When the Snow Fairy dances

Far away up north, in a cabin that stood in the middle of a large forest, there lived a young carpenter named Yulia. Her father was a carpenter, and as he had no sons, he chose to pass down his craft to his only daughter. She grew to love creating all kinds of objects from wood, and she eventually became a skilled carpenter just like her father. After reaching adulthood, she started living in the forest in a cabin she'd built all by herself. Most of her time was dedicated to making furniture, birdhouses, and other wooden items. As the young woman was hard-working to an almost excessive degree, on days when she had no work orders to complete, she would go outside to gather wood instead of resting. Though she told her parents, who were concerned about her health, that she enjoyed having a lot of work to do, deep down, she knew she really needed to rest sometimes, but living alone meant she had no one who could remind her to take a break.

One winter day, Yulia was feeling so exhausted that she couldn't even lift her tools, and she decided to take a short nap before resuming her work. Just as she was about to close the curtains, however, she saw something shiny floating outside the window. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized the floating object was a large  snowflake, smaller than her hand but much bigger than any snowflake she'd ever seen before. Its crystalline structure resembled frozen embroidery, the type of floral pattern that might be sewn onto a ballgown, and it sparkled like a lustrous diamond in the sunlight. As Yulia kept staring at the snowflake, it slowly began floating away from her line of sight, seemingly drifting towards the fir trees growing behind the cabin. Without thinking, she grabbed her coat and ran outside to see where it was going. She followed the drifting snowflake past the fir trees, across the bridge over the creek, and into a snowy clearing right in the middle of the forest. It was here that the mysterious snowflake stopped, and she briefly wondered if she should reach out to touch it, though she refrained from actually doing so.

The snowflake started to glow brighter and brighter, until it became fully engulfed in light. It was so bright that Yulia was forced to shut her eyes. When she could open them again, the snowflake had disappeared, and standing gracefully in its place was a beautiful, white-haired woman. She looked about Yulia's age, despite her hair color, and she was wearing a light-gray dress. Her silvery eyes glanced around curiously until they landed on Yulia standing a few feet away. Two crystalline wings unfolded from her back, and she calmly glided over to the carpenter, who was completely frozen in shock. Even when the magical being was standing right in front of her while smiling politely, she was still too stunned to move or say anything.

“Come now, don't you know it's rude to stare? You shouldn't be gaping like a goldfish at someone you just met,” the lady remarked jokingly, as if trying to help Yulia relax.

“Pardon me.” Yulia tried to shake off her surprise. “I've never seen a snowflake transform into a person with wings before.”

“Indeed, it seems a snow fairy's beauty never fails to amaze humans.” The fairy laughed softly in amusement. “My apologies for startling you. I miscalculated the speed of the wind and drifted away from my normal route to the forest clearing, which is how I ended up floating past your cabin.”

“Couldn't you fly using your wings instead of drifting with the wind?”

“I'm afraid I can't assume my usual form in the human world unless I find a suitable location imbued with magic first. The dryads of this forest graciously provide me with enough magic to transform easily.”

“You say there are dryads living here?” A chill of fear went down Yulia's spine. I've been chopping wood all this time without noticing their presence. Could I have cut down a dryad’s tree by mistake at some point?

Sensing her new acquaintance's thoughts, the snow fairy said, “Don't worry, the dryads hide their trees very well. A human could never find them without the help of other magical beings.”

“Is that so?” Yulia sighed in relief. “My name is Yulia, and I’m a carpenter who lives in this forest.”

After introducing herself, Yulia proceeded to ask the snow fairy for her name, which she replied was Tatiana. When asked why she had come to the human world, Tatiana replied she simply wished to take a break from creating snow all day back in her homeland. She could only visit the human world in winter, as she was strictly forbidden from leaving her homeland during any other season. Yulia then asked if Tatiana had a place to stay, and when the latter revealed she planned on resting outside in snowflake form at night, Yulia politely invited her to stay at her cabin during her visit.

