Stone

They complained all day; it was too cold to go out, it was too boring to stay in, and there was nowhere to go. Sonam focused on his work and hoped that their whining would exhaust them by dinner time but, alas, it did not. Over a lovely meal, the pouting continued unabated until he put his knife down with a thud. "Have some respect for the yeti, who deserve happy days," Sonam chided them. "Everywhere, at all other times, the sun creatures are out babbling non-stop - causing mischief - and the yeti are hiding, holding their little ones back from the mouths of their caves to avoid discovery." Their mouths hung open, but his wife smiled; he rarely spoke of their former lives (it was almost as rare as a yeti sighting). "Shush you! Shush and let the beings of the dark and cold have a snow day to celebrate their lives and simply be." His son began to speak and then stopped; there was something in Sonam's eyes - a story from childhood in the form of a twinkle - that he would ask about later (with great respect and willingness to listen). Mountain people kept secrets like stone.