~o~ You'll never be alone. ~o~
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn.
~o~ I'll be with you from dusk till dawn. ~o~

****

In the break of dawn, the sun rose on the morning of the preceding blizzard, its calming colors shaded the whole sky with purple and pink, and its faint light lit up the carpet of snow spread all over the ground. Mariana and Micah also rose, getting ready for another great adventure, and a surprising kind of morning. Yesterday while they were in the cable car, Micah had spotted something while high in the sky which looked quite interesting.

They got ready in sweaters, thermal leggings, and scarves with ear puffs. Mariana wore her cute, little ankle boots this time and she now resembled a cute penguin, with her puffy coat waddling around the cabin.

Once Micah was ready, they held hands and he opened the door but when they stepped outside into the bliss of snow, the chilly wind that felt like icicles sent them flying back.

"Wow, it's really cold today!" Mariana exclaimed.

"Yeah but we are going to have a fun day today," Micah said, holding her hand as they trudged out through the door.

The snow was deep and crunchy under their feet. They felt the fluffy substance sink as they stepped. It filled Mariana with excitement to be walking on snow, like a child going to make a snowman. She rubbed her boots and immersed them into it, wanting to savor every bit when she still had the chance.

"Mariana, how would you like to go for a ride in the air before breakfast?" Micah suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean would you like to go for a ride in a hot air balloon?"

"A what what," she stuttered with shock and a little choke in her voice. Did he just say a hot air balloon?

"Do you want to go riding in the sky before we go eat or you hungry?"

She thought about it for a little and she was a bit too impatient to wait after breakfast to go in the air, and she wasn't that hungry at the moment.

"I don't mind riding first, plus it would be nice to start the day off seeing the sunrise close up," she said as her mind started imagining the possible sights they will see.

"Okay, balloon ride it is," he said, as they walked through the flakes that flew in their face and flowed all around like a tornado.

They went to the Snowmass Village for the hot air balloon ride. Their pilot guided them into one which had a boxed-shaped pattern of red at the top, and blue and yellow as it descended down the material.

As they got settled in before liftoff, she still couldn't believe they were actually going on a hot air balloon, it was like those once-in-a-lifetime things that you do before you die.

The pilot then blazed the fire into the balloon, making it roar like a lion as it slowly lifted off the ground. At first, Mariana was bursting with energy at wanting to be high in the sky. Her hands kept drumming down on the side, desperate to be souring the skies like an eagle, to see the farthest areas in nature, when the unseen things become seen.

When the balloon gradually got higher, the basket started to rock by the hands of the wind, which made Mariana grip onto the side with fear and her legs trembling. Her eyes bulged out of their sockets and her heartbeat rapidly, as realization hit her like a storm that they were now far away from the ground. She started whimpering a little as she might have a fear of heights.

Micah wrapped one arm around her as the grass that was once under their feet, expanded out in front of their eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." She held on to the side for dear life, because of the way the carriage rocked around, she felt like she would fall out.

"It's okay, don't be scared." He leaned down next to her and hugged her while holding her tight. He patted her back as she had her head faced down.

She could feel the balloon go higher as she heard birds fly past them and the wind grew stronger. They started to go over a valley but she couldn't bring herself to look because being too far off from the ground, scared her to the chill of her bones. In her mind, having her head down would make the journey go quicker which she can be on the safe grass again.

"How are you guys doing over there?" Their pilot asked, coming up behind them.

"We're fine, she's just a bit scared," Micah replied, as he continued patting Mariana's back.

"Ah, the first time is always the scariest, especially if you have never done something like this before," the pilot said, "even I felt a little bit nervous when I first started doing this."

"Really?" Mariana said, her head slowly started coming up.

"Yeah, but a few more times of being in the air and you get used to it."

"Is it," she said, a smile of comfort formed across her faded red, sweet cheeks. She stayed close to Micah while slowly peering her eyes over the shadowed part of the frosty, Mount Daly. The fragments of the sunrise smoked around it, glazing over the sky a pale orange like a fire had started but dissipated over time.

