On a winter day, I was walking behind our house when I saw a tiny hidden path between two big snow banks. I had never seen it before. My heart beat went fast. I stepped on the path. the snow got higher and higher, but my boots didn't sink. At the end of the path, the air sparkled. I walked through and came to a huge world and the sky was pale pink. Castle was made of clear ice. Snowflakes fell slowly but never melt. I met three kids there. One had a coat that change colors. They taught me winter games that I had never tried. We jumped on the soft snow trampoline. We painted snow with glowing blue and pink. We tossed the snowflakes into the sky and make sound like like BOOM! Later I found something strange. The kids told me they only wake up in winter. When spring comes, they all fall sleep again until next now. I felt a little sad for them and a little glad for me. I can live in every season. When I went back home, my house looks warmer and brighter. I decided to love my life and never forget that hidden path. 

You are in your room doing your homework and then you get so tired you just fall off your chair and then you fall asleep. You wake up in your room and you see a door that looks like a Pokémon card.

You decide to enter the door, which transports you to a room of Pokémon cards. One of the cards start to glow and then it just sucks you in. You suddenly appear in a bush. When you crawl out of the bush, you see a stadium and then you realize you feel something weird in your pocket. You reach into your pocket and then you find a box of Pokémon cards. You use them to play against other players at the stadium. After many battles at the stadium, you feel homesick. So you exit the stadium and crawl back into the bush. The door is still there, you head through the door and then you suddenly wake up in your room again. 

When you wake up in your room, you go tell your mom what a dream it was. It felt very happy. The end.

     One snowy morning, a little girl called Holly was busy building a snowman in her backyard, when she suddenly noticed small, glowing pinecones laying on the ground.  Ready for adventure, she decided to follow this trail of glowing pinecones to see where it will lead her.  The path twisted between frosted bushes until it ended at a large wooden cottage with icicles dangling from the ceiling.

     Holly gently knocked on the door, and it sprang open.  As she walked in, her eyes grew wide with amazement.  This huge, cozy cottage was filled with enchanting sounds of jingling bells and Christmas carols.  A warm cinnamon smell filled the air, and a tall round man with a white beard and a jolly smile was busy packing toys into a big red sack.

     “Ho Ho Ho!  Hello there, Holly!  I was wondering when you will find our secret path.  Let me show you around my cottage,” Santa said.  He brought her to the workshop where wooden trains were being painted, and teddy bears were being stuffed.  Santa also invited Holly to try out a cup of creamy homemade hot chocolate.  Holly beamed with glee.

     Day quickly turned into night, and it was time for Holly to return home.  As she left, Santa gave her a shiny silver bell.  “Hope you will always remember your visit,” Santa whispered with a twinkle in his eyes.  

     "Definitely," replied Holly.  Then, she followed the glowing path back home, clutching her silver bell and knowing the magic was real.

Once upon a time, Keju and his baby sister Mila were playing in the snow. Just as Mila gathered snow for a snowball fight, Keju found a glowing door. It was a big orange glowing door. Mila threw a snowball at it but it just made little chirping sounds.

"Whats that sound?" asked Mila but before anyone could answer she went in the door. Keju followed her, surprised. Behind the door there was a snowcave full of baby penguins, but one of them was glowing and had rainbow eyes.

The special baby penguin could talk and it was extra cute! She had little chirps that were adorable. She said her name was Pingu.

Keju and Mila played games with the penguins, like going through snow mazes and a slow waddle tag! Keju and Mila were very happy when playing the games.

Keju wanted to bring the special baby penguin home but the baby penguin said, "No". 

"It would also take us three hours to wait for it to waddle back home," Mila said.

Then a big black portal appeared. It was time to go home. Keju and Mila said bye to the baby penguins. They felt sad, but also happy because they got to play with the penguins. They also liked that home was not as cold as the snow cave!

Once upon a time Annie was swimming in a like.  Annie saw a big rock at the bottom of the lake.  She swam toward the rock and when she touched the rock it disappeared.  When Annie opened her eyes, she was in a dark tunnel.  She was nervous. When she got to the end of the tunnel, she was in a magical world and she saw a big cave.  When Annie entered the cave she saw a big pink tiger.  It was asleep.  She was scared.  When Annie took a picture of the tiger it woke up.  It started chasing Annie.  She ran as fast as she could go!  After a while she was hot!  There was a big hill up ahead.  When Annie got there, she stopped.  She was super scared.  There was water coming from the other side of the hill.  “Yay!” said Annie.  The hill was made of sand so the water washed right through the hill of sand!  Annie started swimming and the pink tiger went back to it’s cave in a hurry.  There was a hole above some rocks so Annie climbed on the rocks and got out of the hole.  She thought the world she was in now was also magical so she tried to get things to be magical but never succeeded.  

At Christmas eve, Lawrence was visiting the Chinese Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City in Beijing. He was feeling pretty lonely because he only had one friend, Nicholas. He wished he could be a genius at making friends. He walked through a tunnel, past some leopard statues, down a dark pathway and found himself in front of a magnificent door. 

The door was painted half yellow and half blue and it was eight feet tall. There were two hundred emeralds hot glued onto it and an emerald knocker that had the face of a dog. He tried to open it, but it would not budge, so he climbed over it! When he reached the top, he jumped off the door and landed on the floor. BOOM!

On the other side, he saw rows and rows of soldiers and a man sitting on a throne. “I am Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Why are you in my court?” the man asked, surprised. 

“I am Lawrence, born in the year 2018,” Lawrence replied. 

“Impossible! This is the year 220 BC!” the emperor exploded. 

“I was hoping to find some friends,” Lawrence interrupted. 

Emperor Qin Shi Huang suggested, “To make friends you must play with a lot of people. You must be caring towards them and finally, you must communicate with them.”

“Thank you for the information. I will use it and try to make new friends,” Lawrence said. “I must leave now and try to get back to 2025.” 

Lawrence went back to the door and climbed to the top of it. When he reached the top, he jumped off the door and landed on the floor. BOOM!

“My adventure was useful. I hope I can come back and visit Emperor Qin Shi Huang again,” Lawrence said. 

It was 5 am when I woke up. I had a dream that I was playing beads with Nana, my grandfather. As I opened my sleepy eyes, I felt sad and confused, even though the dream was happy. I knew that I could never actually play with Nana again because he was no longer alive. My heart felt like it was shattering into a thousand pieces. I felt lonely.  

I wanted a hug from Mama. I went to her door, but the doorknob looked different. It was sparkling like stars shining in the sky. What could be on the other side of this strange door? Even though I was scared, I put my hand on the glittery knob and the door automatically opened.

I tiptoed past the door and Mama was inside the room. While I hugged Mama, I noticed something incredible. Nana was sitting on his recliner, reading his newspaper! I froze. Was Nana really inside this room?

What was going on? Where was I? I looked around. There were flowers of all colours everywhere. I could see sapphire blue orchids, ruby red roses, amethyst lilacs, and other vibrant gem colours. It was a beautiful room.

I screamed, “Nana!!” as I ran to him. I threw my arms around him and squeezed him tight. My heart exploded with love. “I missed you so much!” Then I asked him if he wanted to play beads. We played beads for hours until I had to leave for skating lessons. I hugged him one more time and promised I would come back to see him.

