Short stories

Short story 3

I was walking the streets of London, heading to my small apartment just a few blocks away. The ground was white for it was covered in a fresh layer of cold white snow. I was in a hurry home to tell my mother that I had gotten into the Academy for skilled writers. Nobody had shoveled the paths, so I nearly slipped a few times. I walked past the local bakery. The sweet smell distracted me, and I didn't see where I was going and slipped into the snow. I rubbed my sore back from the fall and carefully got back up. I looked around awkwardly, expecting to see a crowd that had gathered to see my clumsiness. Nobody was around except for a couple that was walking on the path across from me. They looked at me in disgust, but I shyly smiled at them and waved as they continued walking. I groaned and rolled my eyes. Why did I have to walk like a baby giraffe? I shook the snow off my skirt and continued my walk home. This time making sure to keep my eyes on the path. That, however, didn't happen. As I neared my apartment, I noticed children sitting on benches in the park. They looked bored. As if they were just lost souls with no purpose in this world. I stared at them for a while and then got the best idea ever. I started running to get home before the children left. I opened the doors to the building and ran up the long winding stairs. I smiled, excited to give these children the time of their lives. I unlocked my door and immediately just grabbed my gloves to run back outside. "I'll be right back mum!" I shouted through our home. I closed the door and quickly but carefully made my way back down the stairs. As I ran towards the children, I reached down for a pile of snow and made it into a small ball. I hid behind a tree near them and then threw it at one of the nearby boys. All of them turned in my direction, the boy wasn't too happy. I smiled at them kindly and urged them to join me. They ignored me at first, but a girl that looked about ten grabbed some snow and threw it at one of her friends. Of course, she wanted payback, and soon we were all in a snowball war. The children were now full of light and happiness. The air filled with their laughs. I laughed too. It made me feel warm inside to know that I had made these children's day. As I leaned over to collect more snow, I noticed a figure leaning on a nearby wall in the corner of my eye. Still smiling, I turned in their direction. It was a man, he was about my age, with eyes the color of black coffee. He was looking and the children laughing. When he caught my stare, he stopped laughing and waved at me with a shy smile. I just kept staring. A snowball hit me directly in the head with a force that made me slip and fall over, and it snapped me out of my stare. Lying on the cold ground, I noticed the man approaching me. He looked worried. "Are you alright miss?" "I- uhh...yeah. I think so." I said as he kneeled next to me to help me up. I was sore all over, but when I looked into his eyes the pain seemed to disappear. "This was a nice thing to do for those children." "Oh, yeah it was no big deal. Do you know any of them?" I asked without really knowing why. "Yeah, that little girl over there? She's my little sister." he pointed at the same girl that had started the snowball fight. I grinned. "Well, she's lucky to have you as a brother," I told him. He turned his gaze back at me. "How do you know? We just met." he grinned. I just shrugged. "Well, you're here, helping silly clumsy me. That must count for something. Usually, people stare at me with disgust and then continue walking." I replied. He laughed at my comment.