Post by HerWhisperIsTheLucifer on Aug 10, 2017 19:15:49 GMT -5
Luisa watched the snow fall from the living room window. The flakes were fat and fell slowly, covering the world with stunning whiteness. It was the beginning of December, Luisa’s favorite time of year. She had been obsessed with the snow ever since she was born seven years ago, and with each year she found herself being pulled further to the great, cold white blanket. She knew her grandmother did not approve, for her daughter and Luisa’s mother had been killed by a harsh and unforgiving Winter after becoming lost in the forest that surrounded their small cabin, orphaning little Luisa when she was only three years old. Her mother had been infatuated with the snow as well, and it had caused her heart to stop. Even if Luisa knew this to be fact, she could not help but accept Winter’s pull.
As she watched it grow darker and darker outside of the cabin, Luisa’s heart couldn’t bear it any longer, and she ran to grab her winter coat. It was white with black fur around the sleeve openings, and the buttons along the front of it were black as well. Her grandmother had made it for her almost a year ago, and she loved the colors of it. Her grandmother had explained that these were her favorite colors, black and white, and so she decided to use them in every piece of clothing she would make for Luisa. While she didn’t mind the color scheme, the young girl decided that her wardrobe would be quite boring if everything was the same color, so she declined any other garments made by her elderly grandmother.
Luisa slipped on her thick, black Winter boots and rushed out towards the door. She pulled it open and giggled as the icy wind hit her face with great ferocity. The land was sparkling with the pure white of winter, the trees looking heavy and weighed down with the thick mounds of snow piled onto them. She giggled again and went to run out into the snow but was grabbed and picked up by her grandmother, who shook her head. “No, Luisa. What have I told you about going in the snow at night? It’s dangerous.”
She set the small girl down and closed the door, locking it tight. Luisa sighed out of frustration and flung her coat off. “What’s the point in giving me a Winter coat if I am not allowed to use it? You never let me outside.”
“You don’t want to end up like your mother, do you?”
“Mama died because she went outside at night. I’m not even allowed out during the day.”
“Darling, it wasn’t just your mother who perished from the unforgiving and cold hands of Winter. Your grandfather passed before you were even born, as did your father. It is our family’s curse to die in the snow. It has been ever since I was a little girl.”
Luisa tilted her head, slipping out of her boots. “Then why haven’t you died, grandma? It’s not a curse, it’s just that they get lost all the time and can’t make it back home. I won’t get lost, I promise!”
The elderly woman sighed and sat on the sofa, staring at the fire that was burning in the fireplace. “Luisa darling, it is a curse that is as real as you and I. I was there the day it all started.”
“There?” She climbed up onto the couch and sat with her grandmother. “Tell me, grandma, please? I want to know how the supposed curse started!”
“My dear, there is something I have neglected to tell you throughout the seven years of your life. Perhaps if I told the others, they’d still be alive. Have you ever heard of the snow spirits?”
“Snow spirits?”
“Yes. They are the essence of winter. They hibernate during the Spring and Summer months and awaken towards the end of Autumn. They are spirits that take the form of young women. Her eyes are as black as coal and her hair blends in with the snow. She is beautiful, but she never smiles. She stands there with a blank expression and watches you from afar. She stalks you for several days, trying to drive you made. She cannot enter your home, but she can lure you out at night. Once she accomplishes this, she takes your soul and leaves you for dead. Snow spirits collect the souls so that they may stay warm all throughout Winter, and once they take one they move on to the next. They collect as many as they can before they go into hibernation in late March. Once they wake up again in October, they continue with the cycle.”
“It’s December, so there are snow spirits out right now?”
“Yes. Luisa, there has been one stalking our family for years. She’s the one who killed your mother and father, and my husband as well.”
“How do you know it’s a snow spirit? Have you seen her?”
“I was the first to see her.”
Luisa’s eyes lit up with excitement and she jumped onto her grandmother’s lap. “Tell me the story, grandma! Please?”
Her grandmother laughed, “Alright, alright. I’ll tell you the story of how I met Winter.”
It was late November, and a blizzard had just come and gone. The land was covered in many feet of snow, and while my father worked to chop firewood, I spent my time outside playing in the wintry landscape. My mother made sure to keep me bundled up so I stayed warm, and whenever I came back inside she always handed me a bowl of hot, fresh soup. Winter was my favorite time of the year, and the snow was my favorite thing in this world. I always enjoyed how silent it became after the snow fell and coated the ground.
One day, my father fell terribly ill, so I was left to play outside alone. My poor, tired mother helped me get my winter clothing on before sending me outside. There was no soup that day.
