Bittersweet Candy Bowl

It’s been a long time since I started this lonely trip. I still wonder why I decided to walk this path… it seemed much more exciting at the start.

This forest… vaster than I could ever imagine; but also, so full of life. Every morning I heard the birds sing, the plants rustling, the sunlight being filtered through the leaves on the trees, shining over my face. In a way, these kinds of things make this whole trip worth it.

I continue walking, viewing the landscape around me. A drop of water falls on my nose, and as I turn my head upwards, I notice some leaves being slightly wet. It seems like it’s starting to rain, better look for some kind of refuge.

I run fast… the weather is getting cold, and I was never fond of cold temperatures, I better find something fast before I get too wet.

Rain starts pouring down, and I still can’t find appropriate shelter, I’m all wet and cold now, but if I keep moving like this, maybe I can generate more heat. I just hope I don’t get too tired before I find a warm place to stay.

I’m starting to get tired; maybe I will end up dead here. But wait… what is that I see over there? I head towards the unidentified sight, and smile upon reaching it. This abandoned shack should be enough to provide cover for me until the rain settles down.

The wooden door is slightly stuck, but it’s nothing a good kick can’t fix. I step inside, and close the door behind me, making a creaking noise suitable to the general mood. I open my backpack, which I’m glad is impermeable, and take out another set of clothes. Once I get changed in them, I hang the rest of my clothes so they can dry.

After taking a look around, I notice there’s even a fireplace, and wood left over by the previous occupants, I assume. Seems like my luck was greater than I thought.

The fire is burning, and even though I still feel cold, it at least is bearable now. The sound of the rain falling is really comforting once you are inside, it also smells very nice. I’ve always loved the rainy weather, it feels so melancholic, so lonely, yet… so pure and relaxing. It always clears my mind.

I had almost fallen asleep; however, a loud sound startled me. It came from the ceiling… wonder what it was. Soon, I heard the same noise once again… and again. Its frequency increased, and now I hear the sound fairly frequently, but I still wonder what the cause is. Opening the wooden door, I take a look outside. The view is beautiful; the sky is dark grey, the floor is wet, there is a sweet scent in the air, and the floor is covered by white small rocks… some more are still falling. These are not white rocks, they are cold… they are ice. It’s hailing now.

Closing the door, fascinated over the beauty of nature, I sit and lean on the wall next to the fireplace, and try to get some sleep this time.

Another loud sound has startled me, looks like bigger blocks of ice have started falling, and this one hit the door. I disregard it and go back to sleep, but… falling vertically, it would be hard for ice to hit the door this often, and I still keep hearing it coming from that direction. I stand and open the door only to find a girl standing out there freezing. Wonder what she is doing over here.

I stare at her for a moment, as I am quite surprised. Her skin was pale because of the cold… almost white, had a short but beautiful black hair, her body looked thin and frail, and was wearing a white dress. She was also covered by a thick brown blanket, however, being all wet, it didn’t help her much.

I react and invite her to come inside; however, she passes out once she takes a few steps. She was out alone in the rain a lot longer than I was… and with that small body, I can see how she couldn’t keep herself warm. Better help her get warm… or she might die at this rate… that is, if she’s not dead already.

I take her wrist, and feel the cold temperature of her body burning on my skin. She is very cold, but I must disregard that and take her pulse… alright, she is still alive. I pick up her nearly frozen body, and place her near the fire in hopes that it will get her warm fast enough… but after a while of being near a source of heat, she is not getting better.

I did bring a sleeping bag with me; it’s mostly dry so I could cover her with it. It should help her warm up faster but… it’s not fast enough, the cold is unmerciful without any kind of cover, and her wet clothes aren’t helping her at all. I hesitate at the idea, but it can’t be helped… I have to change her into dry clothes.

I take out my last change of clothes… they are too big for her, but should be enough to cover her body. I proceed to undress her and hang her wet clothes next to mines, and afterwards, dress her up with my clothes. She truly is beautiful. It won’t be long until she gets better now.

I’m now walking back and forth, this shack isn’t very effective at protecting people of the cold outside, and I could only keep myself warm thanks to both the fire and the sleeping bag, which I was using as a blanket as I attempted to sleep, but now it’s being occupied by her. Still… this cold hurts, and the sleeping bag is big enough for both of us, assuming we remained close to each other.

I sit next to her and cover myself with the pseudo-blanket, hugging her and keeping her close. Just as I thought, it barely sufficed for both of us. Her body feels warm now, that’s a good signal, I’m certain she will survive.

This is very comfortable. The combination of the weather outside, the fire crackling nearby and the warm sensation of her body and our blanket, this is very relaxing. Her body is really soft…

Slowly the world starts going dark, I fall to the side, taking her with me, and as we lay down together, I finally fall asleep. Good night… stranger.

Made this story based on a dream I had some time ago. Hope you enjoy it.

I however… changed many parts to make it more artistic and overall interesting, so it’s just loosely based on said dream.

…
Wow… that’s awesome…

Seriously, nice job…

BAWW why is everyone a better writer than me? Now I know why the artists on here keep beating themselves up looking at other people’s work.

Seriously though it’s an absolutely beautiful story.

@MiwAuturu
What are you talking about…(pulls out a gun and kills self.) Nah, but yeah I know what you mean…

This is a really well told short story. Bravo

Few little nitpick’s here & there, but nothing a thesaurus wouldn’t fix. Do you have any more ideas like these floating around? This is the kind of thing that’s worth refining and sending into short story competitions etc.

*Applaudes*

Very well done, glad I got to finish it today. I say keep at it!

Sorry for the name, that was me.

Heh. Thanks people. ^^

I can’t say I read a lot, but yeah I’ve had quite my share of reading.

So what are those ‘nitpicks’ you’re talking about?