Start your story with “It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Match Girl”)

Posted in Winter on Mar 10, 2023

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✍️ 112 stories

“Winter” by Tim Webster

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The leaky water pipe responsible for the snowfall was drizzling out a tiny spray, barely visible in the pale illumination from her helmet’s dome light. But with the ongoing issue with the power generators, the temperature here was close to zero, and so the droplets were crystallizing in mid-air as they drifted towards the deck on the current from the airflow vents. This was the first time Aalie had seen snow in person; it would have been pretty under other circumstanc...

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“The Way Home” by Esther Andrews

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Christmas Eve. It hadn’t been snowing when we had first headed out on our walk down the dirt and gravel road, now frosted in a thick layer of white. Nor had it been so windy. Clearly nature didn’t want to disappoint on this holiday eve, delivering an idyllic display of feathery flakes that landed gently on my exposed hair and dampened it before freezing it into icicles in the sub-zero temperature. As we continued down the path, the ice forming in my long dark hair sta...

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“Just in case” by Eline Pols

Submitted to Contest #189

Tw: fearing that you're not going to survive, hyperthermia, implied Past: toxic relationships, growing up in complete isolation, betrayed trustmentioned: imprisonment, scars, a joke about murdering your partner's toxic exIt was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.Alex turned to face Joey.He couldn't feel his toes, couldn't feel his hands because, like he just mentioned, it was so terribly cold.He honestly didn't know if they were going to make it out of this snow storm alive.Of course, he wishes they did.But it was alm...

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“The Little Match Girl Retold” by Carol Molenaar

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. A little girl sat shivering as near as she could get to the front of the grocer’s shop. The grocer sometimes gave her hot chocolate to drink; but not today as his wife was helping tend to the many last minute shoppers at the store. She believed the little match girl lowered the tone of their shop and so did not encourage her to linger.Hana could not help her appearance as she only had the one set of clothes. They were well and truly threadbare and offered no insulation against...

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“Karina's Witch” by Bernie Rhodes

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Dad called home for he knew mom would be worried about the weather and she was thrilled to hear his voice. “How has your week been, honey?” Dad asked. “Oh, Sylvester, I’m so worried about you driving on those icy roads! “Relax, I’m fine and I’ll be home later tonight.” “Thank God! I must tell you I’m concerned about Karina. She had another crying fit.” &n...

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“Black Winter” by Mark El-Ayat

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Tommy Carpenter pushed against the door of the abandoned two-story home, the wood groaning in protest. His brother’s voice shouts to him from the depths of the woods, “Hurry up!” Nate runs with a swift stride, passing tree after tree. Tommy pressed his shoulder against the door, and pushed with all his strength, yet it would not give way. Nate collided with Tommy, the sound of wood cracking and splintering as the door came loose from the lock. Strong gusts of wind rushed in a...

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“Crossing the Rainbow ” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark.Sally sat in her kitchen, wrapped in several layers of guilt.She covered her ears as the loud howls from outside slowly quieted, petering off into almost silent whimpering.Her ordeal had begun several years earlier.Her children, aided and abetted by her husband had coerced her with their constant, pleas for a dog.Against her better judgment, Sally finally gave in to the pressure from her family.The reality was that with a working husband, five children under the age of 15 and a...

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“Svatý Václav ” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #189

Content warning: brief mention of death It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The bite of the wind was making Dushan’s face numb, especially his nose. Eyes watering, the young page adjusted the strap of the wine skin on his shoulder and clutched the bundle of venison closer to his body. He must keep up with Duke Václav, whose long sure strides seemed not at all hampered by the deep snowdrifts on the ground. Glancing back, Dushan realized that the weather had changed for the worse very quickly; where before t...

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“Decisions” by Katie Cutcliff

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Her breath plumed around her in quick puffs she ran under the sprinkling of delicate flurries. The tears that had fallen earlier, the ones that had sent her out the door, had dried on her cheeks. She could feel the little crystals of salt frozen there like stains that could be burned away with the heat of her run. Maybe she could burn away the thoughts racing along beside her, too. There was a decision behind her. One that lounged in her apartment—their apartmen...