I hummed as I slipped my mittens on and begun to build a snowman. It was a small one since I couldn’t ever build a tall one without my father’s help, so I had to make one that was smaller than my eight year old body. I worked in silence for a while until the form of my snowman was complete. I giggled and admired my work, standing so that I could go get the necessary parts of his face from inside the cabin. When I looked up, she was there in front of me. She was frightening at first, her appearance being enough to scare anyone. Her skin was as white as the snow around her, her lips a pale and icy blue. Her eyes were pitch black and her long, straight white hair went down passed her mid-back. She wore a long white robe that dragged on the snow behind her. Around the sleeve openings were black fur, which was also along the end of the robe. Clumps of snow had become trapped in the black fur from it dragging across the wintry ground. She stared at me in silence, not making a sound. She was tall as she stood there, completely motionless except for the slow blinking of her black eyes. I watched her for a while before giggling, looking back to my snowman.
“Your eyes are so black, they could be coal like his.”
She blinked again, but didn’t speak. Her blue lips remained shut the whole time. I watched her for a while longer before grinning, backing up towards the cabin. “Stay right there, I’ll be right back!” I quickly ran into my home and grabbed two pieces of coal from near the fireplace, running back out to the spirit.
“Bend down just a little for me.”
The tall woman blinked again, but did so slowly so that she was eye level with me. I held the coal up to her eyes and giggled again, nodding. “Just like a snowman.”
She stood up straight again, still looking down at me.
“What’s your name?”
She stared, remaining silent.
“You don’t speak much, do you? Or is it that you don’t have a name?”
She nodded at this. I clapped my hands together. “Alright then, I’ll just have to give you a name.” I thought for a while, pacing back and forth slowly. When I looked at her, what name first came to my mind? What did she look like to me? Who was she supposed to be? I stopped pacing, my eyes lighting up. “I’ll call you Winter. Is that alright?”
She remained still for a few seconds, probably thinking it over, then she nodded.
“Good! Then you’re my Winter. Want to play with me? We can make snow angels or you could help me make a real, tall snowman.”
She blinked and her black eyes moved to the small stub of snow I had created. She knelt down and scooped it up within the palms of her hands, examining it. After keeping her eyes on it for a few seconds, she separated her hands, allowing it to fall to the ground and lose all resemblance to a snowman that it originally had. “Hey!” I looked up at her, crossing my arms. “I worked really hard on that!”
I saw a small shrug as she turned around, beginning to walk away. “Winter, you can’t just leave! That’s very rude!” I ran after the spirit woman and planted myself in front of her on the snow. “Apologize!”
She gazed down at me softly before moving to the side and continuing on. I let out a sigh of frustration as I watched her disappear into the tree line.
I hurried outside the next day as soon as I woke up. My father was still ill, so he wouldn’t be joining me again. I was left to myself, and I didn’t see Winter much that day. The only time I ever did was when I turned around and saw her behind a tree, leaning out so she could gaze at me. “I see you,” I yelled to her, “You can’t hide from me! I’m still very upset with you!” She quickly hid behind the tree the rest of the way as I spoke, and she didn’t come out for the rest of the day. “Why don’t you just go destroy someone else’s snowmen?” I quickly formed a snowball in my hands and threw it at the tree. I missed, and I stormed inside. I was too frustrated to continue with the snow.
The next day, my mother woke me. “Sweetheart, papa is still sick. I made him some soup to eat, but he can’t keep anything down. Would you like to have the rest?”
“Yes please, mama. Thank you.” I sat up and rubbed my eyes, hopping out of bed. “Afterwards, can I go outside to play?”
“Of course, dear, that’s fine. Just make sure to get something warm in your stomach first.”
I nodded and hurried out to the kitchen, where the hot bowl of soup was waiting for me. “Yum!” I exclaimed to myself quietly, sitting at the kitchen table so I could enjoy the soup. My mother was the best cook I had ever known, but then again, I didn’t know much people other than members of my own family. I ate happily, finishing the soup within a matter of minutes before hopping off of the chair. I went over to my tired looking mother and handed her my winter time clothing. She sighed, helping me into my long, warm coat. “When will you be able to do all of this yourself?”
“When you teach me.”
“I have been teaching you, you just refuse to learn.” She sighed in frustration and buttoned my coat up. She wrapped the scarf around my neck and handed me my mittens. “You can at least put those on yourself, can’t you?”
I nodded and quickly did so, running over to the door. “Thank you, mama.”
“Enjoy yourself, dear.”