“I'll sleep on a mat in the living room, so you can borrow my bedroom, if you wish.”

“I appreciate your kind offer, but I really don't mind sleeping outside.”

“That won't do. The forest is too cold and dangerous for a lovely lady like yourself to spend the night in,” Yulia commented in jest, knowing perfectly well it was absurd for a snow fairy to fear wild animals in the woods, let alone the cold. 

To be honest, the main reason why she wanted Tatiana to stay over at her cabin was because she couldn't let this chance to spend time with a real fairy just slip by. When she was a child, she dreamed of meeting the magical beings from her mother's bedtime stories, and now, there was an actual snow fairy floating right before her eyes. She earnestly asked Tatiana again to stay at her home, adding that Tatiana was free to watch her while she worked, if learning about carpentry piqued the snow fairy’s interest.

“I've always wanted to observe how humans earn their bread up close. Perhaps staying with you will prove worthwhile,” Tatiana said after a moment of consideration.

In the end, she agreed to spend the remaining winter months at Yulia's cabin, as long as Yulia accepted that she might have to leave the human world immediately should an emergency occur. She asked her new friend not to hold it against her if she suddenly disappeared without saying goodbye, to which Yulia replied she understood.

The first three days of Tatiana's stay went by uneventfully, as the fairy spent them asleep while in snowflake form to collect her strength. After waking up, she requested to see how Yulia built furniture, which the carpenter was more than happy to do. She grabbed her toolbox and led Tatiana out to her workshop. Once inside, she began sawing and smoothening wooden planks until she had the parts needed to make a chair. Her guest watched in fascination as she skillfully glued and nailed the pieces together. When the first chair was fully built, she started working as quickly as she could on the second chair.

“The order I received was for an entire dining set. I already built the table, so all that's left are the chairs. My customer will come here to pick up the finished products next week.”

“It must be exhausting for you to work with such rough and heavy pieces of wood every single day,” Tatiana seemed very impressed yet concerned. “I do hope you take breaks, considering how fragile the health of you humans can be.”

“Well, I admit I tend to forget about sleeping or eating when I'm really focused on my work assignments,” answered Yulia a little sheepishly.

“My goodness, you mean you skip meals even when you're building something as heavy as a table? That's just asking for poor health.”

“You're right, but I'm afraid it's impossible for me to keep track of time when I'm feeling exceptionally productive.”

“I can't imagine how starving and exhausting yourself will allow you to be productive in any way.”

The two women spent the next five minutes arguing over Yulia's problematic work schedule before Tatiana had enough. She firmly stated that as long as she was staying here, she would make Yulia eat three meals every day and get eight hours of sleep every night, even if it meant destroying some of the envelopes containing new work orders before the carpenter had the chance to accept them. To compensate for any resulting loss of income, Tatiana offered to bring her rare plants that could be sold as expensive spices or medicine. Though these plants grew in winter, it was difficult for humans without specialized knowledge to find and harvest them correctly. According to Tatiana, however, all fairies could gather plenty of these plants with ease. Yulia honestly didn't care a lot about money, with her strenuous workload being primarily due to her own love of carpentry, but she found herself unable to refuse the demands of the beautiful fairy, who was giving her a look as frosty as the snow her magic was based on, and reluctantly agreed to her terms.

True to her word, Tatiana headed out the next morning and returned around an hour later, holding a basket filled with winter herbs, berries, and roots. Among them, Yulia recognized some rare berries said to completely cure fever-inducing illnesses if fed to the patient at regular intervals for a few days, as well as a special herb that could stop heavy bleeding if dried and ground into powder. The money she could get from selling these plants was greater than her weekly earnings.

“You won't need to worry about money with these products, right?” 

“They are indeed valuable, and I'm grateful to you for bringing them. However, I work mostly for the sake of my craft, not for money.”

“I already said I won't let you overwork yourself, so if you're planning on going to your workshop behind my back, give it up.”

“Yes, ma'am,” muttered Yulia, wondering why it felt like her guest was suddenly the one running her house.

