The snow melted slowly, revealing the world beneath. Maya stood at the window, watching the water drip from the eaves, the patches of green emerging from the white. It had been a long winter, cold and dark, but now spring was coming, and with it, the promise of new beginnings. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her face, the gentle breeze carrying the scent of wet earth and new growth. She could hear the birds singing their spring songs, their cheerful melodies a reminder that life was returning to the world. She could see the buds on the trees, tiny and green, a promise of the leaves to come. She felt a sense of hope settle over her, the kind that came with the changing of the seasons. The world was waking up, and so was she. She'd spent the winter in a kind of cocoon, huddled agains