I yanked the door open and hurried outside. As I closed the door behind me, I noticed that there was a small snowman sitting in front of the door. It looked just like the one I had made but it was more complete, having coal for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and small twigs for arms. “Hmm?” I looked up and around me. “Winter?” I took a few steps forward, continuing to look around. “Winter, where are you?”
She came out from behind the tree, staring at me. I quickly ran over to her and smiled. “Did you make that snowman for me?”
She gave a quick nod. I squealed with excitement and wrapped my arms around her waist in a tight hug. “Oh, thank you! That’s so wonderful of you!”
Her eyes widened slightly at my touch, but I felt her hands lightly pat my back. They were as cold as ice, causing me to gasp as she touched me. “O-Oh… You’re so cold. You should come inside and get warm by the fire.” I grabbed her hand and tried to drag her into the house with me, but she quickly pulled her hand away. She shook her head and dropped down so that she sat in the snow. She watched the cabin with a blank expression, patting the snowy spot beside her.
“Do you stay out here all the time?” I asked as I took a seat beside her.
She nodded, shifting her gaze towards me. Her robe was practically swallowing her thin, white body, making her seem frail and weak. I stared at the robe, noticing that it seemed to have a small layer of frost all over it except for where the black fur was. I reached out and laid my hand flat on it, causing her to look down at my hand. I felt the frost melt almost instantly, and the robe underneath it was incredibly soft and warm. I looked up at her with wonder in my eyes, and she was looking at me in the same way. A smile formed on my lips, and I could see one forming on hers as well.
“My name is Luana. Let’s be best friends forever, alright?”
She nodded with the subtle smile still on her lips. I tugged on the robe gently so that it laid out on the snowy ground and covered it in its hidden warmth. I moved my hands from the robe, and the frost quickly coated where they had once been. Winter watched the frost form again as well, then looked back up at me. She was surprised when I crawled onto the portion of the robe that I had spread out across the snow, the frost quickly vanishing from under my small body. I smiled happily and crawled onto her lap, curling up on top of her. Her eyes widened as she stared out into the snow, shocked. The robe’s frost was entirely removed as she wrapped her arms around me in an embrace that was tighter and more filled with love than any of my mother’s had been. I melted along with her icy exterior, and the day ended with me falling asleep in her arms.
When I went out the next day, Winter was nowhere to be found. I yelled out for her, but there was no response. I waited for three hours in the snowy cold before finally giving up and retreating back inside. The rest of the day I helped take care of my father, who seemed to be getting slightly better. He had more color in his face and he could actually laugh again, even if they were weak laughs. It made me feel a bit better knowing that my father was recovering, but I still missed Winter. That night, when I was lying in bed and trying to fall asleep, I saw her staring at me from my window. I jumped up, looking at her with wide eyes. “W-Winter…? You scared me…!”
I went over and opened my window, grimacing as the icy cold wind pierced my skin. I shivered, quickly closing my window again. Winter gazed at me without moving. I sighed, causing a small amount of condensation to form on the glass of my window before quickly disappearing. The snow spirit moved away from the window and went to sit in the snow, her eyes never leaving mine. For some reason, I felt that she was upset in some way, and I could see that she was frowning. I quickly slid into my slippers and grabbed my coat, running outside to meet her.
“Winter, what’s wrong?” I asked as I approached her, “Why do you look so upset?”
She looked up at the sky, pointing to the shining stars. I looked up at them and nodded. “Yes, they’re beautiful. What about them?” I gasped as I saw a few tears trickle down her face, freezing on her cheek like icicles. I quickly tackled her in a hug, shaking my head quickly. “N-No…! Don’t cry, there’s nothing to be sad about!”
She pushed me off of her, burying her face in her hands. I looked on helplessly, biting my lip from nervousness. I quickly grabbed some snow and formed a snowball, my hands burning from the coldness of the white substance. “Winter, let’s have a snowball fight! It’ll be fun!” I threw the snowball and it hit her shoulder, but she didn’t react in any way. I frowned and threw another, but there was nothing. I sighed, looking around me. “Oh, I know! Let’s make snow angels!” I flopped into the snow and began to move my arms and legs, giggling. “Look at me, Winter! Look!” I received no reaction from her, so I sighed and sat up.
“Come on, what’s the matter with you? You don’t usually act like this, it’s very peculiar.”
She slowly moved her face from her hands and looked up at me. Her two small icicles were still there, having created an icy trail from her eye to her cheek. I shook my head and leaned in, gently scraping them off of her. “I know you don’t enjoy speaking, but you should talk to me so I can understand what’s wrong.”
