Winter Tales - Recap!

[Guzma]

Winter Tales - Recap!

 

The Winter Solstice may have receded, but the tales it inspired are still alive and vibrant! 

Welcome to our recap of the Winter Tales event! 

Here, you may read the various winter-related stories submitted by the SoA Clan! 
We hope you enjoy! 

Some submissions are creative and mysterious, while others are funny and silly!  

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@Adiner

"A Bridge by Beauty"

Time has shown me many people bundled up enjoying the view the bridge so outstandingly displays. I've never found the words to describe moments that have passed by here, but always there I sat watching. A man once gave the love of his life a tiny, shining ring as he knelt down staring out into the night sky. Eyes glittered as if sparkling snowflakes filled every void when she placed it on her finger. Who could forget the boy whom came running passed much too quickly and lost his favorite toy solider to winter's wonder. How much time I had left was a mystery but each day felt as if a gift was opening for the very first time. It was if that bridge was a theater with a new show opening morning, day, and night. Nobody ever truly noticed me still standing tall in the midst of it all. It didn't stop me taking in my favorite moment, the one where it began to fall. Time felt still as the blizzard surrounded the air and all felt right with the world. All that time I noticed everything around me, but few ever saw that little winter flower by the bridge.


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@Firesteal918
One of my favorites stories from when I visited Devil's Tower years ago:

According to a Sioux legend, two young boys became lost trying to find their way home through the vast prairie. After some time, the boys realized that they were being followed, hunted by the ferocious and relentless Mato, an exceptionally giant bear! The boys ran from Mato for as long as they could, but found no place to hide in the low brush and open meadow. Soon, the massive bear was upon them, and in a final plea for rescue, the boys dropped to their knees and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. Suddenly, the earth began to shake, and the boys found themselves lifted up into the sky by a giant pillar of rock! Determined, still, to catch them, Mato reared up onto his hind legs, clawing enormous, vertical striations into the stone as he tried to climb after the two boys, but they remained just beyond his reach. Mato tried and tried to reach them, covering every side of the mountain in the long cracks and scratches made by his claws. But try as he might, Mato could not catch the boys. Eventually, Mato retreated, exhausted and disappointed, leaving the two boys alone and frightened on top of the mountain. The story comes to a close as the two boys are carried back to their village on the wings of Wanblee, a giant eagle.

Cited: https://www.visitrapidcity.com/blog/2020/10/spirit-season-story-devils-tower-national-monument#:~:text=However%2C instead of returning to,the monument during the fall.


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@Guzma

Based on a True Story! 

I grew up in the desert so.... 
On one fateful day, when I was introduced to the snow for the first time as a kid.... I made the most of it! 
However, this includes making use by repeating what I saw on cartoons! 

I met with my friends from the neighborhood, and we hid behind a big snow mound beside a busy road. 
Everything was nice and peaceful until our target arrived! 
It was a city bus! 
So what did he do?
We all gathered our snowballs and threw them at the windshield of the bus!
We all felt glorious for a brief and shining moment! Succeeding in our mission! Pranking the bus driver by covering the windshield with snow! 
WOOHOO!  

Until --- we realized the bus driver couldn't see and the bus ended up tapping the car in front of it as it was coming to a stop....
Oops!
And just like birds scattering when you run towards them, we all ran away at the speed of flight into our houses for the rest of the night!
Not daring to come out, fearing we'd get in trouble x)

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@MandyPandy (With 2 submissions!)

The First Winter in Flaming Gorge
It must have been the beginning of December and it had snowed several feet already. The sun had set, and the sky was vivid with stars. I had never seen stars shine so brightly. The air was crisp and what little moisture remained in the air frosted into tiny snowflakes. We had two cats. One a big white and grey and the other a fluffy small tortoise shell. Smokey our big kitty had gotten out somehow and hadn't made it back home from his excursions. I began to get worried. I told my mom that I wanted to go out and look for him.
As I was bundling up my dad says to me "be careful because it was -10 outside."
I closed the door behind me and started walking up the street towards the tree line north of us. The snow crunching under my feet on the streets and the air crisp I started calling out for my Smokey. In the distance I could hear an elk bugle. It was quiet outside. Those sounds that the forest makes traveled long distances across the snow and wind. The woods consisted of pinion pine, sand, and aspens here and there. I am not sure how far I walked into the woods, but I laid down and looked up at the sky watching the crystals fall to earth from the sky with the stars shining so brightly. It was so peaceful, and I felt like I was the only one left in the world.
It felt like a different world all together. As I was laying there looking up towards the sky and little warm body came to lay next to me and I looked over to see what it was. It was my Smokey. I laid there in the forest for a little bit longer soaking up the peace and tranquility, not wanting to go back to the house. Eventually, gathering my thoughts, i picked up Smokey and started heading back home. I get back to my home and it had only been a half an hour since I had left my house, when it felt like I had been gone for hours.

Story 2!
When we went to camp at Big Bear California, a lot of the kids hadn't seen snow. I grew up in it so knew what to expect. They had this huge hill that you could sled down and it curved around corners. We had these huge black intertubes. My friend and I decided to go down a few times. On the way down on the second time we decided to share a tube. We were going down just fine and "pow" the intertube exploded. We laid in the middle of the sled run laughing our butts off. We couldn't move. We knew we should move but we just laid there. As we laid there laughing we heard yelling and looked up. There was a sledder coming straight for us. If you've ever tried to get out of snow in winter snow gear while laying down, it's impossible. So we rolled around laughing trying to roll out of the path. We finally moved out of the way just in time. We walked up to the sled station and were sorry for popping the intertube.

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@Princess Rae

True story! - The Troubles of living somewhere always summer time!

It's always funny when I go overseas to a place where they actually have winter. Time and again, I'd get ready to go out, ride down in the lift and gather with the gang, only to realise it's cold and other people have coats. So back up to my room I go. It's just that 'coat' and 'going out' don't have any real association for me. Such a novelty. Luckily, on one of the trips, Erica brought me some gloves that have a filament in them which let you successfully touch your phone. She gave me the pro-tip of keeping them in the coat pocket, so once I have the coat, I also have the gloves. Very handy (if I ever need the gloves). Actual winter. A very weird thing. 


Special thanks to you storywriters for your Cool submissions and another thanks to everyone who reads these winter tales!

[Princess Rae]

Great stories, especially from those who actually know what winter is  

[MandyPandy]

Thanks Guzma for the event, it was super fun!

[Firesteal918]

Great Stories! Thanks for sharing!!