When that blast of air enveloped her in its fiery arms, she knew that she was home.

For a single second, she paused on the platform and closed her eyes. There was the beautiful numbness, the brilliant sting, the numbingly agonizing chill that set her alight. She was a phoenix, burning bright with crimson and gold, lifting up toward the ivory sky. She was an acrobat, soaring through the air. She was luminescent.

As she looked up at the stars that had raised her, the first drop of snow spiraled through the air and graced her tongue with its touch.