She waited until I was done removing the icicles to move again. She stood slowly, staring down at me as she placed her hands on my shoulders. I swallowed quietly, for I had a growing feeling of dread within my heart. She looked away as she moved her hands down to my chest, slowly sliding her icy fingers inside. When her fingers made contact with my chest, it morphed to almost resemble water, and each time her hands moved from within me it created a ripple that spread throughout my entire body. I looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes, and icicles began to form on her face again, but there were much more this time.
She slowly pulled her hands out of my body, a glowing gold orb following after them. I remember my entire body going cold, and I remember watching her take my soul with tear-filled eyes. I saw her freeze and look down at me, still holding the soul within her hands. We made eye contact as I began to fade out of this world. My heart slowed and my skin paled. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and closed. I prepared to breathe my last breath but I was stopped once I felt warmth return to my body. I opened my eyes and looked at Winter. She had given my soul back just as quickly as she had taken it. She shook her head and backed away from me quickly. Her eyes held a soft and subtle sadness within them and she quickly closed them.
“My dearest Luana, you were never mine to take.” It was a soft and echoey voice, one that traveled on the wintry breeze. Somehow, even her voice seemed cold, sending shivers down your spine and giving you goosebumps. “You have brought out the human in me that I did not even know I possessed. I am forever thankful. I will never steal your being, but I shall steal others. My appreciation will take the form of this gift. You and you alone will always be safe from my icy clutches.” She opened her eyes to look at me. “Thank you, young one. Thank you.” There was a large gust of freezing winter air and her body disappeared as it was pierced with it, floating away as it became one with the wind.
I stayed outside for a very long time afterwards, watching the sky with wide eyes. Winter had left me and would never touch me again. I stood and took one last look at the tree line, hoping to see my dearest snow spirit standing there and looking at me like she had done for the past few days, but alas, there was nothing. I gave up and retreated back inside, though I never fell asleep. I already missed her terribly, and I would forever.
A couple days later, my mother found my father frozen to death in front of the cabin. Snow spirits prey on the weak, and since my father was in the middle of recovering from an illness, he was the weakest around. My mother was devastated, and life would be extremely hard for her from them on. She struggled in maintaining her day to day schedule while also taking care of the responsibilities that had been my father’s. It was difficult to watch every day, but I helped when I could.
When I was fifteen, I found her dead in the forest that surrounded our cabin. I laid her to rest beside my father. She would have wanted that. I remained alone in the cabin for many years after the loss of my most precious mother. I would sit on the sofa, staring out of the window at the tree line. I longed to see her again. I missed my Winter, the one who had taken everything from me, the one I still loved very much. If only I could have seen her peek around the trees once more, I could be satisfied with life. I never got that chance.
When I was nineteen, a lost, young traveler stumbled across my home. He was a handsome young man in his late twenties who hadn’t looked at his map correctly. I took him in and provided him food, shelter, and a nice warm bed to sleep in. He was extremely thankful for me, and as days turned to months and months turned to years, we slowly became infatuated with each other. We were married after three years. From there we had two children. Amelia would live to have a child of her own, but Jana was killed by Winter when she was just four years old. My husband was killed a couple years after our Jana, and Amelia would eventually fall to Winter as well when she hit her twenties. I was then left in charge of her sweet daughter, and that is where this story ends.
Luisa looked up at her grandmother with wide eyes. “So Winter is out there and she wants me?”
“Yes. You haven’t seen her yet, have you?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“That’s good. She doesn’t start hunting you until you’ve first laid eyes on her.” Luana looked to her granddaughter and raised an eyebrow, “You will stay inside from now on, won’t you?”
“Y-Yes grandma, I will.”
“Good. Now go and get ready for bed. It’s getting a bit too late for little girls to still be up.”
Luisa nodded and hurried off into her bedroom to change into her long black and white night gown. Luana sighed and stood, going over to put the fire out. She watched as she poured water onto it and the steam came cascading out of the fireplace. She turned around and looked to the window above the sofa with blank eyes. The snowy darkness stared back at her, and she took a few steps forward, pressing her face against the glass. “It was incredibly selfish of you to take them all from me and then disappear without another word. Will I see you when you come to take my sweet Luisa?” She chuckled and pressed her hand against the glass. “It was just like you to save me using a curse that would haunt me for the rest of my life.”
She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her eyes went straight to Winter’s tree. She stared it down for a few minutes before Luisa came back out to her. “Grandma, I’m ready to be tucked in now.”
