Chapter Two:Sundays and Snowflakes
Some people don't become important all at once. They become a habit—one smile, one conversation, one Sunday at a time...
By the time winter settled over the Finland countryside, Ivy had unknowingly begun measuring her weeks in Sundays.
Not because of church.
Not because of the hymns or the quiet prayers that echoed beneath the wooden ceiling.
But because Sundays meant Ryan.
She was only eleven, too young to understand why seeing him made the corners of her mouth lift before he had even spoken. Too young to understand why she found herself searching for him the moment she stepped into church.
Every Sunday, he was there.
Sometimes waiting outside with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets.
Sometimes laughing with the other boys.
Sometimes pretending not to notice her until she walked close enough.
And every single time...
He smiled.
"There you are," he would say.
As though he'd been waiting all morning.
The church sat on the edge of a quiet village surrounded by towering pine trees dusted with snow.
The air always smelled of wood, fresh bread from the nearby bakery, and the faint scent of rain.
After every service, families slowly made their way home.
Children ran ahead.
Adults stayed behind to talk.
But Ryan always found Ivy.
"Ready?" he'd ask.
She'd nod.
And together, they would begin the familiar walk home.
The journey wasn't long, but Ryan somehow made it feel like an adventure.
He pointed at birds resting on snowy branches.
He guessed the shapes hidden inside the clouds.
He laughed whenever Ivy tried to pronounce the difficult Finland street names.
"You'll get them one day," he teased.
"I will," she insisted.
"You just called a road a sandwich."
She gasped dramatically.
"I did not!"
"You absolutely did."
She couldn't stop laughing.
Their conversations were wonderfully ordinary.
School.
Teachers.
Homework they hadn't finished.
Dreams they didn't yet understand.
Ryan wanted to travel someday.
Ivy wanted to write stories, though she was too shy to admit it aloud.
Instead, she simply listened whenever Ryan spoke about seeing the world beyond the village.
"You'll leave one day," she said quietly.
Ryan looked at her.
"If I do..."
He shrugged.
"I'll come back."
The answer stayed with her long after they reached her gate.
It didn't take long for Ivy's parents to notice.
Every Sunday.
The same boy.
The same smile.
The same walk home.
Her mother watched quietly through the living room window while Ivy waved goodbye.
Her father said nothing at first..
But parents notice the smallest changes.
Especially in their children.
One evening, Ivy sat on the floor doing homework when her older brother walked past.
"So..."
he grinned.
"Your boyfriend walked you home again."
Her pencil froze.
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"Mmm."
"He isn't!"
"Then why do you smile every Sunday?"
"I don't."
"You literally skipped into the house."
"I did not!"
Her brother laughed so hard he nearly dropped his school bag.
Ivy threw a pillow at him.
He dodged it easily.
"You missed."
"I wasn't trying to hit you."
"Liar."
She stuck out her tongue.
That night, lying beneath warm blankets, Ivy stared at the ceiling.
Was she smiling more?
Did she really look different whenever Ryan was around?
The questions confused her.
She didn't know what liking someone meant.
She only knew that Sundays had become her favorite day of the week.
A few days later, school ended earlier than usual.
Snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky.
As Ivy packed her books, she heard a familiar voice.
"Need help?"She turned.
Ryan.
He reached down before she could answer and picked up the notebook she'd accidentally dropped.
"You carry too many books."
"I like books."
"I can see that."
He handed them back with a smile.
For a brief second, their fingers brushed.
Ivy quickly looked away.
Her cheeks felt strangely warm despite the cold weather.
Ryan didn't seem to notice.Or maybe...
he simply pretended not to.
From that day onward, little routines quietly formed between them.
He saved her a seat whenever they attended youth gatherings.
She reminded him about homework.
He teased her whenever she became too serious.
She rolled her eyes every single time.
Yet somehow...
Neither of them wanted those moments to end.What Ivy didn't know...
was that Ryan had started looking for her too.
Whenever church ended, his eyes searched the crowd before anyone else's.
Whenever she was absent, Sundays felt oddly incomplete.
He didn't have words for the feeling.
He was only twelve.
Children rarely understand why someone suddenly becomes important.
They only know when that person is missing.The snow continued to fall outside.
The village remained peaceful.
The pine trees stood quietly against the pale evening sky.
Everything felt as though it would last forever.
But life has a quiet way of changing without asking permission.
And somewhere...
Just beyond the warmth of childhood...
A storm had already begun to gather.....
Sometimes, the happiest memories become the hardest ones to revisit💔.
