Mom's Made Fullmetal Day 3: Snow Angel/Snowman
Word Count: 1134
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: G/K
Characters: Sheska, Sheska's Mom
Warning: N/A
Summary: Sheska's mom wants to introduce her to the fun that snow can be. Sheska isn't too sure about it.
Notes: This pulls on some of my headcanons that Sheska's mom grew up in a region that was close to Drachma, but overtaken by Amestris when her mother was little. Her mother was not a natural Amestrian citizen, but Sheska is. I also headcanon that Sheska's father died when she was just a baby and, due to the unrest in the area, Sheska's mother decided to move to Central to try to give Sheska a better life, even if that meant raising her alone.


Snow Angel/Snowman

Sheska shivered as she buried her face further in her scarf, her glass fogging up as she did. It was cold! It was really cold outside! Her mother had bundled her up in stockings and leggings and pants under her dress. She had on a camisole, a turtleneck, a sweater, a thin jacket and her thick woolen jacket. She had three pairs of socks on in her boots, two scarves on, gloves and mittens, earmuffs and two hats.

But she was still cold.

Sheska looked up at her mother, who was holding onto her hand. Her mother wasn't wearing nearly as much. She had on thick woolen stockings and socks as well, her feet tucked into sturdy boots. She had on a long woolen skirt, a thin shirt and then a sweater, her woolen coat, gloves, a scarf and a hat. But she didn't seem to mind the cold air or the snow that was on the ground. In fact, her mom walked confidently through the cold and the snow while everyone else around them seemed to scurry around.

Sheska held tight to her mother's hand, trusting that her mother would guide her along, and looked around. Snow had started falling yesterday, and it hadn't stopped all throughout the night. When Sheska had woken up this morning, a thick white coat of snow had laid over everything. The roads, the sidewalks, the cars and streetlamps, it was sitting on top of anything it could.

Now, as they walked along the street, there were piles of it on the sides of the street and the sidewalks. People treated it as a major inconvenience, and scurried around piles of it, trying not to slip on it. Everyone was bundled up, and no one tried to stop and talk or take their time. They all seemed to be in a hurry.

"Almost there, my Sheska," her mother said, and Sheska turned her head back up towards her mother. "It won't be much further."

"Where are we going, Mama?" Sheska asked.

"Where else?" her mother said. "To the park."

Sheska blinked. "The park? But why?"

"To play in the snow. There is no good place to play near our home. So, I take you to the park," her mother explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

But Sheska didn't understand. "But Mama, I saw the snow," she said. "It was on our windowsill, and I've been walking through it." She paused, looking around. "Besides, I've read all about snow."

Her mother smiled, and Sheska didn't quite understand why. "There's a difference, my Sheska, in reading about something and experiencing it. And there is a difference in touching snow, and in playing in it." She said. She glanced back down at Sheska, smiling at her daughter again. "Trust me, little one."

Sheska just blinked up at her mother through her fogging glasses but nodded. She trusted her mother. Besides, she knew that her mother knew about snow. Her mother had grown up in a region that was near the boarder with Drachma that Amestris had taken over. Sheska had looked up information about it and listened to her stories from her mother about it. She knew that her mom had grown up with snow all around her. If anyone knew snow, it would be her mother.

But Sheska still wasn't sure about this. Maybe it was okay for her mother. But maybe this wasn't her thing.

Still, Sheska followed along, going with her mom until they reached the park. The park usually had nice paths to walk down and benches to sit on. Sheska could see the benches sticking through the snow, but the paths were all covered up. It looked a lot different, and Sheska couldn't help but stare at the park, taking it all in. Her mother paused there too, giving Sheska the time to look around at all of it.

Eventually, though, her mother squeezed her hand. "Come, Sheska. You've never played in the snow. Let me show you how." Sheska nodded and followed her mother.

No one else seemed to be in the park, which meant Sheska and her mother had it all to themselves. That turned out to be a good thing, as her mother had a lot to show her. Her mother didn't even wait, kicking up the snow and letting it sparkle in the sunlight that came through the trees. Sheska gasped and laughed, delighted by the way the sun hit it. She tried to copy her mother and laughed as she made the snow sparkle as well.

Her mother took her throughout the park, showing her how to make snowballs and throw them, how to use what she could to make a sled for the hills, and making footprints in the snow. Sheska's favorite things, though, were the snow angles and the snowman.

Her mother showed Sheska how to make a basic snow angel, and then they had fun making a bunch of different snow angels, some with their arms and legs in different configurations, some together, some apart. Sheska giggled and laughed as they came up with sillier and sillier ways to lay in the snow and roll around in it. Her mother laughed with her, the two of them only stopping after her mother started tickling her, when the two of them had run out of ideas.

After that it was a hunt for the perfect place to build a snowman. It took them a little bit, but they managed to find it. Sheska's mother showed her how to make a basic snowman and encouraged Sheska to try for herself. She did and, although her snowman didn't turn out as good as her mothers, her mother was still proud of her and Sheska couldn't help but smile at the praise.

When the two left the park, it was with tracks all over the ground, two dozen snow angles, a made sled at the bottom of the hill, the remnants of a snowball fight, and with two snowmen looking down at the park from a hill. One was tall, almost sculpted, and had arms of sticks and hair of leaves. The other was smaller, a little more lopsided, had uneven arms, and hair made up of sticks stuck in its head.

But it was snuggled up against its snowman mom, a small little family of two looking over the park and the fun that had been had there.

Sheska was holding her mother's hand again as they walked home and, although it was still cold, it didn't seem as cold as it had earlier, and Sheska was far more content. Even though she knew that she didn't forget things, Sheska knew for sure that this day was going to be one that she treasured forever, even when she was older.