Silent Snow, Secret Snow

Silent Snow, Secret Snow Summary | Part 1 Summary

Silent Snow, Secret Snow takes place during just one day, although it uses several flashbacks to fill in the narrative. The short story is set almost entirely in the mind of a young boy, Paul. As the story opens, he is sitting in school during a geography lesson. As the class discusses continents and the equator, Paul is barely aware of what is going on around him. Instead, he is pondering his big secret. At first, the reader is not sure what this marvelous, important secret is. Paul is focusing on how the unknown secret started. It began on a December morning, as he lay in his bed listening for the postman. Every morning, Paul could hear the postman come around the corner, as he got closer to Paul's house. However, that morning, he did not hear him come around the corner. In fact, he did not hear him until he had come to the first house on the street. The steps were softer. Paul realized that the footsteps were being muffled by snow. Paul stayed in bed with his eyes closed, for he did not need to see the snow to know it was there. He remained still and listened to the snow and the resulting silence it brought to his street. Knowing the snow was outside made him feel safe, relaxed and very comfortable. Much to his surprise, when he finally looked out the window, there was no snow! The cobblestones were bare, just like every other morning. Paul wondered if he could have been dreaming while entirely awake. However, he liked the snow and was content to feel it the next morning and every morning thereafter. As he sits in class thinking, it becomes clear that this snow, that only he can see and hear, is his secret.

Paul continues to recount how it all unfolded. As the days grew on, Paul could hear the postman's footsteps less and less. First, he could hear them when they reached the second house on his street, but the next day he could not hear the footsteps until the postman had reached the third home. Each day, the sound of the approaching postman became more muffled. A few days into the wondrous snowfall, Paul's mother began to notice he was no longer listening when spoken to. Paul himself began to realize he existed in a state of "mute misunderstanding" of the world around him. He was leading a double life. One part of him had to struggle to get dressed, eat breakfast, go to school and talk to his parents and teachers. The other, much more pleasant part of his life, allowed him to luxuriate in his secret snow and ponder how it all came to be:

"These thoughts came and went, came and went, as softly and secretly as the snow; they were not precisely a disturbance, perhaps they were even a pleasure; he liked to have them; their presence was something almost palpable, something he could stroke with his hand, without closing his eyes…. The snow was much deeper now, it was falling more swiftly and heavily."

The narrative moves back to the classroom. While Paul plays over every detail of the snow in his mind, his teacher calls on him to answer a question. He stands up and answers correctly. However, he is mostly lost in his "daydreams." Paul continues to sit in class, wondering if he should tell his parents about his secret snow. His mother has threatened to call a doctor. He wants to tell his parents but he feels he must keep his secret place to himself. Finally, the school bell rings and he hears the snow. He rises to leave, just slightly slower than the girl in front of him does.