Another year
I Let the cold take me.
Today is not like any other day. It is the one day of the year that I force myself to visit you.
I sit in my gray buick watching the snow fall. I can hear the stillness of the earth with nothing but the damp flakes resting around me. I breathe in deeply as I force myself out of the car.
My emotions are blank as I wonder what the point of visiting this place is.
People say it's comforting.
All I find is emptiness.
The soft crunch beneath my feet reminds me of the last day that you were here. We went out for hot chocolate. Much like the days before when the snow blanketed the streets. One minute we were laughing, and you were complaining about the chill in the air. The next..
You were gone.
Still, the briskness comforts me. Now I find myself longing for the cold. I long for the snow.
The remembrance of you on your last day.
I wipe the snow away from your resting place. I feel nothing beneath me. You are here but you are not here.
I find myself confused every year that I come.
I look up to the sky.
I look past the snow covered branches into the gray sky. I feel a bit of warmth on my face from the winter sun forcing itself through the clouds. I close my eyes and let the coolness take me. I'm back with you on your last day once more.
About the Creator
Ashley Shiflett
I have always had a passion for writing.
I hope to share my love for stories with everyone that I meet. I'm hopeful that in some way they will motivate you, help you smile, or even encourage you through a difficult time.
All are welcome!
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
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More stories from Ashley Shiflett and writers in Fiction and other communities.
Wind Carrier
“Hush! Now”! I hear from somewhere in the distance. Cries echo around me and I realize I'm not alone. I see nothing but I can feel everything. It's damp. It's cold. I fervently feel around for any clue as to where I am. I notice deep grooves on the ground half filled with what I assume is water. “I said hush, '' a gurgling shout came from a distance. It is much louder this time. The room falls silent. All the noise that I hear now is faint whimpering trying to hold back cries.
By Ashley Shiflett3 months ago in Fiction
Quoth
Unnoticed, the clock struck into the next day. Before my eyes, as midnight came and went, the words on the pages over which I poured blurred together. Meaningless under my over-tired gaze, they looped around themselves, slowly winding lines of text twisting themselves into knots as I watched, barely awake enough to do more than notice the change.
By Alexander McEvoy5 days ago in Fiction
The Giant Of Antopolis.
In a clamoring knoll, under the overhang of murmuring grasses and dynamic wildflowers, lay the many-sided city of Antopolis. Worked from innumerable grains of sand, small twigs, and stones, it was a wonder of designing and association. The insects of Antopolis carried on with their lives as one, each playing out their jobs with military accuracy. In any case, there was a consistent shadow of dread that lingered over them, a fear shared by each subterranean insect from the littlest specialist to the fabulous Sovereign herself — the Monsters.
By borsha afrin306 days ago in Fiction
Comments (27)
Heartfelt and well crafted.
Congratulations on Top Story!
Congrats on Top Story!🥳
Gorgeous work! So well done!!
Oh, my heart. Well done! 😭
Elegiac, somber and sadly beautiful. Really lovely and sensitive writing. Congratulations on your Top Story!
This tugged at my heartstrings 😩
Beautiful and melancholic. 🥰
Sad and beautiful. Thank you for this.
Gosh, I'm lost for words. Beautifully sad.
You have some great sensory lines relating to the season here. Congrats on achieving a top story!
Awesome story, Ashley! Congrats!!!💖
Great work
Congratulations on Top Story! This piece elicits deep emotions, including sadness, loneliness, loss, and compassion, through its character development and perspective, as well as your scene choice, phrasing and pacing. Lovely read.
Touching post
Lovely work, Ashley. Congrats on Top Story!
really great text
it was liek we were sharing every thought and emotion, the vivd scenery was beautifully written. Congratulations
This is such a wonderfully written and emotional micro. Congrats on the Top Story!
Very sad but so well done - congrats on the TS!
Wow! Great story! ❣️💔
Can really picture this scene unfolding. Heartbreaking. So well written.
Oh, oh, oh. What a beautiful expression of grief's seasons. I've subscribed.
"You are there and not there" ❤
That is so sad yet beautifully written