Winterfest

The world looked beautiful in the dark of night. The boughs of the evergreen trees were shrouded with snow, and silvery fairy trees sparkled with frost. Occasionally big snowflakes fell from the sky. The ice rink was bordered by a low stone wall. Brightly-colored pairs of oversized Christmas ornaments were placed at intervals along the top of this wall. A wooden bridge spanned the river that flowed nearby, and the dark hills stood off in the distance. I began to explore.

In one corner of the skating rink, a snowman stood like a lonely sentinel. He wore a top hat and a red scarf, and held a lantern in one hand and a silver cane in the other. He looked friendly enough, but was impassive when I asked him for directions. Moving on, I skated for a while with two snowmen, both of whom remained mute the whole time.

A giant bonfire burned in the center of the ice rink. The fire sat atop a raised stone pedestal.  Beside the fire, Santa sat in a sled drawn by two red-nosed reindeer, both of which were wearing scarves. The animals were huge, and towered over my avatar. Nearby, another grinning snowman in a woolen hat sat on a sort of platter, spinning in circles. Beside him, a tall, grey-faced Santa Claus stood motionless. An elf did a headstand, and a melting snowman struggled to free himself from entrapment in the ice.

A stage was set up for DJ Selo, but alas there was no performance at this late hour. Still, a screen flashed behind the stage, his twin turntables spun of their own accord, and a big picture of the DJ was on display. In addition, Christmas elves and gifts were set up around the front of the stage. More oversized Christmas ornaments flanked the stage, too.

I started to fly, but my control was poor, and I ended up at a private house, like a big, two-floor wooden chalet! It had a tent and a bonfire set up outside, as if someone was camping there. I couldn't manage to get into the house. I am starting to get an appreciation for how big and complicated this world is!

The whole experience was surreal, like a strange dream!