The Ice Age Tipping Point

In the dead of winter, with her spirits at rock bottom, she shivered even in her warm padded coat. Her thoughts were elsewhere, fixed on a psychological problem that had troubled her for a long time. Her mother had just finished work. Instead of pointing out her daughter's distress, she simply handed her a pretty hat and scarf as a reward, along with the words: "Snow in your palm will quietly melt into warm water." In an instant, the girl's heart was warmed. Years later, she returned again and again to the alley where she had once felt so many conflicting emotions, still hoping to cheer her mother up the same way. But her mother was still very busy.