Winter Wonderland [ short story ]

SHORT STORY // winter wonderland

you may criticize all you wanna. it took me two days to write this bc it was an assignment for my language arts class, so yeah. you may critique and comment all you want. i may or may not start a teen fiction soon—to try something knew and all that jazz. but this was just a start, ya know, to see how it would go. not as easy at fan fiction but i got it. oh and also, this is written in third person—like i said before, to try something new.

S H O R T   S T O R Y

            C H A P T E R — O N E

            “Aria,” his voice clung to her ears as she listened intently on his every word, “This . . . what we have, just isn’t going to work.” His words clenched her heart, making everything unbearable. Aria’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, confusion written all over her face.

            “W-what? Why?” her voice croaked, a light tear slipping down her face already.

            He looked at her with sorrowful eyes, conflicted between telling the truth and sparing her feelings. Directing his gaze towards the floor, he mumbled, “I don’t think it’ll work, I found someone else. Someone more suitable for me.”

            For the first time in her life, Aria was speechless. Her mind was consumed with millions of thoughts fumbling in her head. Her heart didn’t want to accept that he found someone new. She didn’t want him to find anyone else besides her. A pang of jealousy was striking within her.

            “Well, I’ll just go now,” he muttered, nonchalantly stuffing his hand in the pocket of his skinny jeans. Tramping out of the apartment, Daniel shut the door quickly after. A contradicting emotion flickered onto his face. A frown was etched upon his lips as his eyes lit up with glee.

            I finally get to be with her, his subconscious thought. That’s all he thought about—that all he could think about, honestly. Although, there was a feeling of resentment that he just left Aria there, heartbroken.

            As Daniel continued walking to his new Fisker Karma, Emaline was impatiently waiting for his arrival. She lied on her bed, dressed in her sleep wear, quietly humming along to the songs playing from her stereo. The soft music caressed her ears as a failed attempt to keep her occupied. All she could think about was what if he doesn’t show?

            Her teeth slightly grazed her bottom lip as she nervously drummed her fingers on her thigh. She didn’t know why she was this nervous but it just wouldn’t go away. Withdrawing a deep breath, she sat up, raking a hand through her bundles of curly hair. Before she could do anything else, a soft vibration was felt somewhere between the bed sheets. She fumbled around until the phone was captured between her fragile fingers.

            “Hello,” greeting the caller, she gradually readjusted herself onto her bed.

            “Hey, Em?” Daniel’s voice was easily identified by Emaline’s ears as she noticeably perked up, attentive to the call.

            “Yeah,” she replied, putting the phone on speaker and setting it down on her lap. In the background, she heard the faint sound of honking cars and subways—definitely a New York atmosphere.

            “I’m pulling into your neighborhood now, sorry for being so late,” Daniel’s voice boomed through the speaker.

            “It’s fine, Daniel.” She replied, and then adding, “Did you stop for FroYo’s?” Emaline smiled when she heard a faint chuckle on the other line of the call.