Change is good. Change can also be bad.

When I was little, my father used to take me for long walks to build a snow castle. We used to walk in the snow to the my favorite restaurant. It was called Calissa's, just like my name Calissa. My dad used to pick me up and hold me up to the window before we entered. Then, I would wipe the fog on the glass with my coat sleeve and we would go inside. The place has changed tremendously and added new things. It still reminds me of my childhood from time to time.

Inside there was warmth, accented by the grains of bright wood. The seats were smooth, but they made you feel at home. We even got to pick out our own cushions before we were seated. The meals were as numerous as the chairs and there was an outside balcony view overlooking the Snowfell palace. I used to close my eyes and listen to the chimes above me. My father used to tell me I was like the snow. It came and melted slightly, but I was still there with him every year. I melted his heart like mom. My smile was always there too. My father told me I was never afraid of change and he was proud of me for it. I think he knew things were getting worse on the planet. He read me fairy tales to cheer us up at night.

Over the years though, Calissa's became a trashy place. The families left, many were killed in the long war and it soon became a home for beggars, thieves, and desperation. I still venture there and try to capture a moment for myself. I'm not afraid of change and neither should you. It may be good, or it may be bad, but it seems to always be what we need in the end.

I don't smile when I go to Calissa's anymore. I'm not bothered by it. Times change and it's best to simply accept it. Don't be afraid. Someone even scratched out the sticker I put there as a little girl. It had a picture of a snow castle and now it has some address for a prostitute and hired guns. Jealous writing, insults, and hatred against those fortunate enough to have unbroken families cover the walls. The restaurant is closed now and local people still use the structure to vent their frustration, hoping those of us at the Palace will notice and forget. This is how it's always been, they say. It's like they are afraid and don't want to admit things have changed.

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Calissa's is sore spot against the beautiful expanse of the Snowfell Palace below. Either way I embrace the changes. I'm not afraid. These outcasts are now turning into our most hardened soldiers. They have nothing to lose and that makes winning the war against the Mastals the only thing that matters to them. It's starting to turn around. People know the name and know Calissa's brings food, shelter, a paycheck, and sex. The know it brings resistance to the Mastals. You just sign away your life, and our army grows like a snowball. The good change is coming and I can feel it. I won't stay like this forever.

I pick at a sharp splinter in the rotting wood. My arms rest on the balcony as two men approach me from behind. They are my soldiers, loyal to the last remaining noble. That would be me. I felt safer when there were more of us, but now isn't the time to fear. A cold rush of air consumes my cheeks and I shiver. For a brief moment the rusted chimes above sound and I smile. Times may change us, but if you have no wisdom you'll fight against it out of fear. Stubbornness turns to apathy and then acceptance of all that's wrong.

The sunset paints a scene as I motion my two soldiers away. I take a seat very carefully on the edge of the railing. My father used to point at the large cliff birds that no longer fly and make me awe. We've eaten them all. The surrounding ice cliffs are barren. If you look above you can still see the home world in the sky, even though the view is cut off by the pollution below. We are at war and the factories are our lifeline against the Mastals. We even melted many of our ice sculptures to make room for new arrivals. They come more frequently.

Sometimes I wonder if things will return to the time of families and joy, but that would be foolish. This is the time I live in. You shouldn't be afraid of change. I've always believed this. It's what my father taught me. It's the one part of me I'm afraid of changing.