I went through the magic door again and found myself back in my room. I knew that even if Nana was gone, he would always be in my heart. 

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Sarah. Sarah had dark, curly hair and brown eyes. One day, she was sledding down a hill.  Suddenly, the sled turned and crashed into a tree! But the tree was magical.  When Sarah crashed, the tree opened and Sarah climbed in. There was a fantasy village! Instead of people, this village had animals. However, something was different about these animals. They could talk! There were snow hares, owls, foxes, reindeers, penguins, polar bears.... Sarah went to a penguin and tapped it on the shoulder. The penguin saw her and said,  

“Welcome to the Frostsania. My name is Clifford. What’s your name?” He asked.  

“My name is Sarah.” She replied.  

“Wow, is that a castle?” Sarah asked. 

“Yes, but don’t go...” 

“I’m going to check it out, bye!” 

In the castle, an alarm set off. The “King” was named Mr. Frost. Mr. Frost said, “I don’t like intruders.” Then, he started freezing Frostzilla!  

“Stop!” Clifford cried.  

Amanda, a snow hare bounced on his castle but Mr. Frost didn’t care. Larry, the reindeer, kicked his throne, but Mr. Frost didn’t notice. Then Evelyn, a wise snowy owl said,  

“Everyone, start working together!” 

And they did.  

The polar bear and the hare would collect snow, while the owls and foxes would roll into a big snowball.  Finally, the penguins and reindeers would push the snowball, aiming at Mr. Frost. At the same time, Sarah distracted Mr. Frost so he would stay put.  

Mr. Frost turned into an ice cube! 

“Fine!” He admitted. “I’m sorry.” 

As soon as he said he was sorry, the sun shone brightly and melted the ice cube. From that day on, Mr. Frost was a better person. Every year, on that day, they celebrate teamwork. Everyone lived happily ever after.  

One day, Bavneesh went to a very ordinary carnival on a winter day because he wanted to know what it feels like when it gets cold. He ate snacks, went on rollercoasters, and even relaxed on a winter day. But when he got to the ferris wheel, he looked at the steps. You know, like those metal steps that go up and up and up and up and -well, you get the point. When he looked at the steps, however, there was something very small poking out. It was a metal stick. Well, you could guess that Bavneesh started looking at it, but nope, he started pulling it. When he pulled the metal stick, little did he know, there was string behind it, connecting the metal stick to a lever. So, when he pulled it, the lever got flicked! The lever connected to a trapdoor that was right under him. How lucky… I guess, how unlucky.  So, as you could probably tell, he fell in but he landed on a pillow. Okay, now how lucky! Am I right? And when he looked around, all he saw were ducks! Plus, the ground, of course. He realized that he was in duck land! He was so excited because ducks were his favourite animals!  The end- no, just kidding. He looked around and he saw warrior ducks training for a fight. He asked one duck, what is happening? The duck said that a giant fly was attacking tomorrow because the fly wanted the duck diamond, a source that gives all the duck abilities like flying, walking on land and swimming in water. Bavneesh wanted to help because the duck diamond was the ducks’ special gem. So, the next day, he helped them by scraring away the fly with arrows and won! As a gift, they gave him the power to turn into a duck, anytime! He was overjoyed! To get him out, they launched him through the trapdoor with a trampoline. Once he got out of duck land, he learned that ducks are bold and never give up. Then, he went to another very “ordinary carnival”…….

One snowy winter night, I was looking out my living room window, when I saw a strange blue glow. I put on my comfy wool jacket and warm snow boots to go outside and investigate. I crossed the cracked cobblestone street, into an alleyway. It was a small wooden door with a bright blue light radiating through the cracks in the ancient wood. I felt a mysterious force pull me towards the door and before I knew it, I had twisted the shining handle. As the door swung open, I felt a burst of glacier air, then a blinding light. When the light faded, I beheld a beautiful landscape covered with shining snow surrounding a tiny town of cheerful wooden buildings. I stood there amazed, admiring the beautiful winter scene. 

I heard a voice shouting to me. I thought it was just my imagination. When it called again, I knew it wasn’t my imagination, it was a talking squirrel. He was a friendly sort named Peanut, who introduced himself as the Town Librarian and welcomed me to Frostgrasp, a winter town. He showed me around all the amazing place, there was a hot chocolate store, a scarf store, and even a store for accessories for snowmen. He said he had to go, but he introduced me to his snowman friend, Icicle. Icicle was going sledding and invited me along. He got me a sled and we started the climb up hill Permafrost. When we made it to the top, there was a caboodle of snowmen, squirrels, yetis, and other strange creatures, sliding down the hill. I looked over the edge and instantly got scared. It was a sixty-foot-tall hill with a nearly ninety-degree angle. I walked back to Icicle and told him I was too scared, but he encouraged me saying we could make the run together. I readied myself and went for it! I was exhilarated and terrified at the same time. At the bottom I crashed into Icicle and had to rebuild him. 

I checked my watch and realized I needed to go for dinner so I said bye, thanked Icicle, and told him to thank Peanut. I went back into my house hoping I could visit Frostgrasp again sometime soon. I learned that whether sliding down a hill or going through a door, taking a leap of faith is worth it.

On a snowy day, I was just walking through the snow until I tripped on something. I heard something open. I looked to my right and saw a portal. Intrigued by the portal, I walked towards it. I poked my head through to see what was in it, then I felt a pulling force sucking me into the portal. I tried to get myself out of the portal but I couldn't get my hands out. The force became stronger and I couldn't resist. 

I woke up and didn’t know what had happened, all I knew was that I was nowhere near home. I looked around the place and saw nothing but a simple trail right in front of me. I decided to go on the trail and see what comes after. One hour later, I was finally at the end, I was speechless, this place was a winter wonderland!!! There were snow ball launchers and snow forts! This place had everything a winter lover could ever ask for!

I rushed off to start playing, and I think that was the fastest I’ve ever run in my life. There were SNOW BALL TURRETS!!! I instantly got behind one and started aiming for the targets. Every shot, a bullseye. There were snow cones and popsicles, but what really caught my eye was the Snow Cone Sandwich. It looked good, so I tried it and it was the best thing I had ever tasted in my life!!!

I walked further looking for people because I didn’t see anyone. As I walked, it got hotter for some reason, and then I saw people. They were all fighting. I saw these turrets. I was shocked, they were the same ones from the winter wonderland! Then I thought “If this place was a winter wonderland why is it hot and filled with fire?” Maybe the mood of the people affects the weather. If people are happy, it’s a winter wonderland, if people are angry, it’s a flaming hot volcano.

I got scared and went back to the trail wondering why they were choosing to fight instead of having fun? I got out of the portal and went back home, and it got me thinking. Am I  happy with what I have or fighting about things that I don’t have? Then I realized, it’s in my hands to decide whether my life is a winter wonderland or a flaming hot volcano.

Brayden was making a snowman in his backyard and was heading back inside to get two black buttons for the snowman's eyes, when suddenly he heard a whooshing sound coming from his snowman. Brayden was curious so he turned around and raced back to the snowman. When he got to his snowman, his snowman shrunk  to the size of a small mouse and instead of the one snowman that he was working on, it became a lot more snowmen and they were all floating and moving. 