The mail carrier delivered several work orders to the cabin earlier while Tatiana was away, and Yulia truthfully told the snow fairy that she only accepted the orders she could complete on time without skipping meals or staying up late. She also said she had enough time this morning to prepare a nice breakfast for once, so she made cheese pancakes for both of them.

“They should taste really good, since I used my mother's special recipe to make them.” Yulia poured a cup of tea while inviting Tatiana to sit down at the table. “I also prepared some tea for us. If you can't drink hot tea, I can add ice to your cup.”

“No, it's fine. I quite enjoy drinking hot tea in the morning.”

“You do? I thought snow fairies are weak to fire and heat.”

“We have the ability to lower our body temperatures as much as we wish. If the heat does start affecting us, we can easily cool ourselves down again.”

The two of them enjoyed a quiet breakfast together. Tatiana complimented Yulia's cooking, asking if she could also make potato pies, which were Tatiana's favorite food. Yulia replied that she could, and she offered to make potato pies with cabbage soup for lunch, if Tatiana wanted her to. The snow fairy seemed to place more trust in her ability to take care of herself after she said that, though she was still banned from working excessively.

Yulia's days were starting to become livelier thanks to Tatiana's arrival. The mere presence of the snow fairy in her cabin excited her, and she grew to appreciate the white-haired woman's sincere concern for her, even if the concern came off as nagging sometimes. Tatiana herself was happy she could observe the daily life of a human firsthand. She never had the chance to interact with humans very much before meeting Yulia. Watching Yulia skillfully build furniture intrigued her greatly, and she ended up flustering the carpenter by telling her that her ability to create items out of wood was just as amazing as the ability to magically create snow. 

With Tatiana's help, Yulia was able to eat and sleep properly, and thanks to the extra income she made from selling the rare plants Tatiana found for her, she could reduce her workload to a manageable amount without financial loss. Although she still felt tempted to take on more projects, she wanted to avoid Tatiana's nagging if she got caught, so instead, she spent her spare time carving little wooden items, a hobby that didn't exhaust her in the least. She managed to carve an exceptionally adorable wooden bird for Tatiana, who later took Yulia to an excellent ice-skating spot in the forest as thanks. Yulia had no experience in ice-skating, so she was nervous when she first stepped onto the frozen pond, but with Tatiana's guidance, she grew to enjoy gliding across the ice, and her friend's magic protected her from injuries whenever she fell. Their fun day ended with the fairy using snowflakes to create images of various animals that danced in the air above their heads.

When they returned home, they sat together on comfy cushions in front of the fireplace, enjoying the cookies Yulia made earlier. Yulia thanked Tatiana again for her wonderful present, and she lightheartedly said she felt like giving her magical friend a hug to fully express her gratitude. To her surprise, Tatiana gently declined her request for a hug.

“I'm sorry, but it’s dangerous for a snow fairy to hug a human.”

“Really? I thought you said snow fairies aren't afraid of heat. You're sitting in front of a blazing fire with me right now without any problems too.”

“It's not me who’d be in danger if we hug, but you. Long ago, many snow fairies increased their magic by stealing the physical strength of humans through touch, which ended up killing the humans in most cases. Nowadays, the rulers of the fairy realm cast spells on every snow fairy that supposedly make it impossible for such murderous acts to occur, but it's still risky for me to hug you. Even if I don't kill you, I might accidentally damage your health.”

Yulia now understood why Tatiana had avoided direct contact with her while ice-skating, using magic to keep Yulia steady on the ice instead of physically holding her arm. She didn't mind if she got sick from hugging the snow fairy, but as Tatiana seemed so worried about it, she decided to change the subject.

“I can teach you how to carve wood, if you'd like.” She smiled brightly at her friend. “You could learn how to make wooden birds like the one I gave you.”

“That sounds fun,” Tatiana replied, smiling back at Yulia.