Luana looked back to her small granddaughter and nodded, smiling. “I’ll be there in just a moment, Luisa.”
The little girl nodded and scurried back off to her bedroom. Luana, still smiling, turned to look back at the tree once again.
Winter leaned her head out from behind the tree, her eyes locking onto the elderly woman’s. Luana lifted her hand to wave and tears came to her eyes.
“My Winter,” She whispered, “Oh, how I’ve missed you…”
As she watched it grow darker and darker outside of the cabin, Luisa’s heart couldn’t bear it any longer, and she ran to grab her winter coat. It was white with black fur around the sleeve openings, and the buttons along the front of it were black as well. Her grandmother had made it for her almost a year ago, and she loved the colors of it. Her grandmother had explained that these were her favorite colors, black and white, and so she decided to use them in every piece of clothing she would make for Luisa. While she didn’t mind the color scheme, the young girl decided that her wardrobe would be quite boring if everything was the same color, so she declined any other garments made by her elderly grandmother.
Luisa slipped on her thick, black Winter boots and rushed out towards the door. She pulled it open and giggled as the icy wind hit her face with great ferocity. The land was sparkling with the pure white of winter, the trees looking heavy and weighed down with the thick mounds of snow piled onto them. She giggled again and went to run out into the snow but was grabbed and picked up by her grandmother, who shook her head. “No, Luisa. What have I told you about going in the snow at night? It’s dangerous.”
She set the small girl down and closed the door, locking it tight. Luisa sighed out of frustration and flung her coat off. “What’s the point in giving me a Winter coat if I am not allowed to use it? You never let me outside.”
“You don’t want to end up like your mother, do you?”
“Mama died because she went outside at night. I’m not even allowed out during the day.”
“Darling, it wasn’t just your mother who perished from the unforgiving and cold hands of Winter. Your grandfather passed before you were even born, as did your father. It is our family’s curse to die in the snow. It has been ever since I was a little girl.”
Luisa tilted her head, slipping out of her boots. “Then why haven’t you died, grandma? It’s not a curse, it’s just that they get lost all the time and can’t make it back home. I won’t get lost, I promise!”
The elderly woman sighed and sat on the sofa, staring at the fire that was burning in the fireplace. “Luisa darling, it is a curse that is as real as you and I. I was there the day it all started.”
“There?” She climbed up onto the couch and sat with her grandmother. “Tell me, grandma, please? I want to know how the supposed curse started!”
“My dear, there is something I have neglected to tell you throughout the seven years of your life. Perhaps if I told the others, they’d still be alive. Have you ever heard of the snow spirits?”
“Snow spirits?”
“Yes. They are the essence of winter. They hibernate during the Spring and Summer months and awaken towards the end of Autumn. They are spirits that take the form of young women. Her eyes are as black as coal and her hair blends in with the snow. She is beautiful, but she never smiles. She stands there with a blank expression and watches you from afar. She stalks you for several days, trying to drive you made. She cannot enter your home, but she can lure you out at night. Once she accomplishes this, she takes your soul and leaves you for dead. Snow spirits collect the souls so that they may stay warm all throughout Winter, and once they take one they move on to the next. They collect as many as they can before they go into hibernation in late March. Once they wake up again in October, they continue with the cycle.”
“It’s December, so there are snow spirits out right now?”
“Yes. Luisa, there has been one stalking our family for years. She’s the one who killed your mother and father, and my husband as well.”
“How do you know it’s a snow spirit? Have you seen her?”
“I was the first to see her.”
Luisa’s eyes lit up with excitement and she jumped onto her grandmother’s lap. “Tell me the story, grandma! Please?”
Her grandmother laughed, “Alright, alright. I’ll tell you the story of how I met Winter.”
It was late November, and a blizzard had just come and gone. The land was covered in many feet of snow, and while my father worked to chop firewood, I spent my time outside playing in the wintry landscape. My mother made sure to keep me bundled up so I stayed warm, and whenever I came back inside she always handed me a bowl of hot, fresh soup. Winter was my favorite time of the year, and the snow was my favorite thing in this world. I always enjoyed how silent it became after the snow fell and coated the ground.
One day, my father fell terribly ill, so I was left to play outside alone. My poor, tired mother helped me get my winter clothing on before sending me outside. There was no soup that day.
