Four months later

        It was Feya’s first time on the slopes since losing her leg and Maisie’s first time skiing. Breckenridge in Colorado was the family get-together location to celebrate Maisie’s DCP Extension. She once said she wouldn’t extend, but after four incredible months with Feya and her Sports friends, an extension was only necessary. Maisie’s parents stayed behind to look after Milo, Luna, and Daisy. They said they would come next time but for Maisie to snap some pictures of her and Feya skiing.

        With Mr. and Mrs. Fedora close behind, Maisie and Feya rode Breckenridge’s Snowflake chairlift over the snow-covered, young forest. It turned right into a cluster of chairlifts that looked like the doors in Monster Inc.’s door factory—a strange sight, indeed.

        Feya’s new prosthetic leg was snug in her ski boot. She waved it a few times and asked, “Are you ready, Maisie?”

        “Only if you are.” Maisie had no idea what to do, so she mentally prepared herself for a day of failure overnight.

        “Hey, we’re both learning,” Feya comfortably encouraged.

        “You’ve skied way longer than me, though.”

        “Not with a prosthetic.” Feya lowered her snow goggles over her eyes. She peered into the cold, clear sky beyond the treetops. “Matthew and Victoriya will look after us.”

        Maisie couldn’t argue with that.

        After a few minor stops, the lift reached the drop-off zone at the top of the peak.

        Maisie’s skis became caught, and she toppled over, sliding down the drop-off hill. Embarrassing!

        Feya helped her stand and moved her out of the way before the lift stopped. Her parents dismounted it next and glided to them.

        Mrs. Fedora lifted her goggles and zipped her coat the rest of the way. “You good, Maisie? We saw you fall.”

        “Oh, I’m fine, Mrs. Fedora.” Maisie was more than fine. She was terrific! “I’m just glad I’m not the only one learning.” She straightened and stabbed her poles into the fluffy snow. “So, Lower 4 O’Clock, right? That’s the one we’re doing?” Her attention switched to the extensive trail map on the right. A few skiers and snowboarders surrounded it.

        Mr. Fedora answered Maisie’s question. “Yep. Lower 4 O’Clock has the Learning Zone for you and Feya.”

        “So, what are we standing around for?” Maisie wanted to try everything. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” She skied forward, only to fall again, but Maisie was too excited to care.

        She lost count of how often she and Feya fell on Lower 4 O’Clock, but they took turns helping each other up.

        Mr. and Mrs. Fedora remained near them. Mr. Fedora showed Maisie how to perform the basic V-shape for skiing, and Mrs. Fedora took photos and videos to post on her Facebook page. Moms loved to do that.

        While Maisie was slightly embarrassed to see that most rookie skiers were children, she knew it was never too late to try something new (#DisneyCollegeProgram and #Summit2023). Maisie was there to support Feya as she continued to recover. Where she went, Maisie followed.

        Maisie felt more confident on the skis as the day progressed, but she also wished Matthew was there to share the magic with her and Feya. She wished he could see how much she had grown in four months. The sudden grief bombarded her, leaving Maisie to slip away from Feya and her parents on a cross-country section of the Snowflake Trail.

        She approached the open field’s frozen lake and studied it and the Rockies in the distance. Matthew had enjoyed the outdoors, too. He got it from his and Maisie’s father.

        She heard crunching in the snow behind her. Feya appeared beside Maisie, and Mr. and Mrs. Fedora were on her other side.

        “Maisie, what’s wrong? Aren’t you having fun?” Feya pushed down on her left ski boot’s back button and released it, shaking it out.

        “I am, Feya,” Maisie lowly answered, refusing to let her eyes leave the mountains. “I just wish he was here to see me today.”

        “Your brother?”

        Maisie nodded. “Yeah. He enjoyed being outside, too.”

        “Oh, Maisie.” Feya rested her head on Maisie’s shoulder. “Your brother’s here. Can’t you feel it? I feel Victoriya’s presence.”

        “How? How can I feel him when he’s not here?”

        “Simple.” Feya closed her eyes. “Close your eyes and listen to your surroundings.”

        Maisie did. At first, she only heard the few skiers on the trail (one cursed because they didn’t mean to do cross-country), but then a gust of wind passed through the field, filling Maisie’s head with Matthew’s voice.

        “I’m here, Maisie, and have never been so proud. I will always be with you. You’re my little sister.”

        The wind was known to play tricks on the individual, but this was one trick Maisie needed. “I hear him, Feya.”

        “Told you. Now, keep listening.”

        The wind fell quiet for a few seconds before it picked up again.

        “I love you, Maisie.”

        “I love you, too.” Those words got Maisie through the rest of the day.

        Feya started skiing the parallel on her right leg during the last few runs. She fell every time she tried her left but always got back up and tried again, encouraging Maisie to do the same.

        With each tumble, they spoke their roars.

        Feya: “I, Feya, solemnly swear to ski again and aim for the Olympics.”

        Maisie: “Sometimes moving on just takes a little bit of courage.”

        The next day, Maisie and Feya went out alone.

        Feya dropped her left ski and skied one-legged. She still had it in her. She didn’t need that prosthetic to ski well. By the end of the day, she was skiing backward, and Maisie was almost executing the parallel.

        They stumbled onto a small blue part of the trail.

        Feya grasped a nervous Maisie’s hands and guided her down the blue, all while skiing backward. “You did it, Maisie!” she yelled when they reached the hill’s base. She clapped. “You did a blue square!” Without warning, she grabbed Maisie and gave her a knuckle rub on her helmet. “Next time I say you can do it, listen.”

        “Ow! Ow! Okay!” Maisie released herself, chuckled, and smiled lovingly at Feya.

        She returned her tender look. “Do you want to try the blue one more time?”

        Maisie lightly punched her shoulder. “I think I have to. We need to get you to the Olympics.” Therefore, they practiced until the lifts closed.

        Maisie and Feya's determination got Feya to the Olympics in a few years. After practicing nonstop, she was back on her feet after her tragedy.

        With a grin, she marched out of her and Maisie’s gated Colorado apartment, her skies and poles strapped on her back.

        Maisie, Daisy, Luna, and Milo watched her, on the verge of tears, even though the animals didn't have them.

        While Maisie observed her friend under the Colorado sun, she knew that for the first time since Matthew died, she and Milo had finally found their new life meaning: to help those who lived through traumatic events see the light again. People like Feya.

        And it was all thanks to the Disney College Program.

Final Word Count: 35,800

P.S.: The picture at the top of this chapter is my family and I at Breckenridge!