Carnation

Winter Dance Under the Moonlight

In the winter wonderland of white with no familiar sight nor sound other than the whistling wind. Even the girl’s own breath seems to die as soon as it leaves her mouth. No clouds drift in the dark sea of blue above as if they’d stopped flowing along the currents. It’s as if an eerie sort of tranquillity and as if the world were encased in a cocoon, a bubble, and there’s no way out. Numbing air, the girl blinks thoughtfully as the frost patiently kisses her face, captivated by the soft, dusty illusions of light that sit heavy on her eyelashes.

Like bathing in a tub full of ice cubes, suddenly chilling, having every warm feeling and thought sucked out of her. Cold and shivering, her bones partially frozen and her eyes frozen over like a pond during the harshness of the northern breeze. The girl anticipates the coldness and the sting of driven snow on her face and the ferocity of the wind. The wind seems to stop, and snowflakes began to flutter down from the heavens. She tilts her head back and stares up at the night. Falling stars of the white sprinkle down like sugar cubes. The girl stares at him knowing that tensing against the shaking of her limbs is useless but she does it instinctively. This kind of thick silence would normally chill anyone, especially on an inky night devoid of even moonlight or stars. She realises too late that she has misjudged the rapid onset of the shaking, her limbs are no longer taking directions from her mind and she collapses onto the snow. The glow from the light of the moon seems to spread its arms out to her, wrapping around her small, fragile form in a ball of silver. Her eyes resting on the twinkling stars, not blinking yet the effect is soft and inviting instead of harsh.

Her world is lost to her that she’s forever in grief. The girl averts her eyes from the stars and cuddles herself in what warmth left. Like a horror movie, it plays again in her mind as if somehow her brain is unwilling to let the images go. Then all at once, her face buckle and her breathing stop momentarily. Tears stream down from her eyes and splash onto the white. She lowers her head as the northern wind blows with might, icing her salty tear droplets as if turning them into small icicles. The wolf growls and snaps at her as the veil creature walks towards her slowly, every step the wolf makes sends shivers up her spine and chill her bones if they weren’t already frozen by the cold. The large beast seems confident enough as if to stroll into town filled with hunters, seeping with despair without killing a single wild animal from the night woods.

The moonlight shines down upon the wolf, making clearer of its features. The wolf lifts its head and stares directly at the girl’s soul through its mesmerizing eyes. The girl stares at the creature with blank, coldness eyes. Confidence remains in the wolf’s eyes that are of a phoenix that’d suffered into ash and reborn in the flames of hot pain and commanded to sing. Minutes pass of the whistling winds through the dark woods sends a chilling, cold noise that makes one perk up. The wolf lowers its head and, in that instants, lifts its head, eyes glowing bright blood red. The creature charges for the girl with incredible speed with teeth baring, readying to rip her into millions of pieces when a small creature with sleek and soft white fur as snow that’s short grabs the wolf’s attention.

The moonlight shines down upon the small creature, revealing it to be a white fox standing perfectly still on a mound, gazing up at the wolf with clear, gentle light blue eyes like a warm ocean full of life. The stillness of the fox is like a painting that a celestial hand had drawn onto the fine canvas of black. The fine winter fur is like silk, soft yet cold and is flowing ever so softly that one wouldn’t think that it is. The wolf turns its head and stares directly at the fox with eyes as if piecing through the fox’s soul. Forgetting about the girl, the wolf grins as if it has found a new toy to play with. If hatred is visible to the naked eye, the atmosphere would be a crimson mist, surrounding and consuming everything it touches.

The wolf runs towards to the fox, readying to attack and inches before biting onto the fox’s neck, the fox quickly moves into the air like a shooting star, darting across the night. Landing onto the ground while the fox is high in the night, the wolf growls, laying back its ears and baring its teeth more. It glares into the fox’s orbs and sees death within them and red. Landing back onto the ground, the fox eyes seem to spark a glimpse of the wolf’s reflection.  charges at the fox who didn’t have time to dodge and with all its might and strength, the wolf bites down onto the fox’s neck. The small creature yelps loudly and winces in the wolf’s grasps while it tries to shake the wolf off, but the wolf wouldn’t let go. Blood drips down the fox’s neck, staining its coat of white to dark red and onto the snow. The wolf bites harder, drawing more blood, staining the white dark crimson. The small creature yelps loudly in agony and the girl’s eyes widen with fear for the fox. All hope for the fox rests on the small creature’s shoulder and. Minutes past and the wolf bites even harder, its teeth sinking into the fox’s flesh more, reaching the other side and to stop the fox’s breathing.