Time passed quickly, and before long, it was already the last month of winter. Yulia couldn't help but feel sad at the thought of her friend leaving soon. Tatiana tried to comfort her by saying that she would come to the forest again next winter, and the two of them could have fun together again, which cheered Yulia up a little. 

She tried to enjoy her remaining time with the snow fairy as much as possible, even choosing to accept no more than ten work orders, which was a very small workload for her, during the last few weeks of Tatiana's stay, so that she could focus more on keeping her friend company. Nearly halfway through the month, however, Yulia suddenly collapsed onto the floor. Despite having no fever or injuries, she felt extremely tired for some reason and didn't have the strength to move around. Regardless of the recommended treatment methods or medicines Tatiana used to help her friend feel well again, Yulia's condition showed no signs of improvement. She spent the whole day lying still in her bed, almost like her body was freezing over as she slept. Tatiana started to recognize with dismay the symptoms of the strength-stealing atrocities committed by her kin against humans in the past, though she couldn't imagine why Yulia's strength was being drained. She never had any kind of physical contact with the human woman, not even a handshake, and there were no previous instances of humans being affected only from being in close proximity to a snow fairy. After worrying over the situation for a while, she decided to ask the dryads in the woods if they knew anything about Yulia's condition. There was one particularly long-lived dryad who lived in the tall oak tree near the forest clearing whose words she could really trust.

When Tatiana arrived at the oak tree, the dryad greeted her warmly, but her eyes turned serious after hearing about what happened to Tatiana's human friend. She confirmed the snow fairy’s fears that she was responsible, at least in part, for Yulia's deteriorating health, saying that the combination of her magical presence and Yulia's own suppressed wish to keep staying with her fairy friend was causing the human to freeze over. If nothing was done to help her, she would eventually transform into a snowflake that would always float by Tatiana's side.

“She'll be no different from a dead person when that happens,” the dryad said bluntly.

“What should I do? Please, kind dryad, tell me what I can do to save her,” Tatiana begged with tears in her eyes.

The dryad looked grim as she replied, “I fear there’s only one way to help your friend now. Answer me, are you willing to risk your life to save your friend from a dismal fate that she herself is partially responsible for? Don't forget it was also her own wish to stay with you forever and not just your presence that led to her current state. You don't need to sacrifice yourself out of guilt.”

“The cause of her condition could have absolutely nothing to do with me, and I would still do anything I can to save her.” Tatiana looked at the dryad with unshakable resolve. “I beg of you, tell me what I must do.”

It turned out the way to save Yulia's life depended on the amount of magic accumulated in the forest, along with an ancient dance performed by snow fairies to heal their ailing kin. Normally, this dance couldn't heal humans, but as Yulia was currently halfway towards becoming a snowflake, her health could be restored, if the forest's magic was sufficient and Tatiana performed the dance flawlessly. Fortunately, Tatiana had performed the dance for other snow fairies many times in the past, and the magical presence of the forest's dryads was enough to support the healing process. All that remained was to bring Yulia to a location where Tatiana could freely dance in the air above her, so Tatiana bundled Yulia up in her warmest winter clothes and carefully carried her to the forest clearing where they first met. It was a special place for the two of them, and no trees could obstruct her while she danced. Before preparing to leap into the air, Tatiana gazed at her friend for what was possibly the last time. She was lying silently on the snow, a far cry from her usual outgoing self, and the sight caused the snow fairy's heart to ache.

“I'll save you no matter what. I promise.”

Tatiana remembered the dryad’s warnings, about how she was bending the rules of the fairy realm by performing a dance originally meant for healing snow fairies to heal a human. Even the fairy rulers were powerless to save Tatiana from the potentially fatal consequences of such an act. If she wished to save her friend, she had to face the possibility of disappearing from the living world forever, leaving her healed friend to mourn over her demise.

“I'll miss you, Yulia. Thank you for everything until now, and may your days ahead be filled with light,” she whispered.

