucopia3d).