The night was bright, yet no stars shone through the cloud cover above. Snow gently dusted the streets below, casting shadows from the street lamps that danced across the ground. Wind rushed down the alleyway, blowing the snow up in beautiful swirls, and ruffling his snow-white hair.

He strolled down the sidewalk, having nowhere to go and nothing to do, just enjoying the night. He cast no shadow, nor left any prints in the snow that crunched underfoot. His ice blue eyes light up and his mouth curved in a mischievous smile as he cast a sheet of black ice under a shopper rushing home with boxes and bags stacked high for Christmas. She slipped and her boxes cascaded down into the snow, and as she gathered them back up, she took a moment to realize the beauty that had been created all around her.

Jack continued down the street, stepping out of the way of other busy people rushing down the sidewalk, their heads bent against the biting wind. Two children came barreling down the sidewalk, fighting over something that was clutched in the older boy's hands.

They tore through the crowd of people, seemingly always underfoot, their mother calling out for them in the distance. Jack allowed himself a smile, the joy in his eyes matching that of the boys'.

And then the older one passed right through Jack, the feeling like he had been torn in two, and icy bitterness washed over him.

He didn't believe in him.

His heart yearned to be seen, recognized as the one responsible for the joy that comes when you wake up to find the lawn coated in snow. The one that helps start the snowball fights or protect a snowman that's teetering, about to collapse. But no one sees him, they overlook him, take his gift for granted.

All he asks for is to be believed in.

Jack is about to call on the winds to take him away from the rush of people who don't see him, when the smaller child bursts out of the crowd in pursuit of his brother. He is bundled up in a puffy coat and hat, a scarf wrapped around his face so only his eyes and red nose stick out. The chase after his brother is forgotten, and he gazes up in amazement where Jack is standing. Blue eyes lock with warm brown ones, wonder and amazement reflecting one another.

The small boy can see him.

And for that one moment, Jack feels whole again. His face breaks into a grin, and a perfect snowflake drifts down to land on the nose of the small child. The little boy's eyes go cross-eyed, trying to see the snowflake before it melts, but when he looks up, the winter spirit is gone.

Jack is flying high above the town, his spirits lifted, his heart filled with delight. He was seen! He was recognized!

He was believed in.

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