Soft snow crunching under my bare feet. A cold wind encasing my naked body and whipping my hair about my head. Another step, and my bones become numb. The tingling raking through from head to toe making it hard to breathe. Was I breathing, or was it simply the idea of it? I was not aware to the feeling, if my chest was heaving at all or if it was a figment of my imagination. Another step, and I’m taking in the trees around me. Barren except for the heavy snow that coated the bare dead branches. The blizzard swelled around them and hid their tops from view; the shapes of their canopy drawing into a blur of darkness. Ahead of me is a vast expanse of white wilderness and a shadow, shorter than the rest. It protrudes from the vast expanse of snow with two limbs stretched out like someone waiting for an embrace. The arms waved and I felt a pull towards them. They seemed welcoming. They seemed familiar. Another step, and I made out the distinction in their body. The slimness of their neck, the faint whipping of hair, the separation in their legs as they stood there trying to steady themselves. Their features were still too dark to make out. A step, and I could make out the shape of their head. Another showed me the blue of their eyes. Step, and I could reach out to touch them, before falling into the cold, snowy darkness.
About the Creator
Gunnar Anderson
I am a young aspiring novelist with an arts degree in English Creative Writing with a focus in both fiction and poetry from Arizona State University where I made the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's List upon my 2020 graduation.
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More stories from Gunnar Anderson and writers in Fiction and other communities.
Titan VI
Fires ignite in the belly of the beast, roaring to life in the twilight stars. A midnight owl flies from its perch atop the cone of the vessel while it calls a warning to the nearby forests. The General watches the rocket scream towards the heavens with a knot in his stomach and his heart in his throat. The souls on board are his responsibility, and he cannot let them down or those on the Earth. A crimson light flashes and he holds his breath, still watching. The hull is engulfed in flame, and the vessel turns to dust. Failure!
By Gunnar Anderson12 months ago in Fiction
Aurora
Stars glittered across the moonless sky. Millions of brilliant points of light, more than Yusuke had had ever seen before. He marvelled at them, despite often having gazed at the night sky before, mesmerized by them. It had always been a dream, one that he had come to share with its original dreamer, to be in that place and see the stars in their seemingly infinite multitude.
By Alexander McEvoy7 days ago in Fiction
Comments (1)
Great use of concrete imagery. The ending made me wonder if there was really a person in the snow or if the main character was just hallucinating.