Brayden got closer while they were forming a circle. When they were done making the circle, the snowmen moved their arms to face Brayden and Brayden levitated off the ground and went straight in the centre of the circle. Then as soon as they were around him, the ground below him gave away and he fell down into a hole. It took a long time to reach the bottom but when he finally did, he landed on a big trampoline. On his 3rd bounce he bounced off the trampoline and fell on a comfy couch. 

Brayden shook his head and realized he was sitting beside a short elf. It started to talk and it said "Hello there Brayden. I am Frost.I am one of Santa’s elves. I have brought you here because you wrote a message to Santa asking how he was doing. Frost continued reading from a sheet of paper and said "Dear Brayden, I, the Elves, and Ms.Claus are doing just fine but Blitzen is sick. I want you to get the following supplies for me to heal Blitzen Frost will bring you back down here once you get the supplies. The supplies I need are 1. Dandelion. 2.A ribbon. 3. Leaf from an Oak Tree. I need them by the first of December because it takes one month to heal a reindeer with these supplies. From Santa". 

Brayden immediately agreed. After that, Frost sent him back up and Frost told him to make another snowman so Brayden could go back down and give the supplies to Frost. Brayden asked his parents to go on a hike and he got the Dandelion and the Leaf. Then he sewed a ribbon with a sewing machine and gave the supplies back to Frost. Brayden felt good because he saved Blitzen.

On a cold winter afternoon, I ran outside to play, expecting to see my usual mountain of snow waiting for me. But the ground was strangely bare. “Where did all the snow go?” I wondered aloud.

Before I could investigate, a mocking voice echoed behind me. “Looking for something?” I turned and saw the biggest bullies from my school blocking my path. My hands trembled—not from the cold, but from fear.

“Hey! Leave him alone!” my best friend shouted as he rushed over.

One bully sneered. “What are you going to do? Cry?”

My friend was about to lunge at them, but I grabbed his arm. “Stop,” I whispered and pointed at a teacher watching us like a hawk.

He nodded gratefully. But the bullies didn’t notice her until she suddenly sprinted toward us. “We’re saved!” my friend said—but the teacher zoomed right past us, barely missing us. She apologized quickly and kept running, as if she was chasing something invisible. Confused, we looked back, only to see the bullies had disappeared.

Later that day, on my way home, I heard a soft whisper. “Follow me…”

I spun around—and saw a squirrel staring straight at me. When it scampered away, I followed. Soon I noticed my friend following a different squirrel, yet both paths led to my usual play spot.

“Why here?” I asked.

“No clue,” he said.

Then the whisper returned: “Touch the crack…”

We searched until my friend pointed at a thin crack along a boulder. “Maybe that?”

“Let’s try.”

The moment I touched it, the world blurred into a swirling tunnel of blue and silver light. My friend tumbled beside me, and together we landed in a breathtaking frozen kingdom.

But the beauty didn’t last long. Ahead of us was a battlefield—arrows, swords, shields, and even snowballs flew through the icy air. But these snowballs weren’t normal—they froze anything they hit.

“The castle’s under attack!” my friend shouted. Without thinking, we joined the defenders. We dodged freezing snowballs, blocked icy spears, and helped turn the tide of the battle. At last, the enemies retreated, and the frozen palace glowed with victory.

“We did it!” I cheered. “We actually belong here—a place where bravery matters!”

My friend grinned. “Maybe winter was hiding something extraordinary all along.”

And from that day, I never saw my world the same way again.

“Tommy, what are you going to do now?” inquired Mom.

Tommy was a young boy who lived in the busy city of Edmonton. He was always engrossed in his video games and got poor grades at school. 

“I’ll go upstairs and finish my video game.” Tommy responded, as he trudged upstairs. He entered his room and turned on the PC. Suddenly, Tommy heard a humming sound and turned to find a door engraved with snowflakes. Curious, he walked through it.

As he closed the door behind him, he saw a new world with lots of snow. A voice spoke behind him and he whirled around.

“You are in a video game, Tommy, and the only way to exit is to arrive at Occladale Park at 9:45 pm. If you arrive too early or too late, you will be stuck here forever! Good Luck!”

Tommy looked around and saw an e-bike, some logs (one of which was wider than the others), and a roll of duct tape. It was 9 pm right now. Tommy had 45 minutes to reach Occladale Park. He put the logs and the duct tape in the front basket. 

The e-bike GPS told him that Occladale Park is 10 km away and he has to first reach Port Merry which is 8km away. He pushed the throttle and zoomed away. After 30 minutes he reached Port Merry, but there was one problem - how would he cross the lake? 

Suddenly, it came to him like lightning. He rushed over to his supplies and built a simple raft. He used the wider log as the “paddle”. Tommy threw the raft in the lake and hopped on. It was 9:35 pm. How would he know what speed to travel at?

He tried to remember what his teacher, Mrs. Matier taught him. The distance was 2 km and he had 10 minutes remaining. So the speed was equal to 12km/h. Fortunately, his smartwatch had a speedometer! He paddled across the lake. He could see the key. Tommy jumped off. It was 9:45 pm!! He leaped towards the key and was whooshed away.

He entered his room and sat down on the chair. Then, his mom entered the room.

“Tommy, why have you been so quiet? I haven’t heard any video game sounds.” she queried. 

Tommy said, with a twinkle in his eyes, “Oh, I was just……… studying!”

What is that? Is it a fire in the woods? A wildfire can’t be any good. I was incredibly confused. A fire in a cold day?? I see smoke rising somewhere in the middle of the forest. I wonder if I should call the firefighters, but my curiosity takes over. I start walking towards the smoky area, and what I find is truly mystifying. There was a door, with smoke pouring out of it! I decided to kick the door and see what was inside. What I saw was fascinating; a bright world, with many creatures dwelling within. I had many questions, and I hoped they would be answered soon.

There was a large staircase, that lead down to where the creatures were, but I didn’t know if the creatures were hostile or not, thus I decided to stay where I was. At one point, a creature noticed me and started walking towards me. I was terrified, and surprised. I turned around to open the door and head back to the “real” world, but I soon realized it was locked. 

The creature came over to where I was and greeted me. I was glad it could speak English, so I told it where I came from. The creature decided to give me a tour, because it saw that I was confused. It first took me down an alley, which led to a village full of sparkling, bright, and evergreen trees. The houses were made from bricks, which were made of mud. The roads were bustling, and busy with many creatures shopping and having fun. The creature that was giving me a tour said its name is Emerald, and that the chief’s name is Amethyst. After hearing the names, I soon realized everybody was named after a mineral. Emerald said the main form of gaining money in the town of “Jewelville” was mining. He took me down to the mines, where there were an incredible number of workers digging up many minerals. The caves they were mining in was massive with stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

        After giving me a tour, Emerald said I should meet the chief, because it seemed that the chief was curious there was an outsider in Jewelville. I headed down the shining roads of the town to meet the chief, and the chief was thrilled to see me. He started asking me lots of questions, such as “where did you come from?” or “what species are you?” I answered all his questions, and then asked him if I can get sent back home. He looked slightly upset that I was leaving after only 10 minutes of talking, but he said yes and asked Emerald to take me back to where he found me.

