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Writes of Winter Short Story - Fiction
We're excited to share the stories that have been submitted for our Writes of Winter contest! We received 4 submissions for the Fiction Series:
Niles' Snowman - Judy Brownlee
A Grinchy Meeting - Jana Olson
A Merry Mystery - Jana Olson
A Magical Night - Reyjen Misoles
A Merry Mystery
by Jana Olson
No one knew exactly when the sleigh bells disappeared, but Holly definitely knew how Santa was feeling once the disappearance was discovered. His “Ho! Ho! Ho!” instantly turned into “Oh, no! Oh, no!!” and his jolly red cheeks were replaced by tearful red eyes.
“Those bells are a family heirloom, passed down for generations … and I use them every time I come or go when my reindeer aren’t close at hand! They’re merry and magical! Who could have taken them, and why?” Santa was slumped on a folding chair, hidden from the crowds of waiting children by a thin curtain ‘wall’.
Holly peeked through the curtains at the ever-growing crowd of kids waiting to see Santa. She hadn’t planned on ‘detective’ being one of her volunteer elf duties at the Festival of Trees, but she couldn’t just leave Santa a crying lump hiding out back behind the ‘North Pole’ with the empty boxes and pile of volunteers’ jackets, a small jingle bell collar lying haphazardly on top. Holly crinkled her forehead, deep in thought, and started running through a list of all the places someone might take sleigh bells after stealing them: one of the stops along Candy Cane Lane, out into the area containing all of the decorated trees, to the gift shop, into the audience for the children’s choir–they might have had time to leave the building already! What if they were in the Centrium or the Chalet or even somewhere along Gaetz Avenue on the way out of town?!
As Holly turned in a slow circle trying to catch up with her thoughts, her furrowed brow unfurrowed just slightly, and then completely, as she suddenly stopped and smiled. She jogged out of Santa’s ‘house’ and called back over her shoulder, “Don’t worry, Santa! I’ll go get your bells!”
Just down the aisle and back towards the rear of the exhibition hall where the crowds were thinner and it was quieter, Holly came to a Christmas-y corral made of plastic pet fencing. The local animal shelter had set up a booth to raise money for their rescued pets by selling adorable stuffed puppies and kittens wearing Santa hats and jingle bells. Along with their human volunteers, the shelter had also brought a few of their animal ambassadors, pups who had trained to be therapy dogs and now spent hours every month in public places interacting with people who might benefit from their calming presence. All of the therapy dogs were wearing their own jingle bells, and the whole scene was one of furry festivity.
Holly walked quietly around the side of the corral to where there was a cat tower in the shape of a Christmas tree and gently slid Santa’s sleigh bells out of the topmost opening. A huge cat face poked out and stared at her. Holly gave the shelter’s longtime mascot a smile. “Sorry, pal, but Santa needs these bells more than you do–but I brought your collar back! Nice try at being extra-jingly!”
Runner Up: A Magical Night
By JenJen Misoles
A Magical Night Everyone said Red Deer winters were long, but this time, for me. It felt different. Maybe it was the lights shining in the street across Ross Street, or how the air felt peaceful when snow touches the white ground, or perhaps it was because of John.
I have known John since grade six, but only in that "we are in the same school, but never really see eye to eye" kind of way. He was the introverted, quiet type, always reading or sketching in the corner, always wearing the same green scarf. He probably didn't even know my name until the night everything changed.
It was during Red Deer Lights the Nights when everyone was smiling, and the whole city felt warmer despite the cold. I was walking through the library with my hot chocolate when I glimpsed a familiar face, alone on a bench, sketchbook open, snow like sparkles gathering on his sleeves.
I don't know what came over me. I gradually walked over.
"You're going to freeze here", I said, heart pounding.
"He looked up, blinked surprisingly, then smiled a little. "I'm trying to draw the lights before it's all wrapped with snow." He replied, then tilted the sketchbook toward me.
His drawing was not perfect, but it had a gentle peach, a cozy feeling that evoked wonderful memories. The warm lights, soothing shadows, and the outline of the large spruce tree illuminated like something out of a holiday postcard. It made my heart flutter.
"Wow," I said, lost for words. "You made Red Deer look extra magical."
"It already is," he replied, "People just forget to look."
Something about the way he said that clung with me. We ended up talking for longer than predicted about the cold and how he always looked forward to winter because it made everything feel lighter and kinder.
I told him how I've been feeling lost lately, like everyone around me has their life all figured out. He didn't laugh or say something insincere. He listened, which somehow felt better than anything else.
At one point, the lights flickered and snow started falling harder, the big fluffy kind that lands gently. John glanced up at the sky, then at me, cheesy but perfect like some K-drama scene.
"You want to see something?" he asked. Before I could answer, he held my hand and led me toward the frozen pond near Bower Ponds. The surface reflected the lights from the park, shimmering. John tugged off his scarf and wrapped it around my neck without a word. My brain entirely freezes.
"You'll be cold," he said, smiling shyly.
"But you looked colder," I whispered. My heart did a bizarre, warm twist, going into full-on blush mode.
