The Babas’ Dilemma (Part One of a Four Part Tale)

by Paula Gail Benson

By Viktor Vasnetsov

            My two Ukrainian Babas sat with their scarfed heads touching. Their fierce tempers showed in the whispers spewing from their lips.

“What is it?” I, the favorite grandchild, asked.

Tato’s mama said, “The American babies beg for us to tell the Snow Maiden story.”

“You have heard it many times.”

Mama’s mama replied, “In different ways.”

“How different?” I asked.

“In one version, she is a child crafted from snow by mortals,” Tato’s mama explained.

“No,” Mama’s mama maintained. “She is the daughter of immortals who seeks to love a mortal.”

I advised, “Tell both and let the children decide.”

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This 100 word story is offered as an entry for the annual Advent Ghosts event hosted by Loren Eaton at I Saw Lightning Fall. See the other entries there. Thanks, Loren, for the opportunity!