        Emerald explained a little more while we walked back to the door. He said that the town was having a heat wave, and that the town is usually full of snow. I was curious why they have a heat wave, so I asked about it more. Emerald said that the door I came from was always producing heat and smoke, I was surprised because on the other side of the door, it was frozen. Then I realized this: the smoke and heat were coming from our world, producing gases and other harmful things that cause heat. Emerald asked me if I knew anything about the heat, but I said no, because that was actually my question.

        Once we finally reached the door, we said goodbye. I went straight to my house and told my family the whole story.

Brr, it was cold. I was on vacation in Alaska and presently I was hiking up a mountain, but something shiny caught my eye. It was a door in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to run through the door, but my feet wouldn’t budge. I looked down at my feet and nearly fell down when I saw three hares burying my feet under the snow.  “Don’t move,” one of them whispered. “It’s dangerous here,” whispered another. This was impossible, hares couldn’t speak. This made no sense. Whatever was happening, it seemed very safe to me.

“Come,” they beckoned me to follow them. They led me to a small trapdoor and knocked. “It’s safe,” reassured the smallest hare. The trapdoor opened and a big brown bear came out of the trapdoor.. The bear beckoned me and the hares to come into his home. We entered a cozy room with a fire and I ran over it to get warm. After I had warmed myself up, I turned towards the bear. “Good afternoon,” greeted the bear. “Where am I?” I asked. “You’re on Snowy Mountain,” he said. An amazing smell wafted to my nose as he poured soup into a bowl. “Here, have some soup.” He handed me the bowl of soup and pulled a chair out. “Please sit,” he said. I sat down and gulped down the soup.

“Can we enter the door that I saw earlier?” I asked. Suddenly, the animals ran out of the room. “Are you sure you wanna do that?” asked a muffled voice. “Why not?” I asked. “We’re scared of it,” said the smallest hare. “Why?” I asked. “It gives us nightmares,” said the bear. “I’m not scared of it and I’m human so I can fight off any creature. Come on, let’s go,” I said. The animals followed me outside reluctantly.

10 mins later……

“It’s so dark,” someone complained. “We’ll get used to it,” I said. We had already entered the door and we were walking through a tunnel. Soon, we emerged into daylight. We were in a place with lots of grass. I guessed we were in a grassland, but a tunnel couldn’t appear in the middle of the grass. I turned around and was shocked to see a wizard and a hut instead of the tunnel. I studied him. He was wearing a pointed hat and long robe. He was holding a wand and was very old. “Who are you?” I asked. The wizard chuckled and said “I am the wizard of the land of grass and I saw you walk past my bedroom window so I thought you needed my help.” “It is time for breakfast,” he said. “Does that mean time here is different from our world,” I asked. “Yes, and would you guys like to go home?” he asked. “Yes please, we really want to go back home,” I pleaded. “Of course, here we go,” the wizard said. I started to feel like I was flying. Suddenly, I landed in the bear’s den with my hiking gear. "See, there's nothing to be scared of,” I told the animals. “Just be brave and try new things,” I added. They smiled at me. “From now on, we’re not scared. If we see another magic portal, we’ll go through it just like you did,” said the middle-sized hare. “With the right gear, no one can beat you,” I reassured, as I headed for the trapdoor. I gave a final glance back and waved as I headed down the mountain.

It was a cold winter afternoon. I was walking down the street, returning home from school. Icicles hang down from the eaves of the mighty houses, standing fierce in the piercing wind, yet as if the ice age had just passed on them. I finished my Cheetos bag and threw it on the sidewalk. I turned right onto the street where my house is located. I can see my house through the snow-filled air. Small waves of snow on the ground ripples on my driveway. The snow gets heavier and the wind gets colder. I quickly entered my backyard. There I saw two brown creatures in the snow.

I tiptoe halfway through the backyard with caution when the creatures turn their heads. I instinctively recoil. “Who are you?” said one of the creatures. I was in complete shock. I slowly back towards the fence opening as I ask, “Who in the world are you?”

“Us?”

“We are one of the last winter keepers. Our job is to make and keep winter for certain parts of the season. We also take the shape of weasels, and yes, we can speak.”

“Ever wondered why the winters are getting shorter?” said the other winter keeper. “Now get away from us and put your snout out of our busi–” “Actually, we might need you,” said the other weasel

“Why?” I asked.

“Because we, Winter Keepers, have been doing our jobs for billions of years. Ignored by humans as a myth, but always living in a corner of the earth. However, since a few years ago, you humans have kept on polluting and creating global warming. With global warming, we can’t do our job properly. Come and follow us.”

We traveled a long way into a forest behind my school.

“Down here,” they say.

I climbed down the hole, but I didn’t expect it to be so slippery. After my feet found sturdy ground, I was in a chamber with snow on the ground and icicles on the top, even though it was underground. The room was surprisingly warm.

I followed the two of them down a hallway, into another room. Inside, there is a white stone that is shining. The weasels touch the stone and invite me to touch it too. As I touch it, an unpleasant sensation comes through my body. As I open my eyes, I realize that I was no longer in the room.

I see garbage, garbage, and more garbage. There is so much garbage that it can make an island.

“This is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is basically an island made of human garbage. One of your garbage is probably here too,” said one of the weasels.

The scene changed. This time, I was next to a mountain of garbage.

“This is the landfill in Mumbai. 326 acres of land is filled with mountains of garbage. Residents and species of animals are slowly being poisoned.

The scene changed again. This time, it was a Cheetos bag on a pile of snow.

“And this is the Cheetos bag that you ate and littered.”

Guilt fills up all the way up my throat. I feel so much shame that I can’t feel my legs.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“Sorry won’t do enough. However, do you promise me that next time you have garbage, you won’t litter? Do you promise me that you will spread awareness of climate change?

“Yes.” I replied.

“Good. Then we will teleport you back to your house and remember to keep your promise.”

The day started normally at 6741 Nothingisnormal Lane as I trudged through deep snow to catch my school bus. The driver looked unfamiliar, but I hardly cared. One thing caught my eye for a glimpse, though—the bus door.  I thought I saw arcane carvings on the panel of its frost-encrusted wood. I hesitated momentarily,  but curiosity won.

As I touched the door, WHOAA... everything spun around me. Suddenly, I was thrown onto snowy ground surrounded by towering evergreens. The freezing air immediately chilled my bones.

“Hello, Chosen One,” a voice boomed through the pines.

“Whoo…aat?” I felt tongue-tied as a DRAGON loomed before me!

“Welcome to the Ice-realm. My name is Fjord, Guardian of the Frost Dragons.”

Fjord continued as I gasped. “You found the portal, I presume?”

“I know nothing about any portal!! I’m late for school!!!” I yelped.

“We need you here. The prophecy said that when the ice realm is in danger, a portal will open and a mortal will come to save us,” Fjord sounded uncertain. My age probably worried him.

“Wait! I came here as a saviour?” I whispered, intimidated-and-yet-intrigued.

“I’m afraid so,” sighed Fjord. 

“From what? And how?!”

“From the Snow Giant King’s Army. They’ve been pestering us, blaming us for the king’s stolen crown. Without the crown, the King is powerless, and a prolonged anarchy melts his kingdom, causing earthquakes and tsunamis in the human-realm,” said Fjord.

“I’ll do everything in my power”, I was determined. Suddenly, global warming made clear sense.

Fjord told me that his source believes an Ice-Golem stole the crown. The Golem keeps it in a human-sized ice tower - too small for dragons to get in. I need to enter the tower and face the Golem myself.

