After-Ever-After

        In  retrospect,  Belle  could  have  avoided  this  harsh  treading  through  the  snow.  Having  spent  the  weekend  with  her  father – helping  him  with  another  of  his  strange  contraptions – she  had  witnessed  the  weather  taking  a  turn  for  the  worse.  Quite  typical  for  this  time  of  the  year,  black  clouds  had  gathered  in  large  numbers  and  before  long,  they  had  made  their  displeasure  clear,  with  sharp  thunders  and  curtains  of  snow.        She  should  have  stayed  in  the  village – that  was  the  safe  thing  to  do.  But  it  was  Christmas  Day  and  to  Belle  it