The soft colors reflected inside her brown eyes, making her feel slightly sleepy. She lifted her head a bit as the calming wind tingled her ears and blew past her cooly. She breathed it in, feeling it rush down her throat like refreshing, spring water. Some snowflakes fell and landed at the tip of her nose, she smiled and giggled a little as she felt its soft, flurry touch. Suddenly, she didn't seem so scared anymore.

They then went over the hidden forest inside the Elk Mountains. She looked down at the frozen lakes, the trees that surrounded it, the deer and the elks that walked around the curved paths, and the ranch that was down below. They looked so cute, like baby animals from her sight.

She then looked over at Micah who had moved to the other side to take pictures. She walked over to him while still holding onto the side, and wrapped her arms around his. She began kissing his cheek repeatedly like she couldn't get enough of him.

"I love you," she said between kisses and sucked on his cheek a little bit. She appreciated every, single thing he did for her.

"I love you too," he said and patted her cheek. Her kisses felt so sweet, well except the sucking part.

When their ride was over, they had a champagne brunch which consisted of chocolate-covered strawberries, some flowers as a complement, and waffles. It was a well-deserved treat after the sky-rocketing adventure they just had.

After they had finished, they had a little hike on the Maroon bells.

Their shoes squashed the snow underneath, revealing some twigs and rocks that were buried within the powdery, sparkling dust. Micah kept a firm hold on her hand so he won't lose her within the thick mist of the blizzard. It rained down more heavily and partially blinded them as flakes poked their orbs.

"Wait, hold on Micah," she said as she noticed something on the ground. They stopped walking and Mariana crouched down and picked up a wet leaf.

Micah was stood above her, watching as the snow landed softly above her eyelashes. Even though her face was covered by her scarf, he could tell she was smiling at the leaf she held up and wanted to capture this beautiful moment for future memories. He got his phone out and took a picture of her. She looked so sweet and so perfect. His perfect angel whom he loved so much, and loved spending every minute of his time with.

Mariana put the leaf down and then got a stick. She drew two Ms for their initials and connected the tips in a heart shape. She loved it and she could actually see them both in the heart.

Suddenly, she felt a hard and cold substance explode on her forehead. She hissed as the biting pain dripped down her temples. She placed her hand on it as she looked ahead to Micah laughing beside a tree.

She put the stick down and then made a snowball with her hands. She silently crept toward him without being noticed, then launched it to where it hit his neck. She started laughing as he turned back while rubbing the freezing spot. She didn't notice him turning back and gathering a few snowballs in his hand.

"Uh oh..." she said and started running. He ran after her and they kept throwing snowballs which either landed near her feet or on the ground. She managed to hide behind a tree and make some herself.

She threw some over and they ran around, throwing snowballs at each other, laughter filling the air and happiness filling their lungs. There was no one around, only them, the snow, and the animals that played in the background.

They also made a snowman in the center of some trees. They patted the snow in shape together, gathering around some sticks and stones to make the body parts.

While Mariana got some more snow from the ground, Micah came behind her with an unusual, large snowball in his hand. He had a smirk on his face as his shadow cast over Mariana's body. She looked up and couldn't see his face properly but she definitely saw that hidden smile, meaning he was up to something.

"W—What are you doing?" She stuttered.

He held the ball up to which her eyes widened in alarm. She leaped up and started running away from him.

"Leave me alone!" She cried out. But he chased her down. She continued running but tripped on something and fell.

She groaned and turned around, to where Micah stood and threw it at her face. She let out an ear-curling scream as her fingers gripped her cheeks like she wanted to tear them apart. It felt like a bucket of ice had been splashed onto her, with it freezing her cheeks. She didn't expect it to be so cold, because it didn't look like it hurt that much in cartoons.

"AH, THAT'S COLD!" She shrieked.

"Heh, I'm sorry." He bent down and wiped her face.

"It's okay," she said and sat up. She didn't feel so cold anymore near the face.

"Do you want to go do skiing now?"

"Alright." She grabbed his hand and they got up, dusted themselves, and started making their way to the ski resort.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I've had a snowball thrown at my face before, and it was so colddd😂😂😂😂