“Defeat him before he defeats you”, Fjord said matter-of-factly.

“Let’s hope neither,” I muttered.

Fjord handed me a knife and dropped me in front of the tower.

I searched the tower until I found the golem hiding in the coldest room. 

"I came to talk," I declared.

“No Taking My Crooowwnnn!!” Golem read my mind.

“You got it right. I am here to see the crown get to its original owner, but maybe we can do a deal?” I said calmly.

“For Fooood?” Golem grasped avariciously.

“Why not?” I offered my lunchbox.

“Nooo… Gimmme Gumm-Gumm, You Dumm-Dumm!”

Gum?  – Luckily, I had some Winterfresh Hubba-Bubba in my pocket.  Golem mouthed the pack whole.

“Take Crown. It Not Mintyyy,” Golem grunted with his mouth full.

I grabbed the crown and ran before he could change his mind.

“That’s it? A Gum??” Fjord’s jaw almost touched the floor.  

“Yep.” I smiled, “Now, take me to the King, please!”

The Snow Giant Emperor was standing at the entrance - majestic and powerful.

“I have been waiting for you, Mortal-being. Riding a dragon to my palace, cradling my lost crown, does not go unnoticed,” he rumbled in a warm voice.

I climbed off Fjord's back and knelt with the crown balancing as an offering. “The crown, Your Majesty,” I said.

“A polite humanling! Now I've seen everything,” the King chuckled. “Thank you, young boy, you have done the ice-realm a great favour. And thank you for helping him, Fjord.” They nodded at each other.

“Now go back to your day, son, I’m sure you have a story-of-a-lifetime to tell.”

​

Fjord and I hugged. Nothing feels better than a trusting friend’s warm hug.

—-------------------

“Wake up, sleepy-head! Ready for the dreadful creative-writing workshop?” said my friend. I looked around. I am back on my bus, with school just ahead. Another typical school day.

“I think I’m,” I smiled.

The time was night, but everything was bright-covered in shades of blue and white. A light snow blanketed the earth, paired with kids-dressed up as Santa Claus, ran around their backyards, busily building snowmen. A few bedrooms had their lights on, the people inside presumably studying for an assessment. My snowman was almost completed-”One last ball,” I thought. I never could’ve expected what was going to happen. My eyes gazed onto a target-small pile of snow. Running towards the frozen water, I caught a glimpse of a shed. Even if the structure looked as if it survived the great depression, I couldn't recall seeing it-even in recent months. Originally reluctant, my curiosity got the best of me. However, the door was frozen. Pouring hot cocoa over it, the knob loosened up. Opening the door, I was surprised at the presence of a hallway-which led straight to another door. Walking through the space, I noticed that it was composed of compressed snow, as if I was inside an igloo.  An igloo is a simple shelter built by some people, made entirely of snow.  What I proceeded to find behind the other door was intriguing-forests upon forests covered with snow, as far as the human eye could see. Soon, my eyes had landed on a notebook not far from my location. Opening the page, I was greeted by a map of the surroundings. “Too convenient. Almost as if someone had been expecting me,” was all that I thought of for the next few minutes. I continued to walk in the forest. I glanced at a fox scattering into the woods. What I saw next was unexpected: An empty campsite-fire and tents, but no people. The time was getting dark, so I decided to stay there for the night. I drifted to sleep at the crackle of the fire. Waking up, the campsite has seemed to have teleported. It was no longer in the forest, but in the middle of a frozen field. “This was weird.” However, I knew better.  Rummaging around the campsite, I quickly gathered resources: a few berries and bottles of water. I knew my chance of finding the door again was low. Suddenly, I remembered about the book that I had found the day before. Magically, my current location appeared on the map. Following it, I eventually reached the door. Exiting the hallway, I reflected on my adventure. The campsite scenario, the forest, and the snowy landscape. It just turns out that you have to adapt to your surroundings, but enjoy the moment.

Christmas in New York is always magical, with all the decorations, the joyous laughter, and the Christmas spirit, but this year I didn’t feel it as much. All I wanted was to adopt an animal companion from the shelter, but my parents always said, “Nobody has the time to take care of them.”

I tried not to think about it as I walked home from school. It was chilly, and the air felt heavier. I took the same path home, but something felt different. Suddenly, as I turned onto my street, a gigantic tornado appeared. I tried to hold my ground, but the pull was too large, and I got sucked in. Inside, instead of grey clouds, I saw lights, blue, green, and purple, almost like northern lights. I wanted to escape, but something in me told me to approach the lights.

I used my hands in a flapping way, leading me toward them, and saw a gateway. It appeared to be…a door. I reached out, got sucked in, and fell to the ground.

I got up and looked around. “Where am I…?” I felt scared but tried to stay calm. As I walked forward, I heard a yell. I turned and screamed as a red sled came darting at me. Oomph!

When I opened my eyes, I saw those lights again. I looked around and realized I was in a sleigh. A sleigh?!?! I turned to the man riding it and realized it. I was in Santa’s sleigh. Santa had hit me with a sleigh!

I was about to call out when we approached a large piece of ground. It was the North Pole! “Wow!”, I said as we landed, watching the reindeer dispatch. “Oh, you’re awake. I was hoping I hadn’t hit you too hard,” Santa said, helping me out. “Yeah…,” I said, looking around. “Why don’t we get you a nice mug of hot coca, with a blanket?” I nodded and followed him. I saw many elves, and it was nothing like the movies. They were small humanoid creatures with pointed ears and high-pitched voices. At his house, Mrs. Claus gave me the best cup of coca ever.

Just then, an elf came in with bad news. “Santa, we have a problem. Letters from everywhere say children are unhappy with the ‘simple’ toys we give.” He frowned. “Some children are even losing the…Christmas spirit!” The room went silent.

“I might be able to help…” I said. “How could you possibly help, you’re just a child!” the elf bellowed. “Let her speak,” Santa said. “All I’ve wanted was an animal companion…but my parents said nobody could take care of it. You could make an artificially intelligent animal companion! Then I get what I want, you get what you want, and so does every other child!”

“Extraordinary…,” Santa said. “Noel, what are the chances of making 3 billion before Christmas?” “Slim…but possible,” Noel said. “Perfect! Tell the elves to start. Sonya and I will handle the rest.” He knew my name! “Santa…how are we going to program them?” “Watch and learn.”

Santa took out his laptop and wrote Python, JavaScript/Lua, JSON, C#, and Swift/Kotlin. Santa was SO COOL!

“Well, thank you for your help, but it’s time you get home,” Santa said. I didn’t want to leave, but he reassured me. He wiggled his nose and a portal opened. “Awesome!” I stepped in... and I was back on my street.

Days passed. On Christmas Day, one gift stood out with a letter: “Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.” I opened it. It was a dog! And it worked! “Thanks, Santa,” I whispered, hugging my dog.

Rainbow lights hung flickering throughout the city. Music echoed around me. I crouched low on the cold pavement along the streets of Toronto, my whiskers twitching at every sudden sound. It was mid-December, freezing, and my stomach roared relentlessly. I licked my dry lips, sniffed the air, and took in everything - my hunger growing intensively every passing minute. The city smelled like a dream - Hot cocoa, Roasted chestnuts, Beef Jerky, but this only made the ache worse. 

