Shona's Snow

‘Is it easy for someone to be trapped here?’ thought Shona.

For the past few moments Shona had taken several swirled looks at the houses, the trees and the ground that were collected together to form a crooked street.

Snow had fallen leaving a layer on the ground, fine and delicate. Any footstep that Shona made, her regulated print would appear, along with a crack that would run for several centimetres to the side.

Usually on the road that the street connects to would be full of hasten and panic that only traffic could create. Now there was nothing.

With tiny flecks of snow still falling at a quiet pace, Shona somehow didn’t feel alone.

This was strange. She had come to the street to be by herself.

She ran!!!

To get some measure of warm feeling running through her blood again Shona had to run. There was contentment for cold weather in her, but not today. Not in this street.

Sprinkling snow upwards from her kicking feet there was now a nightmarish appearance to her surroundings.

It was cut off...cutting off from any other part of the world. The street had two openings and now both of them had a large air-filled sheet of film, rising from the ground and blurring whatever was meant to be on the other side of it.

Around her the trees, although remaining still were growing longer and more twisted branches, some reaching into the sky, the others pointing to what Shona horrifyingly imagined as her chest.

The number of surrounding large houses gave barely any comfort. Each window in every one of them held a heavy white curtain. To Shona it was clear that no one was to so much as peek out. There was no one to do so.

Seeking some warmth Shona stepped up to the nearest tree. It was the closest thing that was alive.

Almost hugging it but coming to her senses, Shona then skipped a couple of steps around the tree. All of a sudden the roughed, bumped patterns of the dark white bark, sending scratched warmth to her fingers. It wasn’t complete reassurance, but it helped.

‘Why am I alone?’ thought Shona. ‘There’s nothing here to scare me and yet...

‘If only...’

Her thought ended as a clear ‘SQUAWK’ noise sounded above.

Shona’s head snapped up and her eyes saw what was against the white and grey fogged sky.

A quick flick of beats and Shona’s eyes swept immediately to the bird that had made the noise seconds before.

Trying to smile Shona looked at the bird, now gliding with ease across the high air.

‘And what am I to do?’ she asked out loud. She didn’t shout, but the snow’s conjured silence had pressed her voice to be expanded.

Dedicated to a girl who may not realise how magical she is. Her name's Shona.

Chris Gray