Snowday

• Jessie Wattie, Grade 11, University Senior College -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

There, in the middle of the woods where winter never ends, sits a girl. A girl of Nordic decent, Wearing a powder blue lace dress that matched her cornflower blue eyes, and a flower crown atop her flaxen hair, blessed with the innocent grace of a forest nymph. Day after day, she sits alone and stares at the frosted patterns crawling over the edges of a window.
I don't care what year it is, anymore, she thought. As long as I'm here in this wonderland.
High above there isn't a bird in sight. The sky a shade of grey blue, speckled with clouds and thin beams of sunlight peeking through. To her side stands an old wooden cabin, a warm and comforting safe haven from the icy winter just beyond. The cabin, a simple structure of stacked logs and nails, stood strong with its steep roof and rustic stone chimney. She could almost hear the wood crackling from the fireplace inside. She imagines that beyond the frosty window, the room smelt of cinnamon cookies and ginger tea. She wishes to run her fingers along the carvings of the rosewood bookshelf, finally selecting her favourite novel and plopping down on the cloth sofa and relax.
But it was all in vain. She wouldn't move. She belongs to this winter wonderland as much as it belongs to her; to leave would be a violation of the natural order. So, she sits, frozen in time.
The chilling winter air nips and kisses her pale, waxen skin, her lips tilting into a frozen smile. The only sound around is the soft whooshing of the breeze, gently caressing the branches and carrying the snow to rest. The spinney trees appeared lifeless. The fresh snow piles upon the charcoal branches creating a stark contrast, enchanting her.
Absorbed in the elegant scene before her, she doesn't notice the snow gathering around her, absorbing her life.
Out of the corner of her eye she notices a rabbit. It's an energetic snowball, hopping between the trees and burrowing for food. When was the last time I moved or ate? She wondered. I haven't eaten since summer. She couldn't believe it.
Suddenly, she felt the chill begin to spread. It started from her spine, then began creeping down to her stomach and finally invading her mind. She hadn't felt this human in years, with hunger, pain and yearning; the moment drawled out, unyielding.
Her muscles feel stiff, understandable considering they are frozen solid, but none the less uncomfortable. She wants to cry, but whatever tears left are frozen. She wants to scream, but the sound is caught in her chest. The cabin seems an eternity away. To feel the heat from even the smallest candle would be a miracle.
Her consciousness is fading, like a thick fog gathering. She was destined to forever be Alice, trapped in her wonderland, unware life has changed and time has passed.