Tatiana then flew up into the air and gracefully lifted her arms. She danced like a delicate snowflake floating on the winter breeze, leaping lightly from one spot to another while spinning around elegantly in the moonlight. As she performed her dance, Yulia's body began to glow and grow warmer. Her eyes slowly opened, and once she regained enough of her senses to realize she was outside, she started looking about her in confusion. When she gazed up, she was stunned to see Tatiana flying high above the ground while performing the most beautiful dance she had ever witnessed in her entire life. The moment their eyes met, she noticed the tears falling down her friend's smiling face, but just as she was about to ask Tatiana why she was crying, there was a brilliant burst of light, and when the light faded, the snow fairy was nowhere to be found. Yulia was about to frantically search around for her, when she noticed a folded sheet of paper had been left in her coat pocket, containing a written message from Tatiana. It explained the reason why Yulia had fallen ill, how Tatiana needed to perform an ancient, healing dance to save her life, and that the snow fairy might vanish forever as a result. Tatiana ended her message by promising that, should she be able to return to the human world, she would let Yulia know of her survival as soon as possible, and if there was a way for them to safely meet each other again, she would finally give Yulia the hug that the young woman had asked for.

Yulia felt devastated over what happened to Tatiana, but she did not cry, as she believed there was still a chance for her friend to return. Shedding tears would be the same as admitting that Tatiana might actually be dead. At the very least, she would wait until next winter for any news of the snow fairy’s survival, and she refused to grieve over her friend before then.

The months continued to go by as they always did. Yulia diligently continued her carpentry work while making sure to take regular breaks, so that Tatiana wouldn't scold her if they ever met again. She calmly waited and kept an eye out for any hints of Tatiana's return to the human world. Winter melted into spring, spring burned into summer, summer cooled into autumn, and autumn eventually froze into winter again. One morning during the first week of the new winter season, Yulia was going through a pile of work orders she recently received, when she heard someone knocking at her door. Expecting to see the mail carrier, she quickly opened the door to greet him. However, standing on the porch was a young woman wearing a white coat with a hood pulled over her head, though her raven-black hair was still partially visible. Yulia was confused at first, wondering if this lady was one of her clients.

“Hello. May I help you?” she politely asked her visitor.

The young woman started laughing as she pulled down her hood, fully revealing her face. Her silvery eyes gazed affectionately at Yulia as the other woman stared at her in astonishment.

“Haven't I told you before that it's rude to stare?” remarked Tatiana teasingly.

It took Yulia a minute before her shock wore off and she could speak clearly, though the first words that came out of her mouth were quite unimpressive.

“I see your hair color's changed.”

“Of course it's changed. I'm no longer a snow fairy, after all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently, my punishment for performing the healing dance to save a human's life was to lose all my magic and turn into a human myself. I must say I was extremely surprised to find myself in a mortal body when I woke up again.”

“So you're really not a fairy anymore?” Yulia was stricken with guilt to learn her friend had lost her magic. “I'm sorry I made you give up your powers just to save me.”

“It's alright. I always found the fairy realm a rather boring place. There's nothing much for snow fairies to do there besides making snow, and most of them don't sing or dance unless it's for healing purposes. Not being forced to stay there for most of the year and living in this world as a human feels great, actually.”

“Even so, you must miss using your snow magic, don't you?”

“Maybe a little, but now that I'm human, I can finally do this.” Tatiana opened her arms while smiling happily at her friend. “I promised to give you a hug if we ever met each other again, didn't I?”

Yulia rushed forward and embraced Tatiana, finally allowing her tears to flow down her face. Words couldn't describe how relieved she felt to be with her friend again. Though there were many struggles that Tatiana would have to face as she adjusted to her new life, Yulia vowed to stay by her side and provide her with any support she needed. For now, the best thing to do seemed to be for both of them to go inside and have breakfast. They could discuss what to do from now on after enjoying a plate of cheese pancakes. 

She eventually let go of her friend so that they could enter the cabin. Opening the door, she said with an expression as bright as the sun, “Welcome home, Tatiana. I'm so glad you're back.”