Suddenly I saw a small grey flash scamper across the field. My heart leapt, my stomach lurched violently, and my whiskers tingled with just the scent of it. A mouse. Dinner. I couldn’t resist the urge. At that moment, I knew - I would do anything in my power to eat that creature. I stood up tall ready to pounce as my tiny ears twitched rapidly with excitement. I got into position. It was so close I could almost taste it - something warm, alive, even soft. Its scent led to a grimy, crumbling, brown brick wall. As I bent down, I noticed a small hole that could be seen beneath a mass of litter, just large enough to fit a nice sized mouse - perfect for two servings, at max maybe three if I'm feeling a bit peckish. Each step closer I walked, the stronger my thirst grew. 

I squeezed my head inside the hole and peered around, hoping to find that mouse once more. But what I saw was something I could have never imagined; a city; hundreds, thousands of mice scampering around in tiny red coats flapping as they hauled packages 20 times their size across vast fields of white, glimmering snow. This was the Mice Pole - it was real; something my ancestors had dreamt of for centuries. My whiskers twitched uncontrollably, my stomach gnawing, roaring with hunger so violent it felt like a fire in my belly. The mice… they were so busy, so alive. But, something stopped me. If I was going to eat these creatures, I would have been on my third by now. Was I just overwhelmed? No, it couldn’t be that. I was fascinated for sure, but that wasn’t it either. I think I was feeling pity. That’s a strange feeling, isn’t it. “A feeling of sorrow for another's suffering”. But why was I feeling it? Why now, why ever? This was my chance to have everything I ever wanted; a lifetime supply of delicious food. But these mice didn’t deserve to die because of my hunger. They work night and day 365 days a year, every year to bring joy and happiness to children all around the world. They have done more for the world in one day than I have done in a lifetime. I don’t deserve to live any more than they do, or than any other living creature does. That’s when I smelled it. The air was full of delicious scents like Sugar, Berries, Nuts, Vegetables, and the Soya..Mmmmm ...it smelled like a dream. I wanted to eat. I wanted to devour something, anything, but not mice. 

I crouched low in the snow, my tail curling tight around me to keep me warm. Little sleds slid past me, pulled by even tinier mice, carrying stacks of wrapped gifts. Some mice paused around me, whiskers twitching at me, their tiny, black, beady eyes bright. They didn’t run. It seemed as if they were inviting me in. My stomach growled. They brought me in, and fed me. 

When I awoke back in Toronto, I realized:  prey can be friends, and your survival doesn't depend on eating them.

It was Christmas Eve. Snow fell thickly, lights twinkling on every surface. The house smelled of pine and cinnamon from the enormous Christmas tree in the living room, the star brushing the ceiling.

I told Dad it’d be too tall. He didn’t listen.

“Honey, can you get the tablecloth from the attic?” Mom calls from the kitchen, preparing Christmas dinner.

“Sure,”  I say, heading upstairs.

The attic door creaks as I push it open. Dust swirls in the light, making me cough. I flip the switch and scan the cluttered room. Kneeling beside the biggest stack of boxes, I start opening them one by one.

At the last box, a small door on the wall catches my eye. It is blue, the paint chipped in places, with white snowflakes along the edges. 

“What…?” I murmur, stepping closer.

I reach for the golden knob and pull it open. A flash of light makes me squint before I step through.

I gasp.

The room inside is spacious, almost twice the size of my bedroom. It was softly lit and strangely cozy despite being nearly empty. Before I can make sense of it, a small voice chirps,

“Who are you? A friend?”

I open my mouth, speechless, as a fabric doll skips up to me, a lopsided smile stitched on her face.

She seems to decide I’m worthy of that title and waves her little hand. “Hi, I’m Izzy!”

“Hi?” I say unsure how to act as she squeals in joy.

“Come meet the rest of my friends!” she says, skipping away.

I follow as she introduces me to a cluster of toys in the corner, one by one.

“That’s Phoenix.” She gestures to a beautifully crafted mechanical bird perched on the wall.

“He’s really a cardinal though.” she whispers, giggling. 

Phoenix gives a one-winged salute. I notice his wing is bent slightly out of shape.

“That’s Maria.” Izzy points to a ballerina twirling atop a vintage music box. Every time she spins, the music stutters and cracks. It is so distorted you could barely hear the melody anymore, but that only seems to motivate her to spin faster.

“She’s been spinning for three years,” Izzy sighs.

“I keep asking her to take a break, but she won’t. She’ll only stop once she’s perfect.”

“They look pretty perfect to me,” I say, but Izzy only shakes her head.

“Finally, this is Jack.”

She motions to a jack-in-the-box painted with juggling clowns. I wait for Jack to pop out, but he doesn’t. Izzy groans and knocks on the box.

“Jack!!” Silence. Only Maria’s warped music continues.

“He’s shy,” Izzy mutters. “He almost never comes out.”

She waits another second before stomping away dramatically.

“This is why I hate it here. Phoenix never comes down, Maria’s always spinning, and Jack is always in his box!”

“All my friends are out there.” She points to a golden door on the far side of the room. I hadn’t even noticed it as it gleamed subtly in the warm light. A porcelain doll sits perfectly straight on a chair beside it.

“Who’s that?” I ask.

“That’s Clarissa.” Clarissa has perfect blonde curls, flawless porcelain skin, and a spotless dress.

“We want to leave, but she won’t let us.”

“Izzy” I say gently, “Why doesn’t she want you to leave?”

She hugs her fabric arms around herself, gaze dropping to the floor.

“She says the outside world is only for perfect toys. And we’re…not”

“But that’s not fair,” I say softly. “No one’s perfect.”

Izzy’s stitched smile wavers. “Clarissa thinks she has to be perfect. And she thinks everyone else should be too. But Phoenix’s wing is crooked, Maria’s music is broken, and Jack’s too scared.”

She twists her fingers together.

“And I’m just…me.”

Before I can speak, soft porcelain footsteps approach. Clarissa appears, her expression calm but cold.

“I’m trying to protect you. The world outside is harsh. I’m keeping you safe.”

“But I don’t feel safe!” Izzy bursts out. “We’re stuck here!”

Maria’s music stutters to a stop, almost as if reacting to Izzy’s frustration, but she keeps spinning, spinning, spinning, as if stopping would shatter her into tiny pieces.

“I want Phoenix to fly again,” Izzy says, voice trembling. “And Maria to rest, and Jack to laugh. And I…I want to see the world.”

Clarissa is quiet for a long moment. 

“Okay.”

Only one word, but it was enough.

Phoenix swoops down with a soft metallic flutter. Maria slows until she finally stops. Jack pops halfway out of his box, blinking shyly.

Clarissa walks to the golden door, hand on the handle. The toys gather behind her, holding their breath.

She opens the door.

Pure white light floods the room.

Izzy grabs my hand with her tiny fabric ones. “Come with us?”

I smile. “I’ll walk you to the edge.”

One by one, the toys step into the light. Phoenix glides through. Maria twirls just once and leaps forward. Jack fully pops out of his box. Izzy turns back, waving excitedly before she disappears in the brightness.

Clarissa hesitates, before whispering “Thank you,” and stepping through.

The light turns blinding, then fades.