We stood there, tiny bit in love, snow falling, lights reflecting off the ice, and for the first time in months, I didn't feel lost at all.
Sometimes winter hides things, something magical. And sometimes, in Red Deer, winter makes them clear.
Niles's Snowman
by Judy Brownlee
Niles loved winter. One night he dreamt he was a snowman. This is the story of the dream, in Niles’ words, exactly as he told his mother next morning.
*****
I woke up. I looked down and there was my belly, and a huge, round thing below my belly, and my legs were inside it. I was able to move my legs freely and I wobbled my head a bit.
Immediately, some children ran up to me, shouting, “Look at that amazing snowman! And how big he is!” But I didn't really feel big, as they were able to touch my head and put square buttons for my eyes and an orange carrot for my nose. My mouth was interesting; a thick, red string they called licorice.
They jumped around me, laughing and screaming. Then, one child said, “Wherever is his hat, for heaven sakes?” Someone ran off to see what he could find. He soon came back with his dad’s old camping fedora.
A tiny girl quietly asked, “But what about his arms?” That was easy for them to solve. Someone found branches from a reddish shrub, perfectly pruned, to place where my arms needed to be.
This was fun, having these youngsters around me. Another girl, who they called Lennan, said, “Why don't we make him a little jacket? He looks cold.” And I sure was!
They sat awhile in the snow beside me and planned. Finally, one of them said, “If we went to my grandpa’s place, we could borrow one of his vests, ‘cause he is really big.”
That boy and Bobby ran off, and in a few minutes they were back with a green, velvet vest. “His Christmas vest,” the boy said. He turned out to be Mattie. “He gave it to us for the snowman. My grandpa is wonderful!”
It seemed they were satisfied, as they joined hands, all six of them, and danced around me. I wiggled inside my big belly and in my lower ball where my legs were. I smiled with my licorice mouth and felt so happy! Then, one of the kids said, “It’s going to be dark soon. Let's kiss our snowman goodnight and see him tomorrow.”
“What is his name?” Lennan asked.
“Let's think,” Mattie said.
“I think his name should be Niles,” a bigger girl spoke. “It's my favorite name. Would that be OK?”
Everyone cheered and hollered, “Niles, it is! Goodnight, Niles. See you tomorrow.”
What a wonderful, happy night I had! In the morning, the breeze was a chinook from southern Alberta. This warm wind picked up and blew strong all the way to Red Deer. I knew it was going to affect me. Eventually the children came running out, but it was already time for me to go to sleep. They laughed and cried; they kissed me. They said, “We'll see you someday soon, Niles. We love you.”
Maybe next winter? I hope so because I loved them also.
A Grinchy meeting
by Jana Olson
Noelle kept a smile plastered on her face as she ushered people through the big metal doors and into the exhibition hall. She was acutely aware that her light-up reindeer antler headband kept slipping towards her right ear, but it was really awkward to keep trying to nudge it back upright with her hands full of maps and an unbroken stream of guests passing her by. She inwardly cursed the accessory designer who thought it was a good idea to decorate her antlers asymmetrically–the small glittering disco ball on her left antler just didn’t have enough weight to counteract the heft of the large gingerbread cookie hanging jauntily from her right antler.
“Enjoy the Festival! Candy Cane Lane is inside to your left–you should totally stop there first!” Noelle winked at a small person in an elf hat who was being herded in front of their grown-up. “I don’t think Santa is around right now, so you can have all of your elf-ish fun before you have to get to work!”
As several small kids walked past Noelle and through the doors, she took advantage of the brief crowd gap to look over their heads towards the other main entry point into the hall. She could just see the tips of a set of sparkly silver antlers swaying above the crowd, and her smile became more genuine as she thought about her friend, Renna, antler wearer extraordinaire.
Renna always embraced the festive season to the fullest–she baked, she sang, she crafted, she shopped–and this year she had been determined to bring Noelle along with her for the whole experience. Noelle had been less than thrilled about Renna’s holiday project (her!), but had found herself unable to refuse when Renna asked her to come help out at the charity Festival of Trees for a few hours. Noelle called herself a grinch, but she wasn’t a monster! And now that Noelle was actually at the Festival, it seemed like her holiday spirit levels were rising slowly but steadily.
Noelle pulled her attention from Renna back to the guests still streaming into the Festival and was immediately startled by piercing green eyes surrounded by a lividly green face being thrust towards her own.
“Hey! Quit looking so jolly, will ya?! Where’s Santa’s lair? I’ve got an appointment with him toot de sweet, dontcha know?!”
Noelle placed a Festival map into one furry green hand waving near her face and gave a little smile and bow. “Candy Cane Lane is just over there, sir. Have a holly jolly day!”
For her festive efforts, Noelle got a wink and then a scowl performed with truly impressive bushy green brows. “Well, no thank you very much. You should definitely not come and see me over there when you’re done being so disgustingly friendly and happy over here. I only want to see you if you’re appropriately grinchy!” And he swept away, menacing children as he went.
Noelle caught Renna’s eye and was met with another wink.
