Emilia was sitting at the window sill, looking out at the garden. She could have just stared at the sky and it would feel the equally distant, since she wasn't allowed to leave the mansion to visit either place. Sometimes, Emilia still wondered why their parents locked her and her twin sister Amelia here, but those thoughts were less and less frequent, because they never lead to anything.

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The time kept passing and the girls were still trapped in their home by parents who claimed that they were only protecting them from the harsh world.

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“What are looking at, Emi?” Amelia asked softly and tore her sister out of her thoughts.

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Forcing a smile on her lips, Emilia turned around. “Just the outside world,” she retorted. The falsely cheerful tune sounded flat even to her own ears and she could see Amelia frown.

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“Are you upset?”

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“No.” Still smiling, Emilia shook her head. Her sister was sometimes too innocent for her own good and Emilia didn't want to worry her with her grim mood. “I just wish we could go at least to the garden,” she said longingly, turning back to the window.

Suddenly a pair of arms hugged her from the back and Amelia leant her chin on her twin's shoulder. “Me too. It looks so beautiful, especially in the summer!” She sighed and reached her fingers towards the glass separating them both from the real world. “I want to smell the flowers and braid them into my hair…”

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“It would suit you,” Emilia said, covering her sister's pale hand with her own. She tried to imagine herself with flowers in her hair and the view of white roses immediately came to her mind. There were white roses in their garden, Emilia was sure about it because they were visible from library's windows.

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“Maybe our parents will let us outside one day,” she said quietly, not persuading even herself.

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Amelia remained silent. This was a discussion they had so many times in the past… there was no point in pretending that she believed that anymore. Deep in her heart, she knew that their parents would never agree to let them out. Not even to the garden. They wouldn't risk that either of the slender girls would slip though the fence surrounding their mansion.

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“One day,” she said hopefully, pressing her palm firmly on the glass. “I promise you, Emi. One day, we'll see hold the flowers in our hands.”

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“One day,” Emilia repeated and entwisted her fingers with her sister.

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When the first tiny tendrils began spreading over the glass, they both thought it was just their breath fogging it. But the whiteness was too sharp, too thin, like strokes of pen on the paper. Like ice flowers in the winter.

 

With wide, amazed eyes, both girls watched the frost spread from their entwisted fingers and paint flowers on the glass. The left one looked like a rose, with clearly recognizable shape of petals and thick stern with small leaves. The flower on the right was wilder, like daisy and had thin stern with no leaves.

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“What…” Emilia couldn't find the words to describe what she saw.

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The flowers on the glass grew more detailed by second, until they looked like alive and frost-like whiteness of their shapes began filling with colour like hot water after adding tea leaves. The rose turned pure white, while the daisy shone with white and yellow colour.

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When the both flowers emerged from the glass and fell off the window, the girls gasped and intuitively caught them.

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“How…” Amelia began, but was unable to finish. She was holding a daisy in her hand, a real daisy just like the ones she could see from the windows of the dining room. Slowly, she brought the flower to her nose and smelled it, surprised by the soft, sweet fragrance.

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Emilia turned around to look at her sister. “How is that even possible?” she asked, completely bewildered by the appearance of the flowers.

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Amelia didn't answer, she just laughed and smelled her flower again.