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“The Shooter, The Teacher, and The Student” by Christine Bialczak

Submitted to Contest #189

***I accidentally submitted this story under the incorrect theme. The theme I chose is as follows: Write a modern version of "The Tiger, the Brahmin, and the Jackal," in which someone suffers from their own good deeds and must turn to an unlikely source for help.The Shooter, The Teacher, and The StudentOnce upon a time, a Shooter wearing a mask to hide their gender was seen walking into the back door of a school. The school alarm hadn’t sounded at their entrance and the Shooter began to panic. Suddenly, a teacher ran out of her office t...

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“Winter Rose” by Cassandra Fan

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. You could feel the icicles forming on your eyes and mouth, the cold slowly suffocating you. You screamed out into the icy waters, furious yet too scared to join it. And so you just sat there, praying for either a miracle or death. But the blizzard would never yield, and thus you couldn’t either. You turned your back to the frozen lake and went home. Now you’ve returned, tracking onward through the waist high snow into the ruins of a forgotten world. The only source of warmth ...

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“Baxter” by Sharon Ortell

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Jenny’s eyes were burning. She wondered if it was the cold or the mascara melting into her eyes from once again, not being able to hold back the tears. As she reached for the doorbell, the door suddenly whipped open and she let out a yelp. “Brenda! Oh my God, you scared the crap out of me!” she exclaimed. “Jenny, you look terrible. Not again? Com...

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“The Night Ride” by Joyce Bedford

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. Melissa touched the glow stick in the pocket of her hoodie. One more left. She cracked the first one when the sun went down. She saved the second one in case she needed it. The glow sticks were pretty, but they weren’t warm. Not even a little. And she needed warmth. For the hundredth time, she wondered how she came to be separated from the others. &nb...

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“Do Over” by D Gorman

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Monica stepped out of her dealer’s tenement building and flinched as a gust of wind cut her to the bone. She wore only a thin purple sweater and baggy jeans cinched to her hips with the drawstring from an old hoodie. She sniffed loudly and dragged a forearm across her upper lip. Every instinct told her to go back inside and get high in the stairwell, but Tony had given her the money and was expecting her back right away. She coughed the ice out of her lungs in silvery clouds ...

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“The Good Kind Of Nerves” by Pari Ghodsi

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. My eyes were heavy and I could hardly see my way to the Red parking garage. The one that was in the back of the hospital. The one for guests and residents. As if we as residents, weren’t staff. As if we as residents, weren’t real physicians. Dear God, what did my car even look like? It was a rental. I had been rear-ended the week before on my way to antepartum rounds. It was five in the morning and the Virginia roads in the dead of winter had been covered with ice. The car ...

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Start your story with “It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Match Girl”)

Submissions are closed

✍️ 112 stories

“Winter” by Tim Webster

“The Way Home” by Esther Andrews

“Just in case” by Eline Pols

“The Little Match Girl Retold” by Carol Molenaar

“Karina's Witch” by Bernie Rhodes

“Black Winter” by Mark El-Ayat

“Crossing the Rainbow ” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

“Svatý Václav ” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

“Decisions” by Katie Cutcliff

“The Shooter, The Teacher, and The Student” by Christine Bialczak

“Winter Rose” by Cassandra Fan

“Baxter” by Sharon Ortell

“The Night Ride” by Joyce Bedford

“Do Over” by D Gorman

“The Good Kind Of Nerves” by Pari Ghodsi

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story where a character must continue to tell their tale to a listener to avoid unsavory consequences.

Write a story inspired by this quote from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy: “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.”

Write a story about a fox spirit (a gumiho, jiǔwěihú, kitsune, or hồ ly tinh), inspired by, e.g. Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese folklore.

Write a modern version of "The Tiger, the Brahmin, and the Jackal," in which someone suffers from their own good deeds and must turn to an unlikely source for help.

Contest #189

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

281

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: