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The snow fell in heavy, deliberate curtains, turning

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the bustling urban core into a cathedral

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of silence.

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Outside the apartment blocks, the city park had

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already dissolved into a pristine white

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sanctuary, untouched by the evening rush.

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Maya zipped her heavy wool coat to her

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chin and stepped off the pavement, her boots

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sinking

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deeply into the fresh powder with a satisfying

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crunch.

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She was the only one out here.

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The frantic hum of the metropolis faded to

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a distant, muffled murmur behind a thick wall

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of white.

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Above her, individual snowflakes drifted down like microscopic

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stars, catching the amber

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glow of the vintage street lamps that lined

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the winding gravel paths.

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Each light cast a warm, golden halo into

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the gathering dusk, turning the falling flakes

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into a dance of floating embers.

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Following the solitary set of footprints left by

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an earlier wanderer, Maya walked deeper

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into the park, her breath pluming in the

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freezing air.

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The city's jagged skyline was barely visible through

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the storm, reduced to soft, glowing

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silhouettes against the indigo sky.

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Stopping by a snow -draped bench, she brushed

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the powder from the wood and sat down,

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listening

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to the profound, rare quiet of the winter

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night wrap around her like a blanket.