How a Tear Begins

The first thing I notice is the exquisite silence of falling snow.

Everything outside my window, all of nature's and man's creations,  transformed almost magically into a pristine wonderland.

I watch as thousands of tiny snowflakes fall, knowing yet not able to understand how each of them could be different.

Taking in all this beauty suddenly there is a swelling
and a welling and
Plop!
there it is on my cheek, shiny and wet,
a tear of joy.