I hate to be the one to say it, but... the snow has arrived. Winter is here once again. However, the change of season has brought at least one good thing with it... *insert drum roll*
A NEW SHORT STORY!
In case the title didn't already give it away, this short story is a flash fiction piece about the change of seasons, specifically the change from autumn to winter. I wrote this for my Writer's Craft class at Brock University and had a lot of positive feedback from my classmates during the class workshop. I wanted share it here on my website as well!
So, whether you like snow or not, I hope you will enjoy this little bit of writing!
All material is copyrighted.
A Change of Season
Flash Fiction Piece by Kelsey Gatis
Autumn’s feet fell hard against the soft dirt as she ran, breath ragged and legs aching. She dared to glance behind her shoulder—
The leaves on the trees had fallen, leaving their branches bare and trembling like fingers reaching out to grab her. A light frost coated the ground, killing off whatever plants had still been clinging to their last days of life. Soon, everything would be blanketed in white. Dead. Cold. Forgotten.
Winter had come early.
She could feel it through the wind that turned sharp and bitter—through the sky that darkened and grew thick with grey clouds.
Just as Autumn could see a break in the trees—see her escape out of the forest—she felt an icy breath graze against the bare nape of her neck. Startled, she tripped, tumbling into the frozen dirt.
Frozen. Only seconds ago, it had still been damp and soft from the late-autumn rains. Now, it was as unforgiving as Winter herself.
Frigid fingers grabbed her shoulder, forcing Autumn to turn around and face her chaser.
Eyes as dark and blue as the coldest night stared back.
Autumn trembled like a leaf in the wind. “Please, no! I just need a little more time. You’re early! It’s—It’s only November—”
Autumn was cut off as a blade like ice pierced through her stomach. Snow filled the space between them. Winter smiled as the grass around her shrivelled and disappeared.
Autumn’s reign was over. Winter had begun.
THE END!
Usually, I struggle writing flash fiction pieces (just because there's such a small word count to work with), but this one I found really fun to make, and I loved getting so much feedback on it (thanks to my creative writing class).
For those who aren't sure what "flash fiction" is, it's usually defined as a short story that uses no more than 300 words. Essentially, it is just a VERY short story, some only as long as six words (I suggest googling some six-word stories if you're curious. They're pretty exciting and occasionally quite dark).
Thanks for reading my little story! If you have any comments, feel free to reach out.
I hope you have a great winter.
Comments