Flurries

A short story…

Small elongated footsteps imprinted into the deep snow lead to a white furry creature. It tentatively twitches its nose as it looks up into the darkening sky. 

It hops one more step before pausing, stunned as the sun returns with its blinding light. The snow hare rubs its eyes with its tiny paws, its ears flattened against its back.

The ground beneath the hare trembled, and he covered his eyes with his ears, burying himself within the snow.

It was beginning.

The hare thought to himself, as he trembled upon the ground. His little heart racing, he shook with fright.

He peeked out between his ears and found the snow falling harshly all around him. Quickly he sat back upon his hind legs and peered all around him into the flurry. His sight hindered by all the snow falling around him, but his ears swivelled, trying to pick up the minute sounds. 

Sounds that would signal a time for him to hop away as fast as his powerful hind legs would carry him. His nose twitched and his right ear swivelled to the same spot repeatedly. His heart thudded, and he closed his eyes against the snow, trying to target where the great grey beast was coming from, its jaws salivating and its claws ready to pounce upon the small hare. 

The hare opened his eyes. His ears swivelled behind him, and he crouched. A low growl signalled his first hop, and away the small hare dashed into the flurry of snow. 

Around and around, the great grey beast chased him. Snapping at his heels, but never quite getting him. 

The surrounding trees blurred, white and green mingling together as he sped past, his heart thudding.

The snow eased the longer he ran. Until at last one final snowflake fell to the floor, and he came to a sudden stop, his mind going blank.

The enormous creature got up off of the snow-covered ground and shook himself. He yawned widely, his great white teeth glinting in the bright sunshine. 

His paws began padding him through the trees, and the sky darkened all around him.

Early start today.

The grey wolf thought to himself, the blizzard around him whitening his fur and making him squint through the trees.

He couldn’t see very well through the snow, but his nose smelt the small, furry hare of his intentions. His stomach grumbled and saliva built up within his jaws at the thought of the creature that he was hunting. The creature that he would soon be chasing.

His paws never stopped moving forward until, finally, he reached the small clearing. He paused, taking in the hare’s scent, his body quivering in anticipation.

The hare was barely visible in the snow as it crouched down, its white fur trembling in front of him. He crouched and dug his paws into the soft snow before leaping forwards.

Chasing the hare around and around the forest. Snow falling to the ground, lightening with each step. Until finally it stopped altogether and the wolf’s vision dimmed, going black, its jaws centimetres away from one of the hare’s back legs.

A hare quietly makes his way into the clearing, his little nose twitching into the darkening sky.

Haven’t I been here before?

The hare glanced all around him, but saw nothing but peace.

The sky above was clear, no snow falling until suddenly darkness covered him, but for a minute, and flurries of snow fell all around him.

The hare sprinted around and around the forest, the wolf hot on his heels until the snow stopped its falling and blackness took him.

The wolf shook his head and growled low in his throat. He stretched and looked all around him, the sights of the forest familiar to his nose and paws.

Darkness shrouded his vision before the snow fell rapidly all around him. He crouched and ran until blackness took him.

Darkness shrouded them again. Over and over, they ran through the forest flurries of snow, pelting their soft coats.

Until one day the snow stopped falling and the wolf caught the hare. The hare squirmed within the wolf’s salivating jaws, trying desperately to free itself.

A scream rang out all around them and the wolf dropped the hare, but blackness did not take them. Instead, they were immobile. Unable to move even a single paw.

The hare had landed just out of the wolf’s reach, and he could no longer chase it. He snapped at the hare in frustration.

What’s happening?

The hare called out as he tried to squirm away.

I do not know. This isn’t what is supposed to happen.

What are we to do, wolf?

Let us sleep then perhaps in the morning we will find ourselves right again.

And so the two curled up where they were and slept under the snow, each confused by their predicament.

High above them, a child on the edge of adulthood had screamed. She had been peering into the Snowglobe whilst the wolf and the hare had been running around on their track in the snow. She had nearly dropped the Snowglobe when the wolf had caught the hare.

She ran up to her grandparents and showed them the Snowglobe. Shaking it in front of them, causing the snow to fall wildly all around. She showed them the two creatures inside, sleeping next to each other, being covered in snow.

“What is it, Ava?” the grandmother asked.

“Your Snowglobe is not working anymore.”

“Oh, that old thing. I’m surprised it didn’t give up years ago.” The grandparent peered at the Snowglobe. She took it gently from her granddaughter’s hands and shook it. 

Flurries of snow lifted and descended all around the wolf and the hare, who were curled up next to each other. Covering their grey bodies in a fine dusting.

The grandmother looked all-around at the globe before handing it back to her granddaughter. “This seems fine to me.”

“But grandma! The wolf and hare, they are not running!” 

“They have never run around, Ava. They have always just slept. It must have been your imagination.”

“Oh, I’m sure they did.” Ava solemnly said. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes welled as she peered at the globe.

“Come, Ava, let us grab some hot chocolate. All that snow falling has made me thirsty.” The grandmother said, taking her hand.

Ava instantly perked up and placed the snow globe onto the battered table in the sitting room, and skipped into the kitchen. 

The grandmother clambered out of their chair, groaning, before slowly following her into the kitchen.

The grandfather peered at the Snowglobe, chuckling as he whispered, tapping the glass. “So you were at it again.”

Thanks for reading,

S.McC

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