It was December 20, in the year 2015. I had woken up at seven o'clock in the morning and looked out the glass window. It was snowing! The snow fell lightly and coated the land in sweet shades of white. I leaped out of my bed and groomed myself in the bathroom before I reached for my jacket and boots. I wore my thick gloves, which I had kept in my jacket pocket, and wore my bonnet. Just before I could run into the snow and catch snowflakes on my tongue, I felt my stomach grumbling. Oh well. I would have to eat first. I removed my gloves, bonnet and jacket to make myself feel comfortable. I looked to the right side. Officer Philips, whom assumed the role of being my legal guardian, was still sound asleep. Gale was still in deep slumber, taking a rest in the attic. I took some eggs from the refrigerator and started making breakfast. Once I had fried the eggs, I toasted three slices of bread and spread butter on it. Since it was a cold day, I decided to brew a cup of hot coffee for Officer Philips (mocha was her preference) and two mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows. I was done preparing breakfast when the two had awoken.

  "Good morning," I greeted them happily. They took a seat at the dining table.
  "Wow, you prepared breakfast for us? Thank you!" said Officer Philips. I placed the frying pan in the sink and washed my hands. I then took a seat at the table. We said grace before we ate.
  "Can I go outside after breakfast? I want to catch the snow," I asked.
  "Sure. Just make sure you wear appropriate clothing; I don't want you catching a cold!" Officer Philips granted me permission.

  I had eaten my breakfast and washed the dishes. I then took a brief shower before I wore thick clothes. I then opened door and danced in the snow. What a joyful time of the year, it was! Christmas lights were prepared and I laid on the snowy ground, watching the lights flicker and twitch to the soft beat of the season. I sat down on the front porch, watching little snowflakes fall slowly to the ground. Gale sat next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and I asked him,

  "Do you know who I am?"
  "My sister," he replied, smiling sweetly. He rubbed my back and held me close.
  "I still can't believe it. You had been abused by our aunt for seven years and yet you still manage to recover quickly," I remarked.
  "Maybe it's because of all the help I got," he said. I glanced at my red wristwatch.
  "It's time to visit her," I reminded him.

  It was nine o'clock in the morning. Officer Philips had to go to work, so Gale accompanied me to the prison compound. It was a bleak and lifeless area, where inmates prowled while guardsmen contained them. The security guards checked us for any forbidden items. Once we were found clean, a security guard escorted us to a prison cell. Cell 41. Gale and I stood in front of it and my aunt glared at us from the opposite side, clad in an orange prisoner's uniform.

  "I bet you came here to greet me Merry Christmas," she said coldly.
  "At least we still bothered to visit," said Gale. She looked at us hatefully.
  "Because of you now I'm stuck here for the rest of my life," she blamed me.
  "I had to bring you to justice, Aunt Madeline. I still love you, but I can't let you get away with your crimes," I defended myself. Gale tapped me on my right shoulder.
  "She doesn't want us here. Let's leave her," he said.

  We departed from the prison and took a taxi to the park. We spent hours there, reminiscing the times we had when I was still very young. We then made a snowman, which looked deformed, and imprinted snow angels on the ground.

  "Do you remember things easily?" I asked Gale.
  "Hmm, I'm not sure. I definitely don't remember things as well as before, but I can always try," he said. We sat on the park bench.
  "Do you think you'll someday forget all of this?" I asked.
  "Hopefully not. I think I won't. But I know you won't," he said, "because your memories are photographic."
  "Photographic memories," I said. He fingered a picture from his left jacket pocket and showed it to me.
  "See those two? That's us," he said, pointing to the boy and girl in the picture. He wrapped one arm around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder.
  "You photocopied it?" I questioned. He nodded his head.
  "Just in case the original one is gone, we still have a back up," he explained.

  We stood up and walked home, his left hand holding my right. We knew that there were some memories that we could never forget. Some of them were bad, others were good. The bad memories, the ones that haunt us, makes us want to forget. The good memories, the ones that comfort us, makes us want to remember. For us? We prefer both.

  In the end, there will always be a part of the past that will come back to help you.

THE END