The girl wants to cry for the fox and to scream, to tell the small creature to get up. Take a breath but be ready to stand and fight. To never give up believing, never give up dreaming and to fight because you’re going to win this match. However, as much as she wants to scream the words, it feels like her throat is dry with coldness. The wolf lets go for a brief second and sees the agony in the fox’s eyes. The small creature legs wobble as to struggle to support its own body and collapses onto the snow before the wolf bites the fox’s neck again in the same place with more force as if gnawing the neck. The wolf lets go of its victim and seems to smile as it stares at the fox’s lifeless body and about to pounce on the elegant creature to finish its life when the girl, feeling a sense to protect the poor fox, runs over and shields the fox, making the wolf stop attacking. The wolf lifts its head and move its head to its side as if its prideful. The fox closes its eyes, seemingly for the monster to end its life. Minutes pass, the fox didn’t open its eyes. The small creature’s body went lifeless as if its body were extremely fragile and one single wound, even the sightless and hardly seen would break its body. It breathes like the small fox has made it an art form, its chest rising and falling with the sedative qualities of a lullaby and every breath moving slower as if a train stopping to a screech. Then all at once, the breathing stops, and the chest is motionless.

The small creature’s brain tingles like a hand that’s been sat on for too long. The weight lifts from its shoulders as if an overly large child had just leapt off after a satisfying piggy back ride. The fox’s eyes snap open and struggles to support its body but hold on for the small creature has hope. If the child is alive, hope bares its brilliant light. The wolf snarls, noting the fox from its corner of its eye while baring its teeth and standing in attack mode, readying to attack. The fox winces silently in pain and manages to support its tiny body. The wolf turns around and circles the large area, getting slightly closer to the fox who’s watching the wolf carefully. The fox snaps at the wolf and snarls loudly while walking slowly backwards when it bumps into a tree trunk. The wolf seems to grin and runs towards the fox but the fox leaps high in the air. The wolf stops before hitting the trunk and turns around, seeing the fox landing on the ground. The fox breathes slowly and collapses onto the ground, shivering with coldness and trembling with pain. The wolf eyes the girl, knowing that without the pesky fox to stand in its way, the girl would be dead.  

The wolf licks its chops and charges at the small child with incredible speed when a blur of white leap towards the wolf and bite its neck hard, teeth sinking down into its neck then leap backwards, landing onto the snow in front of the girl. The wolf stares at the fox, blood drizzling down its neck, staining the black and the snow. The wolf charges at the fox then leaps high in the air. The fox charges at the wolf and leaps high in the air. The two collide into each other and fight; raising bodies while clawing at each other and snapping at each other to try to get the neck. Minutes later, the two circle each other, watching each other like hawks catching their prey until the wolf leaps high towards the fox and claws it. The fox yelps loudly and both leap at each other. The girl closes her eyes, not wanting to watch no more.

The fox’s eyes piece through the darkness like a hawk as he examines the wolf. The wind gentle strokes his face as if he’s a puppy being pat on the head and, in that frozen second between stand off and readying to fight, the girl sees the fox’s eyes flicking with fire ablaze. She hears breathing from the fox, its icy breath flowing along the melody of the breeze. Minutes of silence and stillness, the wolf’s eyes glow brighter, his fur moving freely in the breeze like a flowing blanket in the uneasy ocean, tossing and turning. Then suddenly movement, running towards the young girl then leaps high in the night, spreading its claws, readying to slaughter. The young child freezes with fear as her blood turns to ice and eyes fill with dread. The fox stands there with high confidence, not caring if it gets hurt and, in that instants, blood splatters everywhere on the white. A sudden gush of pain jolts throughout the wolf’s body and blood splatters out of its mouth. Its stomach aches as if it’s on fire and its legs lost tension. The pain throbs throughout its body, it’s deep and warm but not in a nice way as if like someone has his whole body is on fire. Its legs weaken as the wolf walks backwards slowly, trembling as each step he takes. Every step feels like a nail bomb exploding in its innards. The wolf looks down and sees blood trickling down like a waterfall but slowly from the deep gash from its belly, staining its fur in the process. The fox stares up at the wolf in pity and abridgement, blood is on his right cheek and on its fur. Its teeth are soak with the smell of metallic and crimson, dripping down onto the white, splashing like the rain hitting on a roof. The wolf’s menacing eyes change to blazing cold blue as pure hatred raises in the ambiance. The girl stares with awe, unable to believe the incredible strength of the fox as her eyes fill with curiosity and yet scared. The wolf whips around and walks towards the shadows of the looming trees before stopping.

It turns his head, staring back at the fox as its eyes flash red. The wolf turns its head around and walks into the shadows. The fox turns its head around to its side and stares at the girl, its eyes are bright, glowing red like blood. The fox eyes changes to a much lighter red and turns around. The fox understands that the girl is in pain and is shaking violently. The small creature walks slowly towards her and stops inches in front of her. Nothing in this world can change what she’s feeling because nothing will ever come to her. She lowers her head and stares at the rough snow. Her lower lip quivers as words slowly made their way to her mouth but they never came. The small child lifts her head and grazes at the fox with warmth in her eyes, no more blunt, icy blue but instead, the innocence and friendliness of light violet, her eyes seem to welcome the man. Her eyes shift to the side again and stares at the boy with a glassy layer of tears. As she blinks, they drip from her eyelids and slide down her cheeks. Hoping to forget the tragic horror that happened. The world rushes by in a blur and the pain is growing worse by the second. She feels her bones move in a way that they shouldn't and without warning, her legs give way. The wind in her face makes it impossible to breathe as she falls like a tumbling tower to the snow as her eyes close with force. Before she impacts the ground, a pair of gentle, soft like silk hands catches her small form.