WAITING FOR SPRING

     It was the snow. Falling everywhere. A silent white menace. Covering the landscape. Every bit of the landscape. I felt fear. I shivered. I was so cold I couldn't stop shaking. I couldn't think of anything but warmth.

     Winter is long. I waited as I counted the days to spring. A useless countdown as it seemed spring never grew any nearer. It was always so far out, so far away. I wanted to cry but I felt this weird fear that the teardrops would freeze on my cheeks. Now, how that would hurt, trying to pull them off or even trying to pry them off. There certainly was no warmth to melt them. I had no fuel anymore. No food. Nothing. Not even any way to bring down a tree and use it for fuel. And no limbs to reach to burn either. So I wandered and hoped I'd find something, anything that would help me live.

     I wandered this cold landscape. The snow just kept falling. Silent and lethal. Tiny flakes falling silently. Accumulating. Large flakes falling silently. More accumulating. The snow was deep and growing deeper by the minute. The world was frozen. The snow was smooth and shiny. It glistened in the dull grey light. It looked solid and hard but I knew it was soft and pillow like. Not a living green thing to be seen for miles and no where. Nothing and no one. I was alone here in this snowy deadly white world.

     But there was life. Tiny birds fluttering and peeping in the spindly leafless limbs of bushes. I looked at them. They fluttered about knocking snow off the thin limbs which were nicely coated with snow again in a short time. Watching them I thought about capturing one and eating it. But how would I cook it? I had no way of making fire. I had no electricity. Nothing. I didn't want to eat raw bird. I looked away from the tiny living creatures and sighed. I bet their blood would be warm in my mouth. Warm with nourishment, warm with life. I was instantly disturbed by my thoughts. I was shocked! How could I even be thinking this way? Fear unfurled darkly in me. What was happening to me? What was I becoming?

     I kept walking, going further and further. Eventually I'd need another place to stay. I was moving too far away from my cabin. Much further and I wouldn't be able to make it back before the darkness fell. Where is spring? I could weep. What had happened to it? Something was wrong but what did I know? I was alone and growing desperate. I knew I was going to die. I couldn't live this way much longer. No food or water. Nothing substantial anyway. I thought about the tiny birds. I was in trouble.

     The river was frozen. Solid. I didn't even know I was coming upon one. I stood and stared down at it. It glittered evilly in the dull grey light of day. I saw something frozen in the water by the river bank. It was reddish. I made my way carefully down to the water's edge. I saw it was a red fox frozen solid at the edge of the river. It was upright, like it had been in the water moving about when it was suddenly frozen solid. Perhaps it had been hunting. I wanted to dig it out and use it for food. I crouched down to see if I could reach it. I touched it. It was like a stone. Rock hard. I waited to feel the cold shock of horror at my thoughts. I waited but nothing came. I had no emotions. I was devoid of any feelings. The dead red fox wouldn't be any food source for me.

     Standing back up I suddenly wanted to cry. I didn't care any longer if the tears froze to my cheeks. I was in such despair. I was in deep depression. I was growing weak with hunger. I had little energy left. I didn't think I could walk back to my cabin this time. I listened to the peeping tiny birds. They always seemed to be around. If I could catch them and eat them, even raw, I would survive. But I was so tired, now. So very profoundly tired. I had no will to live anymore, no desire to fight for my life. I threw back my head and let the tears flow. Any hope I might have had faded into a dusky dark nothingness. I started to scream and couldn't seem to stop. I screamed and screamed. I fell backwards into the snow. I didn't care. I was just so so tired. I could hardly believe that such bone weary tiredness was even possible. I welcomed death. I couldn't last any longer. Spring would never come.

Reviews

[Traci]

A very intense, powerful read. I enjoyed this Tina, The imagery was superb, well written and as the scene unfolded I felt as if I were right there, watching. The tension and desperation showed through much sadness as the search for freedom continued. Great job!!

[Tina Kline]

Thanks very much!

[KAREN]

Tina, I loved this story! It kept me on my toes, and kept me sucked in till the end. AWESOME!!!!
100/100

[Tina Kline]

Thank you so very much!!!!

[KAREN]

You're welcome! I so enjoyed this story!!

[Black Cat Fever]

Amazing horror story! What an outstanding job you did in writing this.

[Craig2591]

Even as dark and depressing as this was, I still saw the beauty of a forest during a snowfall. But I think I need to go watch some Disney cartoons now to cheer up.

[Tina Kline]

Thanks for reading!

[KATHY SUE SILLS]

Wow! what a story of sadness, this was well written with eagerness to see how it ended!

[Tina Kline]

Thanks so much for reading this and leaving a review!!!

[Wolf's Dark Song]

Good writing! Excellent horror! A chilling story in every sense of the word. This was compelling, I couldn't stop reading, wondering what was going to happen in the end!

[Tina Kline]

Thanks!

[Coyote Song]

A very powerful story and in the imagery used. I felt the tension and desperation in your story. Trapped in the wild with no way to get help, food or water in the depth in a snow storm. The person tried to find help, tried to find food and water but there was nothing. Winter can be cruel. One can only try to prepare as best they could. I love this. Powerful!

[Tina Kline]

Thnks!

[Sheila Kline]

Very intense...I gasped, "Oh no, don't eat the birds" as I thought that's where your character was heading..........lol I am soooo glad they weren't eaten as easy prey, but sorry there was continued hunger.
Sad ending!!!!

[Tina Kline]

Thanks!