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

“As Cold as Winter” by Ashley Taylor

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. Naerys felt the windchill through her body. She struggled to stand upright and walk due to her freezing legs. I need to find shelter, she thought. I’m so cold. All she could see were trees and the blanket of snow before her. It was a minute before she arrived at what seemed like a cabin. It looked like it wasn’t occupied. At last! She hurried through the thick snow towards the cabin. She was closer and could see that the cabin was indeed occupied. There was a light coming f...

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“Line conqueror” by Jk Basra

Submitted to Contest #189

Line conqueror Jk, bmf It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. “I’m not waiting in this line” I said as we approached the ride share drop off. “Come on, I bet it will be so good inside!” my sister said with excitement. It was the Saturday night of a long weekend and a lot of places were closed in the city – stores, restaurants, and bars – which is what brought us here to the Star casino. I am not really a gambler, I’m pretty sure my sister only enjoys mingling amongst the crowds of people but here we wer...

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“The Little Thief Boy” by Charles Connelly

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. I was struggling to stay conscious. Waves of nausea tossed my stomach back and forth. The pain in my head pulsed between bearable and excruciating. The last words he spoke to me echoed in my mind like a concussive explosion, “There’s no rest for the wicked.” I knew that I was wicked, and I knew why. My father had told me I needed to get him money, but I couldn’t get it. I tried, but I failed, and I was rightfully punished. “You’re not the half the pick-pocket I was at ...

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“I don’t get you” by Valerie Aulerich

Submitted to Contest #189

“It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost getting dark”. She sighed.If only she had remembered where her keys were. The empty street was silent. One small neon sign winked and flickered. Two small words, No Vacancy.Her mind was clouded by what he had said after dinner. Come by later or not. Was he kidding me? Guess what I’m choosing? The crisp air was only an invite as to how she felt. The neon sign, why not? The snow had been gathering like Woodstock musicians. She had insisted upon herself to wear the dress . That dress...

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“Archie ” by Carly Rosser-Mayo

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. The snow was falling and it was almost dark. Tabitha closed the door of her old yellow mini and walked up the frozen path to her parent’s house. Tabitha was 23 years old. She had a mass of red hair that was always piled high on top of her head, swamping her tiny frame. Tabitha had lived in Broughton her whole life, only moving a few miles away from her parents after finishing university. She had inherited her cottage from her beloved grandmother and it was a perfect 2 up, 2 down stone cottage in a row of 3....

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“Winter hide and seek” by Теодора Кръстева

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. All I could hear was my friend Violet count while I hid behind a car not too far away.- Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three…It was finally winter break. I waited all semester to play hide and seek with my friends. It was my favorite game after all. - Twenty six, twenty seven…Violet continued to count. I for sure found the best hiding place. My friends never knew of these...

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“Me and Hector” by John Jones

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold, snow was falling, and it was almost dark. It wasn't supposed to be that way when Hector and I started our hike. While the cold was starting to bother me, Hector probably thought it was paradise. For Alaskan Malamutes, the colder the better. Mals are big dogs and Hector was on the large side of big. Look, Hector is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Mals were bred to pull heavy loads so brainpower wasn't a requirement, but he is a damn good dog and friend. ...

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“Snow & Screams” by Calliope Ross

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark, but Juniper could see the lights still on inside the house. He rubbed his arms and walked a little faster, knowing that Melissa was waiting for him inside. His hands shook as he got out his keys. The music inside was loud enough for him to hear it clearly, which meant that Melissa was either cooking or dancing in the living room. Juniper loved both possibilities. He heard the music pause and saw Melissa’s face through the living room window. The door opened just as he got t...

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“Four Door Prison” by L.B Rinker

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Elizabeth was trembling so badly that she felt like a phone set to vibrate. She breathed deep, hot breathes underneath her winter coat in the hopes that it would be enough to keep her from catching hypothermia. The snot frozen to her cheeks wasn't a good sign. The doors to her Honda Accord had frozen shut days ago as she sat stuck on the side of the highway. "I should have left when I had the chance…." She whimpered angrily to herself. Her's wasn't the only car tra...

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“Winter Blues in Spring” by Will Johnson

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Yet it was still two hours from sunset and the middle of March. I ask myself, Of all the things I could have done with an able body (to say the least) and a bright mind (probably), why would I choose to farm vegetables and cows at three hundred metres in the north west of England? I slipped as I exited the shed on a patch of mud that was buttercups and rushes when I started growing here, years back. I’d drained the field then, but you wouldn’t know it today, or for most o...

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“Betrayal” by Kim Lowe

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. I looked around with grim satisfaction at the outside world things were finally going my way for once. The dark would cover my progress and the snow erase it. The only slight problem was the cold trying to warn me back. Grasping with insistent fingers into the gaps it could find in my garments. No weather I have had enough. I felt blissfully numb but a feeling of superiority crossed my mind even Mother Nature could not stop me any more. I have had many choices in life. I belie...

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“We Are Who We Are” by Anna Luksha

Submitted to Contest #189

It’s so terribly cold. Snow is falling, and it is almost dark. Something undoubtedly blue and black, bruised, scared, creeps around you in a way that weary souls do; the air feels old and afraid in that way. Someone calls your name. You don’t hear them, do you? You think that’s your name. Come on! He's calling for you. You find yourself drawn to his voice, his stature, his appearance. The man’s face feels comforting. It’s familiar, isn’t it? The way he lays his hand on your shoulder as you follow him. He slows his pace for you. He cares. ...

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“Norman” by Portia Zeiger

Submitted to Contest #189

It was terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The last thing my mom told me was “wait here”. So, I did as I was told. Mommy was doing her usual afternoon run for my siblings and I - she’s never let them go hungry. I have been hungry a few times, but she says she doesn’t get me as much food because I’m “so little, I don’t need as much” as my siblings. She does the best she can. The afternoon sunlight was my favorite thing to roll around and bask in, so I decided to do that while waiting for mom. Stepping out of the alleyway ...

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“Lost and Found” by TRW Brown

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. After the past few hours running errands, Murphy gazed out of the train window, thinking about his short walk home from the train station and the homemade soup he would heat up for dinner. “Trudging through all this snow can rack up some hunger and a wear a person out,” he thought. He wouldn’t have gone out at all, but he needed his prescription and handled a few other things while he was out. Snow continued to fall and accumulate on the sides of the tracks. Suddenly th...

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“Lessons for Eve” by Venus Zhu

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The clouds were home to a sort of haunting that time couldn’t seem to heal, and Eve found this befitting. Tonight, she found her heart home to heartbreak fabricked with the sort that doesn’t seem to puncture. She wasn’t afraid of being alone, but she knew loneliness and being alone were two very different things. That was the first lesson her mother taught her. Eve was not a bubbly little girl. She found company in arts, crafts, and scribbled drafts and she found hu...

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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

“As Cold as Winter” by Ashley Taylor

“Line conqueror” by Jk Basra

“The Little Thief Boy” by Charles Connelly

“I don’t get you” by Valerie Aulerich

“Archie ” by Carly Rosser-Mayo

“Winter hide and seek” by Теодора Кръстева

“Me and Hector” by John Jones

“Snow & Screams” by Calliope Ross

“Four Door Prison” by L.B Rinker

“Winter Blues in Spring” by Will Johnson

“Betrayal” by Kim Lowe

“We Are Who We Are” by Anna Luksha

“Norman” by Portia Zeiger

“Lost and Found” by TRW Brown

“Lessons for Eve” by Venus Zhu

🌟 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 🏆

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