I’m standing alone in the attic, dust floating in the still air. The small blue door is closed, and when I try the knob, it doesn’t budge.

But a warm feeling floods my body.

They’re okay.

The box in front of me now holds the tablecloth Mom asked for. I grab it, turn off the light, and head downstairs.

Mom smiles when I hand it to her. “Thanks. Everything alright up there?”

I nod.

“Yeah,” I say softly.

“Everything’s perfect.”

From his house on the hill, Ferrin could watch winter settling into the valley like a great white animal bedding down. Each frigid morning he’d feel the cold pool around his ankles before he’d even reached the tree line, ground smothered with phosphorescent cotton, every step a lethargic stumble against it. 

 Winter always lived lower than he did. Which endlessly bothered the man, as he showed only resentment for having to trudge down to meet it. 

What nuisance, he thought. An obstacle so pointlessly lodged into a perfectly workable routine. 

Yet his temper only disadvantaged him, as every grumble was complemented with cold, dry air gleefully squirming into the space the bitter comments left behind. 

His begrudging journey led him to a clearing he knew all too well, the snow - a terribly nostalgic thing - indented with reckless footsteps, some of them his, others, his prey. 

There was special elegance in fur trapping — one that was nothing but learned, passed down, as Ferrin’s father had learned from his father, who had learned from his. The art of preservation, his yen, his anchor. 

The fur coat of a hare.

Protection from the cold. 

And, of course, the sheath to a gun.

Ferrin slid the rifle from his shoulder with a tired yet practiced ease. The cold left a thin frost along the barrel, one promptly discarded by a calloused thumb — preservation, his father used to say, was a trapper’s greatest tool, after, of course, his gun.

Ferrin knelt, settling himself into the quiet fog. The forest held its breath with him, the only sound the steady click! of the familiar weight of a tin cartridge. A comfort, a sempiternal constant in a season that offered no such footholds.

His gaze swept across the unmoving clearing; until he spotted something that did.

A pale shape flickered between the trees, cloaked in fog, blending with the snow if not for the sleek point of its ears.

 A rabbit. Good size. Ideal position.

Ferrin raised the rifle, breath steadying, world narrowing, offering only enough legroom for him and the creature.

His gloved finger curled around the trigger, so seamlessly it was as if they locked together. Inhale — count to three — and upon his exhale, the contraction of his finger, came a bang. 

But the forest did not echo.

 It rang.

Not with the wet thud of impact, but with a bright, crystalline ping! — a sound so clean it cut the fog in two. The bullet rebounded off the rabbit’s flank, skipping across the snow like a flicked pebble.

Ferrin stared at it in utter disbelief. Surely his eyes must have been deceiving him, as there was no possible way the rabbit could be staring back.

And yet.

In the man’s stun, the rifle slipped, making a lazy indent in the snow, unmoving. Ferrin made no attempt to grab it — he pressed his hands upon his knees, standing, before making tentative strides towards the unharmed rabbit.

His caution was insufficient, however, as just as quickly as he had even started moving, the animal rebelliously scurried off. 

He trudged after it — a clean miss was a wound to nothing but a trapper’s pride. Many prints ahead were pressed cleanly into untouched snow, sharp and unbroken. The forest shifted as he continued, the snow, oddly shallow, the air tangled with something cold yet familiar. It wasn’t until his boot struck something hard beneath the powder that he paused, crouching to brush the snow aside.

Metal. Smooth, cold metal.

He straightened slowly, eyes adjusting to the shapes emerging in the fog. Rigid backs. Curved haunches. Frozen silhouettes of things that should have been familiar — deer, wolves, birds perched on limbs of steel.

Preserved, beyond time, beyond decay.

It was a spectral sight; smooth, almost glass-like hooves, fur coats of nothing but tin, every movement warranting a mechanical creak. Surely what Ferrin saw was a trick of the light? But as tentative, shaky fingers reached out to graze the metallic coat of the rabbit, the hard, bitingly cold surface he was met with declined this hypothesis.

And just as he’d finally taken it all in, the metal rabbit abruptly shuddered beneath his touch. An out-of-place heat grew from within it, before the entire form began to sag.

Ferrin’s hand recoiled, fingertips burned, as the creatures around him softened like frost under sunrise, an alien warmth taking their place — antlers drooping, wings folding, hooves dissolving into rivulets of dull silver that threaded through the snow in honey-like congregations. In moments, just as quickly as it had started, the clearing was empty again.

Startled and breath tight, he paused, before hurrying back the way he’d come, escaping into the snow. His rifle lay exactly where he’d dropped it — but the barrel bloomed with flaking rust, the wood swollen and warped as though years had passed without him.

Ahead, a rabbit waited in the fog. Whole. Soft. Living.

Ferrin stared.

And, after an exhale, he shakily lifted the warm, ruined gun, not out of a wounded pride, but to see if the world obeyed the rules it had just minutes ago, to feel the weight of not only the gun, but of his own disbelieving logic.

Snow folded over seed and soil.

The valley, tucked under a white skin.

Preservation, apparently, a double sided coin.

His finger curled around the trigger once again.

I might’ve gone too far this time.

The warnings I’ve been hearing all my life echo through my mind.

Stay away from the woods, kid. They might seem normal, but they aren’t safe. Weird things happen in there.

I heard a kid went missing when he wandered in one day. His older sister went after him, despite many warnings. The little boy walked out in the morning, completely fine. His sister was never seen again.

I’d stay far away if I were you. Those woods are cursed.

Keep away.

Be careful.

Steer clear.

Don’t go near.

I shake my head, as if the thoughts were just annoying flies I could shake away.

They are wrong…

That voice again. The reason I’m here.

I can’t be crazy. This voice I’ve been hearing, I swear it’s getting louder the further into the woods I go. Before, the faint whispers were barely audible, too faint to make out most of them. But one thing was constant.

Come closer… It’s so lonely here…

That gets me to pick up my pace, whipping my head from side to side, scanning the surrounding area for anything that could be the source of… whatever I’m hearing.

The woods could be described as magical, if your idea of magical is a mashup of Halloween and winter wonderland. The trees look downright ancient, trunks bigger than I can wrap my arms around, but most of them look like they are on the verge of death. Smaller trees look a bit healthier, but in the middle of winter, there are no leaves at all. The scenery is a mix of brilliant white and sickly brown. I can’t decide if it’s depressing or hauntingly beautiful.

At first, I’m sure I’m imagining it. Each step I take seems to increase the contrast of the world around me. White becomes blinding. Trees become inky tendrils sprouting from the ground, making the world both unimaginably dark and unbearably bright.

Right as I’m starting to wonder if I hit my head at some point, the voice rings out, loud and clear.

“You finally came.”

It takes me a full five seconds to realize that the voice is, in fact, not in my head this time. 

I turn in the direction it came from, almost toppling over in the process.

A figure stands before me, pitch-black against the snow. The girl looks like she could be my age. But she also looks like she could have lived for thousands of years, with those eyes. It’s hard to tell her features apart, with how… void-like she is. It’s almost like she’s just a space of nothingness with eyes, and the faintest outline of a nose and mouth. I feel like I should be panicking, yet curiosity wins over.

“I’m so sorry,” she says, dark eyes surprisingly expressive. And currently expressing… regret?

I start, confused. “W-What? For what? Who are you? Why is everything so bright?!”