I hummed as I slipped my mittens on and begun to build a snowman. It was a small one since I couldn’t ever build a tall one without my father’s help, so I had to make one that was smaller than my eight year old body. I worked in silence for a while until the form of my snowman was complete. I giggled and admired my work, standing so that I could go get the necessary parts of his face from inside the cabin. When I looked up, she was there in front of me. She was frightening at first, her appearance being enough to scare anyone. Her skin was as white as the snow around her, her lips a pale and icy blue. Her eyes were pitch black and her long, straight white hair went down passed her mid-back. She wore a long white robe that dragged on the snow behind her. Around the sleeve openings were black fur, which was also along the end of the robe. Clumps of snow had become trapped in the black fur from it dragging across the wintry ground. She stared at me in silence, not making a sound. She was tall as she stood there, completely motionless except for the slow blinking of her black eyes. I watched her for a while before giggling, looking back to my snowman.
“Your eyes are so black, they could be coal like his.”
She blinked again, but didn’t speak. Her blue lips remained shut the whole time. I watched her for a while longer before grinning, backing up towards the cabin. “Stay right there, I’ll be right back!” I quickly ran into my home and grabbed two pieces of coal from near the fireplace, running back out to the spirit.
“Bend down just a little for me.”
The tall woman blinked again, but did so slowly so that she was eye level with me. I held the coal up to her eyes and giggled again, nodding. “Just like a snowman.”
She stood up straight again, still looking down at me.
“What’s your name?”
She stared, remaining silent.
“You don’t speak much, do you? Or is it that you don’t have a name?”
She nodded at this. I clapped my hands together. “Alright then, I’ll just have to give you a name.” I thought for a while, pacing back and forth slowly. When I looked at her, what name first came to my mind? What did she look like to me? Who was she supposed to be? I stopped pacing, my eyes lighting up. “I’ll call you Winter. Is that alright?”
She remained still for a few seconds, probably thinking it over, then she nodded.
“Good! Then you’re my Winter. Want to play with me? We can make snow angels or you could help me make a real, tall snowman.”
She blinked and her black eyes moved to the small stub of snow I had created. She knelt down and scooped it up within the palms of her hands, examining it. After keeping her eyes on it for a few seconds, she separated her hands, allowing it to fall to the ground and lose all resemblance to a snowman that it originally had. “Hey!” I looked up at her, crossing my arms. “I worked really hard on that!”
I saw a small shrug as she turned around, beginning to walk away. “Winter, you can’t just leave! That’s very rude!” I ran after the spirit woman and planted myself in front of her on the snow. “Apologize!”
She gazed down at me softly before moving to the side and continuing on. I let out a sigh of frustration as I watched her disappear into the tree line.
I hurried outside the next day as soon as I woke up. My father was still ill, so he wouldn’t be joining me again. I was left to myself, and I didn’t see Winter much that day. The only time I ever did was when I turned around and saw her behind a tree, leaning out so she could gaze at me. “I see you,” I yelled to her, “You can’t hide from me! I’m still very upset with you!” She quickly hid behind the tree the rest of the way as I spoke, and she didn’t come out for the rest of the day. “Why don’t you just go destroy someone else’s snowmen?” I quickly formed a snowball in my hands and threw it at the tree. I missed, and I stormed inside. I was too frustrated to continue with the snow.
The next day, my mother woke me. “Sweetheart, papa is still sick. I made him some soup to eat, but he can’t keep anything down. Would you like to have the rest?”
“Yes please, mama. Thank you.” I sat up and rubbed my eyes, hopping out of bed. “Afterwards, can I go outside to play?”
“Of course, dear, that’s fine. Just make sure to get something warm in your stomach first.”
I nodded and hurried out to the kitchen, where the hot bowl of soup was waiting for me. “Yum!” I exclaimed to myself quietly, sitting at the kitchen table so I could enjoy the soup. My mother was the best cook I had ever known, but then again, I didn’t know much people other than members of my own family. I ate happily, finishing the soup within a matter of minutes before hopping off of the chair. I went over to my tired looking mother and handed her my winter time clothing. She sighed, helping me into my long, warm coat. “When will you be able to do all of this yourself?”
“When you teach me.”
“I have been teaching you, you just refuse to learn.” She sighed in frustration and buttoned my coat up. She wrapped the scarf around my neck and handed me my mittens. “You can at least put those on yourself, can’t you?”
I nodded and quickly did so, running over to the door. “Thank you, mama.”
“Enjoy yourself, dear.”
I yanked the door open and hurried outside. As I closed the door behind me, I noticed that there was a small snowman sitting in front of the door. It looked just like the one I had made but it was more complete, having coal for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and small twigs for arms. “Hmm?” I looked up and around me. “Winter?” I took a few steps forward, continuing to look around. “Winter, where are you?”
She came out from behind the tree, staring at me. I quickly ran over to her and smiled. “Did you make that snowman for me?”
