Maria sat on the bench looking at the crowd gathered on the dark street.

She thought back to her old home in England. Last year there had been a snow storm and everything was covered in a glistening white blanket. Maria had joined her friends building a snowman, sledging and laughing during snowball fights. Christmas lights twinkled and lit up the evenings.

There would be none of that this year. Thanks to her Dad’s work move, Christmas was now a summer celebration. No snow, no warming up cold hands by the fire or drinking hot chocolate, no sliding over icy puddles.

The crowd started counting down with their thick New Zealand accents. Maria didn’t join in. Her mother looked over to her and smiled. The countdown reached zero.

The entire street lit up in a blaze of fairy lights.  Dazzling colours covered every wall, roof, fence and path. Some local kids pulling a sled on wheels walked passed. One of them stopped and looked at her.

‘Want to come sledging with us?’ he asked.

Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story, in around 150 words based on the weekly photo prompt. For more information visit HERE.

To read other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.