She turns away, then gestures for me to follow with a hand over her shoulder. “You’ll get used to it,” is all she answers, completely ignoring the rest of my questions.

I freeze, taking in the implication of her words. “Get used to it? I don’t want to get used to it! Why were you talking to me? Calling me? How were you doing that, anyway?”

She looks over her shoulder at me, amused. “You’re curious,” she states, like that explains everything, before facing forward again, continuing to wherever we were going. “I was, too, once. It’s a dangerous thing to be in this world. It’s like the saying goes. Curiosity killed the cat. Except in our case… Well, you’ll see.”

I debate running away, but eventually, curiosity wins over. I don’t care what she says. The why, how, what, and everything else about this situation perplexes me, and I’m never one to let anything stop me from looking for answers.

Eventually, we end up in a big clearing. At this point, my vision is both remarkably contrasted and extremely blurry. Everything is so bright that they seem to blend into each other, the black ink of the trees making one big wall against a horizon that seems further than it should. The blinding white of the snow-covered ground dissipates around the edge of yet another inky black splotch, except this one is on the ground… It takes me a second to recognize it as a pond. It’s so dark at first, I think it’s frozen over, as it should be in this weather, but looking closer, I realize that it’s moving. Not fast, but still abnormal for a pond. It doesn’t seem to move with the current, just… leisurely swirling.

I’m so enraptured by the water that I don’t realize my mysterious guide has come up next to me.

The last thing I remember–before a burning hand pushed me gently into the water and my vision exploded in the last burst of colour I’ll ever see–are her words.

“I’m sorry. You’ll understand. Too much, in my opinion. But perhaps you’ll be more receptive than I was.”

104 years later.

Now I understand what she meant by her last words.

“I’m so sorry,” I utter, pushing the young kid into the water, before my vision finally fades to black.

In small, seaside Myra, a seemingly jolly young boy was known to be the troublemaker of the town. He traveled by the rooftops, always leaping from house to house excitedly like the creature he so admired. With his bright red shirt that was never tucked in, a floppy belt flapping wildly as he ran, and a trusty bag filled with stolen foods and sweets, the little ones called him Klaas, the champion of the children. He gave to the poor and needy, never ignoring the people’s cries. Though the adults tried, they could never chase him as he ran across their stone-tiled rooftops, like he was flying through the sky. What could they do, when faced with someone who popped in and out of their chimneys like a streak of hues?

        The boy retreated to his tiny home by the shore, dropping off his daily hoard. “Oh!” he exclaimed as he looked inside, seeing a whole piece of bread. Such pleasures were few and far between to him. Although a few bite-marks were clearly seen as well as a bit of mold, the boy gave thanks, then tore ravenously into this finite source of bliss, but not before remembering to set a few scraps to the side. His stomach growled with indignation upon seeing those morsels but he silenced it before it grew. A hungry grumble escaped from him once again but the boy’s parental love overcame his own desperate hunger. He knew to control his cravings as he always did for his precious, little boy.

        That night, he walked outside to his beat-down stable with the bag of morsels. His stomach still complained but upon seeing his child with naught but skin and bones, he knew that he had made the right choice. As he knelt down to spread the morsels around on the ground, he looked up and saw the night sky blanketed in swathes of white. “I guess it’s that time of year. Huh.” said the boy as his reindeer ate slowly beside him, fur coat pushing away the frigid cold. He sat in those fields of snow, staring at the universe above, dreaming of a new life, a better future which he knew will never arrive. He prayed for someone to arrive from the sky, dropping gifts and blessings to have a spark of hope in his life, but was struck with apathy, when faced with the truth of this world. He retreated into his tiny, little cabin home, falling asleep in his cold, torn, straw bed.

The story ended there, as the world around him started to fade to white once again. The doorway opened as well, having fulfilled its purpose. The pudgy old man understood why fate brought him upon this door. He had gotten his wish, his question answered. His purpose once gone, now found once again.

Trudging through the heavy snow, he heaved his bag of gifts. He pulled out his magic wand and cast a spell of flight. Then, he got on his red wooden sleigh and yelled with vigor as he took a hold of the reins, "Just one more year! The children of the world still need us! Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

The jolly old man of children’s dreams flew away, having found his purpose for another day.

The last thing I remembered was resting on the deck of my year‑long Antarctic cruise, soaking in the stagnant beauty of the peninsula. I wake to snow in my eyes, my skull half‑buried in thick ice. I rise slowly, unevenly, trying to get my bearings on both land and the barren ice at once. It’s daytime now. The sky and ice share an absentminded white hue as the air around me feels like crystals jabbing into my skin.

        I shuffle through the pockets of my thick winter coat for my phone but it’s nowhere to be found. Ditto for my wallet and gloves. I snap back to reality, realizing how dire my situation is. I stick my hands in my pockets and rub to keep from succumbing to frostbite. I look around desperately for any signs of human life as my eyes clear, but nothing. The air stands still as the wind dies down and I can see nothing for miles in any direction. Just snow, ice, and… a light. It’s far in the distance but it’s there. When all you’ve seen for months is miles of nothing, any semblance of something is a gift.

        I plan to run over to the light, but find myself slowed. Maybe it’s the exhaustion, the fear, or just my body conserving energy, but I can’t bring myself to do more than walk for what feels like hours. I see planes turn to birds and faces turn to tricks of the snow. My legs grow numb and I feel lightheaded as I reach the light, ready to embrace whatever comes my way, and am taken aback. 

I’m faced by a door of flames, its eternal glow blown to mythic proportions by the piercing ice surrounding it. Reflections dance across the sky, making the world feel small. Guarding it is an elderly man, dwarfed next to the gate by which he sits. Cloaked in burlap and cloth, he contently watches my approach.

        “You’re finally awake,” he says, voice steady, unsettling.

“I wasn’t out for long, was I?” I ask, trembling.

“I’ve watched you. Peace carries the weight of the abyss,” he replies. His words are cryptic, heavy, but strangely precise, and I feel the gravity of every step I’ve taken.

“Your path awaits.” He gestures to the flaming door. “Don’t lose yourself on the way to life.”

        I look up at the door in awe. My hands, face, and body are warm for what feels like the first time in my life. I feel voices, change, and chaos like never before, the exact escape I need from the cold isolation around me. I reach out my hand and the fire leaves way for me to grab the handle and pull.

        I see myself stretching across a thousand years: flying through forests where stars fall like rain, plunging into cities of crystal towers suspended above seas of fire, fleeing the cold I once called home. I’m exhilarated, terrified, and raw with the realization that I can never hold it all. I watch myself soar, breaking free of the ice and shining above the world which once held me down. I’m glowing, transcending. Then—a flicker. I turn, enthralled, to watch as I fall, deep into an infinite fiery pit. The world closes in around me and I’m trapped by my choices, my guilt. The chaos threatens to swallow me.

And yet, amid the splintered infinity, I feel the pull of the ice. I feel the stillness, the safety, and everything I’ve left behind. When the chaos has faded, I’m back on the frozen plain by the mythic gate of fire, the elderly man gone, his cloak left behind. I swap my expensive coat for the burlap, and as I sit, warmed by the very fire I rejected. I have glimpsed everything, yet I have chosen the quiet, the known, the stagnant warmth of safety.