She gave a quick nod. I squealed with excitement and wrapped my arms around her waist in a tight hug. “Oh, thank you! That’s so wonderful of you!”
Her eyes widened slightly at my touch, but I felt her hands lightly pat my back. They were as cold as ice, causing me to gasp as she touched me. “O-Oh… You’re so cold. You should come inside and get warm by the fire.” I grabbed her hand and tried to drag her into the house with me, but she quickly pulled her hand away. She shook her head and dropped down so that she sat in the snow. She watched the cabin with a blank expression, patting the snowy spot beside her.
“Do you stay out here all the time?” I asked as I took a seat beside her.
She nodded, shifting her gaze towards me. Her robe was practically swallowing her thin, white body, making her seem frail and weak. I stared at the robe, noticing that it seemed to have a small layer of frost all over it except for where the black fur was. I reached out and laid my hand flat on it, causing her to look down at my hand. I felt the frost melt almost instantly, and the robe underneath it was incredibly soft and warm. I looked up at her with wonder in my eyes, and she was looking at me in the same way. A smile formed on my lips, and I could see one forming on hers as well.
“My name is Luana. Let’s be best friends forever, alright?”
She nodded with the subtle smile still on her lips. I tugged on the robe gently so that it laid out on the snowy ground and covered it in its hidden warmth. I moved my hands from the robe, and the frost quickly coated where they had once been. Winter watched the frost form again as well, then looked back up at me. She was surprised when I crawled onto the portion of the robe that I had spread out across the snow, the frost quickly vanishing from under my small body. I smiled happily and crawled onto her lap, curling up on top of her. Her eyes widened as she stared out into the snow, shocked. The robe’s frost was entirely removed as she wrapped her arms around me in an embrace that was tighter and more filled with love than any of my mother’s had been. I melted along with her icy exterior, and the day ended with me falling asleep in her arms.
When I went out the next day, Winter was nowhere to be found. I yelled out for her, but there was no response. I waited for three hours in the snowy cold before finally giving up and retreating back inside. The rest of the day I helped take care of my father, who seemed to be getting slightly better. He had more color in his face and he could actually laugh again, even if they were weak laughs. It made me feel a bit better knowing that my father was recovering, but I still missed Winter. That night, when I was lying in bed and trying to fall asleep, I saw her staring at me from my window. I jumped up, looking at her with wide eyes. “W-Winter…? You scared me…!”
I went over and opened my window, grimacing as the icy cold wind pierced my skin. I shivered, quickly closing my window again. Winter gazed at me without moving. I sighed, causing a small amount of condensation to form on the glass of my window before quickly disappearing. The snow spirit moved away from the window and went to sit in the snow, her eyes never leaving mine. For some reason, I felt that she was upset in some way, and I could see that she was frowning. I quickly slid into my slippers and grabbed my coat, running outside to meet her.
“Winter, what’s wrong?” I asked as I approached her, “Why do you look so upset?”
She looked up at the sky, pointing to the shining stars. I looked up at them and nodded. “Yes, they’re beautiful. What about them?” I gasped as I saw a few tears trickle down her face, freezing on her cheek like icicles. I quickly tackled her in a hug, shaking my head quickly. “N-No…! Don’t cry, there’s nothing to be sad about!”
She pushed me off of her, burying her face in her hands. I looked on helplessly, biting my lip from nervousness. I quickly grabbed some snow and formed a snowball, my hands burning from the coldness of the white substance. “Winter, let’s have a snowball fight! It’ll be fun!” I threw the snowball and it hit her shoulder, but she didn’t react in any way. I frowned and threw another, but there was nothing. I sighed, looking around me. “Oh, I know! Let’s make snow angels!” I flopped into the snow and began to move my arms and legs, giggling. “Look at me, Winter! Look!” I received no reaction from her, so I sighed and sat up.
“Come on, what’s the matter with you? You don’t usually act like this, it’s very peculiar.”
She slowly moved her face from her hands and looked up at me. Her two small icicles were still there, having created an icy trail from her eye to her cheek. I shook my head and leaned in, gently scraping them off of her. “I know you don’t enjoy speaking, but you should talk to me so I can understand what’s wrong.”
She waited until I was done removing the icicles to move again. She stood slowly, staring down at me as she placed her hands on my shoulders. I swallowed quietly, for I had a growing feeling of dread within my heart. She looked away as she moved her hands down to my chest, slowly sliding her icy fingers inside. When her fingers made contact with my chest, it morphed to almost resemble water, and each time her hands moved from within me it created a ripple that spread throughout my entire body. I looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes, and icicles began to form on her face again, but there were much more this time.
