A magical wintry story from talented young writer Blue... take five minutes out of your day to relax, curl up and enjoy!
Stepping out of the front door, I exhale and watch my breath swirl in the air before drifting away. I love winter. Yes, it's cold, freezing actually - but it's magical all the same. Especially January. It's often overlooked in favour of December, but January, smack bang in the middle of winter, is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts, a time when anything seems possible. Well... almost anything.
A young girl jogs down the street, struggling to keep pace with the lanky teenage boy she's with, dragging an old-fashioned sled behind her. She beams at him in admiration; he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than with his little sister, heading for the play park. From my bench at the edge of the park, I can hear everything they say. 'What d'you want to do first, Cleo?' the boy asks, shivering in his hooded sweatshirt. 'I can push you on the swings?'
Cleo pouts. 'No... I want to go sledding, Ben!' she says, gesturing to the wooden sled.
The teenager runs his hands through his hair. 'Cleo, we've been over this,' he sighs. 'You can't go sledding when there isn't any snow. We tried last year, remember? You fell and tore your new jeans, and Nan yelled at us. No snow, no sledding. I'm sorry, Cleo.'
Cleo is dangerously close to tears now. 'But it never snows!' she argues. 'It hasn't snowed in years! I am never ever ever going to get to go sledding again because you won't let me - you're the meanest big brother in the whole wide world!' She sits down on the sled, head in her mittened hands.
'Cleo, I don't control the weather!' Ben snaps. From my vantage point on the bench, I smile. They remind me of my younger brother and I growing up... we were forever fighting and throwing tantrums. Cleo does have a point, though. Winter, though bitingly cold, rarely brings snow these days. Soon enough, Cleo will grow up, wrapped up in teenage life like my own little brother is now, sleeping till noon. She'll forget about simple joys like sledding down a hill on a blanket of fresh snow. Her brother may not be able to control the weather - so it's a good job I can.
Slipping off my gloves, I rub my hands together, feeling the chill spread from my wrists to my fingertips. I shake my hands and small, barely noticeable blue sparks shoot up into the atmosphere. I grin as the first flakes of snow start to fall, gently at first and then a flurry.
'Wow!' Ben splutters, pulling his hood up. 'Where did this come from? Looks like we get to go sledding after all!' The excitement in his eyes betrays the nonchalance in his voice and I realise that eight or eighteen, you are never too old for sledding.
Cleo is spinning in the snow, her hands stretched out to catch the flakes as they fall. 'Magic!' she breathes.
Magic? I'm not sure about that. It's simple atmospheric excitation, no wands or abracadabras required. Slipping my hands back into my gloves, I get up and head for a walk in the snow, Cleo's squeals and Ben's laughter still ringing in my ears. I love midwinter, the start of the new year with the future spreading out before me like a fresh blanket of snow. Anything is possible. Anything at all.
Cathy says:
This gorgeous story gives me shivers... I LOVE it! Brilliant stuff, Violet! If YOU love to write, why not give a 'like' to the CC Facebook Fan Page and join in with the regular story challenges? And feel free to COMMENT BELOW to have your say!
A young girl jogs down the street, struggling to keep pace with the lanky teenage boy she's with, dragging an old-fashioned sled behind her. She beams at him in admiration; he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than with his little sister, heading for the play park. From my bench at the edge of the park, I can hear everything they say. 'What d'you want to do first, Cleo?' the boy asks, shivering in his hooded sweatshirt. 'I can push you on the swings?'
Cleo pouts. 'No... I want to go sledding, Ben!' she says, gesturing to the wooden sled.
The teenager runs his hands through his hair. 'Cleo, we've been over this,' he sighs. 'You can't go sledding when there isn't any snow. We tried last year, remember? You fell and tore your new jeans, and Nan yelled at us. No snow, no sledding. I'm sorry, Cleo.'
Cleo is dangerously close to tears now. 'But it never snows!' she argues. 'It hasn't snowed in years! I am never ever ever going to get to go sledding again because you won't let me - you're the meanest big brother in the whole wide world!' She sits down on the sled, head in her mittened hands.
'Cleo, I don't control the weather!' Ben snaps. From my vantage point on the bench, I smile. They remind me of my younger brother and I growing up... we were forever fighting and throwing tantrums. Cleo does have a point, though. Winter, though bitingly cold, rarely brings snow these days. Soon enough, Cleo will grow up, wrapped up in teenage life like my own little brother is now, sleeping till noon. She'll forget about simple joys like sledding down a hill on a blanket of fresh snow. Her brother may not be able to control the weather - so it's a good job I can.
Slipping off my gloves, I rub my hands together, feeling the chill spread from my wrists to my fingertips. I shake my hands and small, barely noticeable blue sparks shoot up into the atmosphere. I grin as the first flakes of snow start to fall, gently at first and then a flurry.
'Wow!' Ben splutters, pulling his hood up. 'Where did this come from? Looks like we get to go sledding after all!' The excitement in his eyes betrays the nonchalance in his voice and I realise that eight or eighteen, you are never too old for sledding.
Cleo is spinning in the snow, her hands stretched out to catch the flakes as they fall. 'Magic!' she breathes.
Magic? I'm not sure about that. It's simple atmospheric excitation, no wands or abracadabras required. Slipping my hands back into my gloves, I get up and head for a walk in the snow, Cleo's squeals and Ben's laughter still ringing in my ears. I love midwinter, the start of the new year with the future spreading out before me like a fresh blanket of snow. Anything is possible. Anything at all.
Cathy says:
This gorgeous story gives me shivers... I LOVE it! Brilliant stuff, Violet! If YOU love to write, why not give a 'like' to the CC Facebook Fan Page and join in with the regular story challenges? And feel free to COMMENT BELOW to have your say!
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