A baby mountain goat scampered in the distance and galloped out of sight. Karin began to trail the animal and ignored Ariane's instructions to return. She moaned and immediately sprung forward in a fast sprint to catch up with her strong-willed sister. Ariane effortlessly completed the challenge of doing so and once there found herself enthralled with following another set of tiny imprints in the snow, the same ones which her sister was fascinated with. They appeared to be from an antelope perhaps, each curve and contour clear and exact on the ground. The tracks were staggered, spaced evenly apart from another, and as life-like as if they were the real things. Karin and Ariane never once shifted their sparkling eyes off of them, even to peer ahead. Instead, they focused on their brisk steps and the crunching sound of their boots as they walked.

It was not long before the tracks ceased, as did the light of day. For the first time, Ariane glanced away from the ground and stretched her neck upward to examine her surroundings. A vast array of green shown in every which direction. They could no longer make out the sky from the tops of the numerous trees. Branches and leaves were all that could be feasibly seen and limited light shimmered through to the ground level where they were standing. There was no snow below them anymore. Ariane guessed it was caught in the high limbs of the spruces. Grass was absent also and was replaced with faded topsoil. Karin huddled near Ariane and linked her arm around her sister's as a limb fell from above. She blinked to restrain the tears of dread from flowing out of her watery eyes. The two meandered side-by-side, worried and frightened, but most definitely staying close to one another.

A short amount of time passed and though still having mixed emotions about their predicament, the girls were more open to the challenges of the forest. It did not take much effort to calm Karin down from her terrified state. A few comforting words from Ariane and a little encouragement made her as good as new. It was both adventurous and exciting for them to explore an area of the mountain where they had never visited.

Karin ambled along while she hummed a relaxing Swiss tune but her sister walked in silence, absorbing everything around her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a screech from Karin. She snapped out of the daze that she was in and turned the corner frantically to find her sister hovered over an object in the dirt. Her skinny body was just wide enough to block Ariane's view of whatever it was. Karin twisted her head to note if she had her sister's attention and when she was sure she did, she stepped away filled with delight. There standing alone in the dry land was a single lily. It was more elegant than anything that they could have ever imagined but Ariane wondered how it could be. Weeds and shrubs alone were uncommon and rare in the conditions of the mountainous environment, let alone flowers. She opened her mouth to dispute this but as she noted the happiness on Karin's face, she decided not to comment.

It was beginning to get late and Ariane motivated Karin to tread faster. Their mother would worry if they were not home before dark and additionally, Ariane was awfully tired. Karin did not say a word the whole journey back but she only clutched the lily in her hand. She had taken it from the forest in hopes that she could plant in by their house and more could grow. Ariane tried to explain that flowers do not grow in the snow but Karin believed what she wished.