When morning came, the first sunbeams fell upon her face, slowly drawing Lorelei from her sleep. She got out of bed, still a little unsettled, until she remembered the events of the previous night.
In the distance, laughter drifted in from outside. Lorelei went to the window to see what was causing it. She spotted Maria and Silvia together in the cabbage field, with large baskets sitting on the ground. Maria ran around while Silvia watched her, laughing.
Lorelei glanced back at her bed and pulled the glove from where she had hidden it the night before — under the pillow. She looked at it for a moment before putting it on. It was difficult with only one hand, but after some struggle, she finally managed it.
She made her way to the door and went down the staircase. Everything seemed so different from what she was used to. The table was well set, the chairs neatly arranged around it. On the couch, dolls and toys sat holding each other's hands in a merry-go-round circle. Lorelei felt drawn toward them and stepped closer for a look.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Maria's silhouette appeared as she entered, carrying a basket full of cabbage. She saw Lorelei's hand reaching for the dolls and watched as Lorelei quickly pulled it back.
"It's fine, you can have them if you want to play! Oh! I have an even better idea — how about you come play with us outside, and when we come back at night, we can play with the dolls!"
Lorelei nodded in agreement. Maria went through a back door that seemed to lead to where the cabbage was stored and set down the basket there.
She came back out, closed the door behind her, and went into another room, returning with a pair of boots and a big, fluffy-looking jacket. She walked over to Lorelei and helped her put them on. At first, Lorelei was startled. Did she really deserve these? Did she really deserve to feel warm? Did she really have the right to live comfortably? All these questions raced through her mind as Maria helped her dress.
"Here! With these, you'll feel warmer. Even though spring is almost here, it's still pretty cold outside, you know?"
Lorelei stared at her. She didn't know how to reply, so she stayed quiet once again. She didn't understand why they were so kind to her. She thought that she didn't deserve such warmth and kindness, but then she remembered — when someone does something nice, you must...
"ThAnK yOu MaRiA."
Maria smiled and took her by the hand, leading her through the front door. Once they were outside, she turned to Lorelei.
"Are you ready?"
Lorelei could see the excitement in her eyes, like little sparks lighting up. Before she could answer, Maria grabbed her hand and ran downhill at an exhilarating speed. Lorelei was amazed at how fast Maria could run, but the wind on her face left her no time to speak. Just as Maria had said, it was cold outside, but at the same time, the warm sun traced her face all the way to her neck, and the cool breeze, softened by the sunlight, blew through her hair — it was thrilling. The sound of thick snow crunching beneath her feet at every step made her feel as if she was no longer running on solid ground. She let herself be guided by the warm body ahead of her. In that moment, she let go of everything. She felt like she was flying.
Her little dream was interrupted when Maria tripped, dragging Lorelei down with her. Soon enough, they were rolling downhill even faster than they had been running. They both screamed in terror until they reached the bottom.
They were covered in snow from head to toe. Maria looked at Lorelei, and Lorelei looked back at Maria. Seeing each other, they laughed. For the first time since she had been with them, Lorelei had finally laughed. The two girls got up and walked toward the field hand in hand.
When they arrived, Silvia greeted Lorelei with a warm smile.
"Good morning, Lorelei. Did you sleep well?"
Lorelei nodded approvingly.
"GooD mOrNing SiLviA. YeS, I dId."
Pronouncing their names was something she was still learning, but she did her best. Silvia told them that today's quota was to fill at least three baskets of cabbage.
While Silvia was explaining and showing Lorelei how to pick the cabbage, Lorelei was hit in the back with a snowball. She turned to see Maria holding several more snowballs, already preparing to throw another.
Lorelei started running through the field as Maria chased after her.
"Come here! I'm going to get you!"
Lorelei ran and ran until she was out of Maria's range. She bent down, scooped up snow, and packed it into a not-so-perfect snowball, then threw it at Maria — almost hitting her.
"Nice shot! But you'll have to do better to beat me!"
Maria scooped up more snow and threw it, hitting Lorelei on the arm and leg. In turn, Lorelei packed more snow. This time, she managed to shape it into something that somewhat resembled a ball. She threw it with all her strength — it landed right on Maria's face. Bullseye!
With snow covering her face, Maria laughed. Seeing her laugh, Lorelei did too.
The two kept exchanging snowballs until sunset, forgetting entirely that they were supposed to be filling the baskets with cabbage.
Silvia crept up behind them and cleared her throat to get their attention.
"I think you two are forgetting something, no?"
Maria and Lorelei froze. They slowly turned around.
"It's already evening?" Maria gasped.
"Yup, already evening," Silvia repeated.
They realized what they had done — or rather, what they hadn't done. The two girls walked slowly toward Silvia, heads down.
"SorRy, SiLviA..."
"Sorry, Mother..."
At the sight of them, Silvia chuckled and patted their heads.
"It's fine. We'll do it tomorrow," she said softly.
The two jumped with joy and ran around playing for a little while longer, until Silvia told them to come back inside.
Once inside, they all ate dinner together and soon after went to their respective rooms.
A while after Lorelei had gotten into bed, the door creaked open, letting a figure slip through. It was Maria, holding two teddy bears. She approached Lorelei, who had already sat up at the sight of her. Maria handed one of the bears to her.
"Here! This is for you. I had too many anyway. I want you to have it!"
Lorelei took the teddy bear and held it close to her chest.
"No sTorY tOniGht?" she asked.
Maria thought about it for a moment, then told Lorelei to follow her.
Together, they went to Silvia's room and knocked on the door. When Silvia opened it, she found the two of them dragging their teddy bears onto her bed, pleading for a bedtime story.
She chuckled at the sight of them begging, then went to the shelf and grabbed a book. She climbed into bed and covered them both with a soft, warm blanket. The two girls nestled under it before Silvia opened the book and began to read.