She slowly pulled her hands out of my body, a glowing gold orb following after them. I remember my entire body going cold, and I remember watching her take my soul with tear-filled eyes. I saw her freeze and look down at me, still holding the soul within her hands. We made eye contact as I began to fade out of this world. My heart slowed and my skin paled. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and closed. I prepared to breathe my last breath but I was stopped once I felt warmth return to my body. I opened my eyes and looked at Winter. She had given my soul back just as quickly as she had taken it. She shook her head and backed away from me quickly. Her eyes held a soft and subtle sadness within them and she quickly closed them.
“My dearest Luana, you were never mine to take.” It was a soft and echoey voice, one that traveled on the wintry breeze. Somehow, even her voice seemed cold, sending shivers down your spine and giving you goosebumps. “You have brought out the human in me that I did not even know I possessed. I am forever thankful. I will never steal your being, but I shall steal others. My appreciation will take the form of this gift. You and you alone will always be safe from my icy clutches.” She opened her eyes to look at me. “Thank you, young one. Thank you.” There was a large gust of freezing winter air and her body disappeared as it was pierced with it, floating away as it became one with the wind.
I stayed outside for a very long time afterwards, watching the sky with wide eyes. Winter had left me and would never touch me again. I stood and took one last look at the tree line, hoping to see my dearest snow spirit standing there and looking at me like she had done for the past few days, but alas, there was nothing. I gave up and retreated back inside, though I never fell asleep. I already missed her terribly, and I would forever.
A couple days later, my mother found my father frozen to death in front of the cabin. Snow spirits prey on the weak, and since my father was in the middle of recovering from an illness, he was the weakest around. My mother was devastated, and life would be extremely hard for her from them on. She struggled in maintaining her day to day schedule while also taking care of the responsibilities that had been my father’s. It was difficult to watch every day, but I helped when I could.
When I was fifteen, I found her dead in the forest that surrounded our cabin. I laid her to rest beside my father. She would have wanted that. I remained alone in the cabin for many years after the loss of my most precious mother. I would sit on the sofa, staring out of the window at the tree line. I longed to see her again. I missed my Winter, the one who had taken everything from me, the one I still loved very much. If only I could have seen her peek around the trees once more, I could be satisfied with life. I never got that chance.
When I was nineteen, a lost, young traveler stumbled across my home. He was a handsome young man in his late twenties who hadn’t looked at his map correctly. I took him in and provided him food, shelter, and a nice warm bed to sleep in. He was extremely thankful for me, and as days turned to months and months turned to years, we slowly became infatuated with each other. We were married after three years. From there we had two children. Amelia would live to have a child of her own, but Jana was killed by Winter when she was just four years old. My husband was killed a couple years after our Jana, and Amelia would eventually fall to Winter as well when she hit her twenties. I was then left in charge of her sweet daughter, and that is where this story ends.
Luisa looked up at her grandmother with wide eyes. “So Winter is out there and she wants me?”
“Yes. You haven’t seen her yet, have you?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“That’s good. She doesn’t start hunting you until you’ve first laid eyes on her.” Luana looked to her granddaughter and raised an eyebrow, “You will stay inside from now on, won’t you?”
“Y-Yes grandma, I will.”
“Good. Now go and get ready for bed. It’s getting a bit too late for little girls to still be up.”
Luisa nodded and hurried off into her bedroom to change into her long black and white night gown. Luana sighed and stood, going over to put the fire out. She watched as she poured water onto it and the steam came cascading out of the fireplace. She turned around and looked to the window above the sofa with blank eyes. The snowy darkness stared back at her, and she took a few steps forward, pressing her face against the glass. “It was incredibly selfish of you to take them all from me and then disappear without another word. Will I see you when you come to take my sweet Luisa?” She chuckled and pressed her hand against the glass. “It was just like you to save me using a curse that would haunt me for the rest of my life.”
She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her eyes went straight to Winter’s tree. She stared it down for a few minutes before Luisa came back out to her. “Grandma, I’m ready to be tucked in now.”
Luana looked back to her small granddaughter and nodded, smiling. “I’ll be there in just a moment, Luisa.”
The little girl nodded and scurried back off to her bedroom. Luana, still smiling, turned to look back at the tree once again.
Winter leaned her head out from behind the tree, her eyes locking onto the elderly woman’s. Luana lifted her hand to wave and tears came to her eyes.
“My Winter,” She whispered, “Oh, how I’ve missed you…”
