A Beautiful Storm (Short Story)

A Beautiful Storm

A dark sky takes over the soft tones of the blue and whites of the daytime, the cold wind whipping around as a deadly storm forms.

The sun was gone, doors were locked, fires and heaters on, families huddled together in their safe and warm homes while many of us look for shelter as small white dots fall from the navy-blue coloured sky. I stop and stare only to close my eyes when a strong rush of sudden wind pushes me back into my panic, "The storm is getting closer... surely there is somewhere I can stay." My voice rough with its lack of use, I had not uttered a single word since I was shunned by what I though was my family.

City lights reflected off the white that littered the ground and was continuing to hide any evidence that there might be someone other than me on the streets, my own footprints disappearing seconds after my shoe left the snow-covered walkway. As I trudged through the freshly fallen frozen rain, my eyes scanned the environment for anywhere I might be safe from the oncoming storm.

Soon the streetlights did little to illuminate my surroundings as they had been frozen over and were covered in layers of snow. My time was running out but everywhere I turned, boulders sat under bridges, fences stood tall, spikes were planted below verandas and poles strangled corners. As the sunlight faded so did my hopes of finding somewhere to wait out the ever-growing mass of clouds that spat out little white stars across the city landscape.

"I'm gonna end up losing my toes if I don't find something soon." The voice that came out no longer sounded like mine, it was tired and quiet so quiet that the screaming wind seemed to have killed it. With the wind coming faster and faster my vision disappeared just as fast, I could no longer see what was in front of me. The gusts of air carried beautiful drops of frozen water though even as it whipped against my skin, I still found the beauty in it... The world was so cruel and so could nature, but it made the pain seem like art.

Every step I took it no longer made a crunch, the wind once again covering the noise like it did my voice. 'Now that I think about it... I can't feel my legs... or my arms.' There was no point in talking aloud so I wondered in my thoughts as the pain of the small cuts given to me by the white knifes became numb. The only thing I could feel was my body shaking as my legs struggled to take another step, 'There's only so much I can do if there is no where I can go...'

It looked like there was more soon than there was before, but they were bigger and did not seem to move and it had gotten darker. After blinking a few times, they still didn't go away and I could no longer will my legs to keep going or hold me up any more.

I collapsed onto the soft freshly fallen snow, my limbs completely useless. I tried so hard to move but it felt as though the coldness had frozen them in place so no matter how much I wanted to push myself up again it would never happen. The slightly melted snow seeped into my already damp clothes, darkness now filled my vision as I felt the rest of my body freeze into place like water turning into ice. Like I said nature is beautiful but just as cruel as the world is.

Sunlight filled the streets and made the snow glisten and shine. As people opened their windows and put out their fires, the streets were getting cleared so others could drive to work and go back to school. Many other people were already on their way into the city one of them a man in an Italian styled suit and briefcase in hand, his dark black hair slicked back to reveal his crystal-like blue eyes.

Fifteen minutes later the ambulance had arrived and had pulled out the body of a young boy. The older man looked down at the frozen the body that was now on a stretcher as the paramedics confirmed that the boy was deceased, he had light brown hair with now dull and cloudy hazel eyes that the older man reached out and closed. "Sir do you know this young man?" one of the paramedics asked, "No I have no idea who he is..." was his sad reply. "Ah there's no ID on him or anything other than a photo of what looks to be him and a little girl." Said the other paramedic, "The kid must have been homeless then." Was the others answer.